Adventures in insurance roof replacement

[ohiofarmer 3,276]

  It has been a rough couple of weeks of back and forth with the insurance adjuster. In my concluding life as a remodeling contractor , I have had to deal with customers who wanted me to bounce my bids higher and return money to them . That is insurance fraud, and I wasn't playing that game then or now.

  This time i am the insurance claimant and i definitely have some observations as to how all parties play the game. .First of all, there is the storm chaser style of contractor salesman.  He wants to sell quickly and does not care if you get the product You want. I had one of those at the start of the project.. He was super interested in knowing exactly what the insurance company was allowing and went off their bid as per square footage and what was stated by the so called itemized material and labor allowance the adjuster supplied.. I told him right up front that any agreement we came to would be heavy on the specs and light on the sizzle. The stuff he promised changed every time we spoke. He got my papers I showed him and took them out of the house without my knowledge.  More on that later

   i looked at the spec sheet supplied by the insurance adjuster. told him that it did not make sense. The payment proposal never did list the areas to be covered, but he stated "the entire house". The only part that was itemized was the high and steep second story which I could decipher what they paid for and how much per unit of measure. None of that made any sense if the entire house was to be covered because the cost per square foot of the remainder was so much less. I got out my sketch pad and simplified twelve roof planes down to seven. i specified the cut up roof to twenty percent waste and the simple roof sections to fifteen percent cutting waste.i generated a detailed listing for each and every roof section with a detailed cost list. At first glance, the claims adjustment looked complete as per the common shingle coverage, but it was short specs on many labor items and very short o specialty items like shingle starter, edge flashing, Ice and water shield , simple flashing, step flashing, and on it goes. The insurance company stated that this stuff had to be spoken about and agreed to before work commenced.. I sent them a detailed report and it was quickly accepted. Increase was thirty percent with no argument.  The storm chaser salesman got the adjuster to give him the revised estimate of which he had no right. i fired him right then and there and especially when he wanted to cut me in.. Felony fraud if i had let him.

   Here is what i have learned. First and foremost, You as a claimant must pay the contractor 100 percent of your deductible. Just do it, even if he offers some work around. Secondly, make sure you understand each and every component that goes into your roof. Modern installations require highly adhesive components to maintain roofing components under warranty. Quality roofing has mildew stabilizers and expensive cap shingles that are no longer cut from three tab parent shingles. Discuss with your contractor. how your lawn and property will be protected from the demo work and what happens and who pays if a shingle is dropped skimming the side of your house. Have your contractor bid the house without seeing the insurance paperwork. Note that it can be measured from outer space using a software service. one such service is called Eagle View. i was amazed at what i saw in the report. Be aware that any changes to your house can affect the report as mine was at least two years old as my white car shown in Eagle View has been gone that long..

  Be aware that it does not cost very much more in the cost of the project to step up to a higher spec roof. Two or three hundred on an average size house gets you stuff like enhanced mold resistance, higher wind ratings, and even a superior nailing strip with more wind resistance.. We are not talking big box stores here, okay?.

   Some insurance companies will not want to replace the entire roof in any single section is intact. My state has laws protecting us against color mismatch but some companies will force the customer to get a special report and jump through hoops. it was no big deal to find Ohio laws relating to this by googling ohio law relating to roof replacement matching color and shingle style

    Finally, learn how to figure the area of a trapezoid and a paralellogram rectangle and triangle. i simplified everything by combining all these shapes into one and measuring the roof at the house foundation where possible. I combined eight roof planes into four that made it easy to calculate both perimeter and roof area. The much higher payout was worth it and now i will have an amazing roof .If I have any sense that my insurance slighted me, it would be the sin of omission, not commission. Easier to deal with once you enlighten them of their " mistakes"

 Oh, and after my very detailed report, the insurance company adjuster sent a seventeen page Eagle View sketch and also satellite pictures. Most of the dimensions were within three inches of what i had. One was off more than that because the software filled in an area that it could not see and it was to my favor..I take that report and pictures as evidence that it is time to be satisfied and happy with the final check which makes three payments in total.

   With all these negatives, I finally was referred to a dedicated roofing contractor who ordered his own satellite estimate and promptly came out to make notes of any extras that might not be seen from outer space. He has a roofing buggy that raises ,lowers, and dumps the old shingles into the dumpster. The other guys are hiring immigrant labor and that is a choice, but i honestly believe that my property will suffer less because no shingles are thrown down and gathered up by hand. The contractor states that he replaces one man and his workers are easy to keep as they are not so tired at the end of the day. We never discussed insurance companies, but just kept to the job at hand just as I wanted

Edited June 13, 2023 by ohiofarmer

[ebinmaine 67,507]

A lot of good learning and advice there 'Farmer. 

 

Good to see folks like you grabbing hold of the job instead of depending on strangers to ~hopefully~ do right by you.  

 

Trina and I have some great advantages in that our circle of friends includes good quality licenced builders contractors trades folk etc. Some from her employer, some from mine, some from hiking friends, some from Redsquare. They're even on both sides of our family. 

 

We'd have little to no concerns. 

 

Nicely done.  

 

 

 

[Pullstart 62,887]

Great read up!  I have recently been awarded a full tear off and replacement of my shop and storage barn, due to hail damage.  The pitch of the house roof paid off to deflect the golf ball sized hail stones in April, not take heat from them.

[