What Is Actual Cash Value
According to Travelers Insurance, the Actual cash value is the value of destroyed or damaged items at the time of loss. For example, if your roof has a lifespan of 20 years and it is 10 years old at the time of loss, then the Actual Cash Value is 50% of the original value of the roof. For an ACV policy, 50% of the roofs value will be kept by the insurance company and not paid to the homeowner. This withheld amount is called depreciation.
What Can Homeowners Do To Avoid Acv Policies
Insurance policies can be confusing, but homeowners need to understand how the policy is written and how the insurance claims process works.
Contact Your Insurance Company To File An Insurance Claim For Hail Damage
Take a look at your insurance policy and then contact your company. Organize your records, facts, and photographs. Give your insurer the necessary information. You will receive a claim number.
At this point, your insurance company will inspect damages to your property, then decide how much your payout will be worth if anything. Sometimes, the insurance company will find fine print within your insurance contract that allows them to deny a payout. Or, the insurance company might offer a substantially lower payout than what is needed to repair your roof hail damage.
If all goes according to plan, then your insurance company will approve the hail damaged roof replacement, allowing you to get a brand new roof paid for by your insurance company.
If your insurance company refuses to honor the claim or is being difficult, then consider contacting a public adjuster to help defend your case.
Step By Step Guide For Handling Hail Damage Insurance Claims
Based on the information above, here are the steps we recommend for handling a hail damage insurance claim:
Contact A Public Adjuster For Help With Hail Damage Claims
Public Adjusters are available to help with your insurance claim
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How Much Hail Damage To Replace A Roof
For the most part, hail damage isnt immediate. Hail damage to your roof can dramatically reduce the lifespan of your roof. Many people only focus on the immediate damage following a hail storm, but if the shingles arent replaced, even small damages can result in lasting wear and tear in your roof.
For instance, hail storms can remove granules from your shingles. This protective layering defends against direct sunlight. When these granules are harmed, UV light can break down the shingles and lead to further damage. Splits and tears can contribute to an acceleration of the weathering process, compounding and leading your shingles to become ineffective much sooner than they should.
Its essential to be aware of any harmful weather especially hail storms that could harm your shingles.
Following each hail storm, perform a roof inspection, checking for the following signs:
- Holes
- Bare spots on shingles
- Granules in downspouts
If you believe youve identified roof damage or youre unsure whether there is damage, then you may want to contact a professional to inspect your roof. Ignoring a minor problem may lead to a much bigger, more expensive problem later.
You might need to replace the entire roof if it leaks after a hail storm, as that could be a sign of extensive damage or age. Older roofs are often weaker and likely to become more damaged, meaning a replacement is a good call after hail damage.
Signs Of Hail Damage On Your Roof
To an untrained eye, it can be hard to diagnose what was truly behind roof damage. When hail impacts shingles, tearing and puncturing are both possibilities. The most common sign is missing granules from the surface. If left untreated, the sun will cause the affected spot to grow in size which leads to shingle destruction.
What does roof damage from hail look like?
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Raizner Slania Handle Metal Roof Hail Damage Claims Nationally
If you have suffered damage to a metal roof and the agents for your insurance company are trying to label the damage cosmetic to avoid paying for it, contact the Texas Insurance Attorneys at Raizner Slania LLP as soon as possible, so that we can help you protect your rights. Our attorneys have a long history of fighting insurance companies and winning on hail damage cases and we know how to counter the tactics of insurance companies and get a resolution to your situation.
- 2402 Dunlavy St, Suite 300Houston, TX 77006
Hail Damage Waiver & Insurance Coverage Definitions
Now that weve covered the design considerations of a metal roof as it applies to protection from hail damage, the next thing you should do is take a look at your insurance policy. We get hundreds of questions per year about homeowner/property insurance coverage and metal roofing. We understand that it can be a complicated subject that differs from policy to policy, but we think its critical to talk through the topics that we hear most often.
Lets go through some of the common phrases or words used by insurance providers.
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Contact A Roofing Contractor Or Public Adjuster For A Roof Inspection
If you discover roof damage from hail, then you may want to start by contacting a qualified roofing company or a public adjuster for help with an inspection. When you contact your insurance company to file a hail damage claim, its recommended that you also get in touch with a roofing contractor or a private insurance adjuster who can assess and inspect the hail damage to your home. This inspection and assessment should be free: roofing contractors and public adjusters consider these hail damage roof inspections a cost of doing business, and they base their work on whether or not your insurance claim will be approved.
When looking for a roofing contractor, be sure to contact one who is factory-certified . Then, check the Better Business Bureau or other review sites online to ensure the roofing contractor is honest and provides high-quality service.
Make an appointment with the contractor, be at home during the inspection, and make sure the contractor knows that no repairs will be made during this time. Also, make sure to point out to the roofing contractor the specific areas of damage.
One thing to keep in mind is that in most states that require public insurance adjusters to be licensed, it is illegal for a roofing company or contractor to negotiate insurance policy related issues.
What Does Hail Damage Look Like On Shingles
Hail affects various roofing materials differently. Whether your installation is made from metal, asphalt, slate, clay or concrete, hail damage can alter tiles, shakes and shingles in unique ways. A repair to your roof is in order if you or our roofing team notice signs of damage:
- Hail damage to asphalt shingles: Architectural and three-tab asphalt shingles may break, crack or show abrasions following a storm. With repeated exposure to hail, granule layers weaken over the long term.
- Hail damage to slate shingles: These shingles are made from metamorphic rock. Hail may cause sections of slate shingles to crack, chip or come loose.
Since your roofs integrity may be compromised, you may want to act quickly. When hail is driven by strong winds, even small hail may cause severe damage to your roof, along with the loss of protective granules. This can greatly reduce your roofs lifetime. Damaged granule layers can expose your shingles to the suns UV rays, quickly causing serious deterioration.
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Are There Insurance Coverage Limitations On My Roof
Home insurance policies can include coverage limitations for roofs.
Scott deLuise, president of Matrix Business Consulting in Broomfield, CO, suggests that homeowners read the existing or proposed policy carefully to look for that information.
“Coverage scope and exclusions are a big deal. Ask another insurance company for a policy bid at renewal if it contains a wood shake endorsement or an exclusion for roofs over 20 years old,” says deLuise.
He also suggests getting a qualify roofer to inspect the roof and provide a written report, so you know the condition before theres damage.
“That way, if wind or hail strike your house, you can show the insurance company that there was no pre-existing damage. You can also request a cost estimate for replacing the roof so that you can decide if the cost of a new roof outweighs the risk of being denied home insurance coverage, deLuise says.
deLuise says many insurers on the West Coast are adding new endorsements at renewal for the area’s popular wooden shingle roofs. A wood shake or shingle endorsement is a written document attached to an insurance policy that excludes or restricts coverage of wooden shingle or shake roofs.
deLuise has also seen many companies limit appraisal for wind and hail roof damage during the claims process.
If the policyholder demands an appraisal, some insurance companies try to limit the appraisals scope to damages that they’ve agreed to instead of all of the damage that the insured might find.
What Does Hail Damage Do To A Roof
The severity of hail damage to a roof depends on several factors, including:
Type of roofing materials, age of roofing materials, roof slope, quality of construction
as well as hail size, hail density, and hail shape and the velocity and angle of its fall.
Hail damage can also be affected by the number of shingle layers on a roof. Second layer shingles are more susceptible to damage than first layer shingles, because the surface directly underlying the shingle is less supportive than dense wood.
Hail damage can either be functional or cosmetic in nature.
Functional hail damage refers to damage that affects the integrity and longevity of the roof. Cosmetic hail damage refers to damage that does not affect the viability of the roof to perform its function.
In 2013, the American Association of Insurance Services, introduced a Cosmetic Damage Exclusion to allow insurers to avoid coverage for cosmetic damage. However, sometimes, a roof that has been functionally damaged will be passed off as only cosmetically damaged by the insurance company.
A qualified, trained roof inspector will know the difference and can assist the homeowner to make sure the insurance designation is properly assigned.
INTERESTING FACT: Baseball size hail stones fall at nearly 100 miles per hour.
Wood shake, clay, concrete and other dense roofing material types can be instantly cracked or shattered by large hail stones.
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Will Insurance Pay For Hail Damage To A Metal Roof
The roof you have over your head is a true definition of who you are and what you love
A roof over your house is one of the most integral parts of the house. It does not only protect the homeowner but also the house from the elements of weather.
As part of protecting your home, you also need to take up an insurance cover to make sure you can have your home repaired in case of any calamity. But before signing an insurance policy, you should make sure you read, and understand what is covered in the policy.
Here are some of the essential questions you need to answer if you are to make the right insurance decision about your home.
How To Spot Hail Damage On Roof
Generally, hail damage is very vulnerable for the roof and roof covering materials, and hail damages create a huge impact on those roof covering materials as well as other properties.
A hail storm can be very destructive and dangerous. So, there are some factors to determine the impact of hailstorm damages, which affects the different types of shingles and roofing materials, those are-
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Identify The Types Of Hail Damage
When comparing hail damage vs. blistering, how do people determine the correct culprit? Blistering will remove asphalt down to the roof, while hail will not.
What does hail do to a roof?
The 3 major signs of hail damage are:
- Granules missing from asphalt
- Bruising
- Cracking
If left untreated, the sun will cause the affected spot to grow in size which leads to shingle destruction.
What Size Hail Causes Roof Damage
On average, it takes a 1 or above diameter hail stone to cause damage to common asphalt shingles. When referring to hail sizes, here are a few common objects to compare:
- Pea = 1/4-inch in diameter
- Dime or penny = 3/4-inch in diameter
- Nickel = 7/8-inch
- Golf Ball = 1½ inches
- Tennis Ball = 2½ inches
- Baseball = 2¾ inches
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How Do I Avoid Roof Scams
Fraudulent contractors often take advantage of homeowners after an area has been hit by severe storms. A typical roof repair scam involves a contractor who demands payment up front and often takes off with the cash. If they do the work, its usually shoddy, incomplete and substandard materials.
The National Insurance Crime Bureau says to be aware of contractors who insist on up-front payment before they begin work or offer lowball bids that come in much lower than other contractors. They may even offer a special hurricane deal or say theyll rebate your home insurance deductible.
If your roof is damaged after a storm, its a good idea to coordinate with your insurance company and get more than one estimate from licensed and insured contractors. Make sure you get a signed contract before the work begins that specifies the cost, time schedule and any other expectations.
What If My Insurance Adjuster Says There Isnt Any Damage
While its possible your roof is the only one in the neighborhood that wasnt damaged in a hail storm, its also possible that your adjuster is inexperienced and overlooked the damage. At Scros Roofing, weve been able to get insurance companies to cover roofing claims they had previously denied.
Youre entitled to receive a re-inspection from another adjuster who works for the same firm. This means you dont need to settle if youre not satisfied with the results. Request another inspection, and we will work to get you what you deserve.
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What Does Hail Damage Look Like On A Roof
Most of the time, hail damage isnt easy to see. You may not see actual indentations or holes in the roof. When it comes to hail damage, even many roofing contractors dont know what to look for.
If your siding or vehicles are damaged or your neighbors are replacing their roofs, your roof has more than likely sustained hail damage too.
And if your siding or vehicles are damaged or your neighbors are replacing their roofs, your roof has more than likely sustained hail damage too. This is an easy way to look for hail damage without having to peer up at or get on your roof. The air conditioning unit and windows are other places to look for hail damage. Wooden decks can also be great places to observe damage, as stained decks could leave the patterns of hail and chips in the framework. Examine your roof as well as the area outside of your home for more signs of hail damage.
You can use this evidence as a good starting point to identify hail damage, but for a more thorough and professional perspective, you should consult with professional hail damage roofing contractors. They can help to really identify where the damage originated and use their expertise to give you confidence about the damage of your shingles.
What Can I Do To Make Sure My Roof Is Working At Peak Performance
Knowing your roofs makeup and condition can help prevent problems before they occur. Here are some factors that affect how your roof performs.
Proper attic insulation and ventilation. This can save your roof from warping, reduce energy costs and reduce the amount of moisture in your home. It also prevents snow and ice from melting and freezing, which can cause water damage to your roof and home.
Maintain gutters. Clean your gutters often to make sure theyre free of debris. Check that the outer edges are lower than the slope line to allow snow and ice to slide clear.
Proper flashing. Flashing is material, like aluminum or galvanized steel, thats used over the joints in roof construction in order to prevent water seeping in and causing damage. Having the right flashing in place is important since it helps direct the flow of water around openings. Verify that your flashing is correctly installed, particularly around vents and chimneys. Improper flashing installation is a common source of interior water damage.
Proper roof decking. Basically, the roof deck is the section of the roof onto which everything else is placed, so the type of roof decking you use has to be strong enough to hold the weight of everything placed on it. It must support the roofing materials and workers, safely resist impact loads , hold constant loads , resist wind force and be able to anchor the nails.
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How To Deal With An Insurance Adjuster For Hail Damage Claims
When you file a claim for hail damage, an insurance adjuster will be part of the process. Here are the steps to take:
- Document the damage with photos and share those with your insurance company.
- If youre uncomfortable doing an inspection on your roof, call a trusted contractor to do one. Be sure to check fences, air conditioning units, windows and screens, too.
- File the claim with your insurance company and schedule a time for the insurance adjuster to come and do an inspection.
- The insurance adjuster will estimate the cost to repair the damages, which is how much your insurer will pay out.
- Its wise to also get your own independent estimate. Get written estimates of the true cost of replacing or repairing your home from reputable, independent professionals you would hire to do the actual work.
- If you disagree with the adjusters estimate, tell the company why, and have your contractor speak with the adjuster. If you fail to reach an agreement, you can hire a public insurance adjuster, who will represent your interests in the claim process and help to negotiate a settlement. Hiring a public insurance adjuster makes sense for larger claims, as youll have to pay a fee, usually a percentage of your claim settlement amount.
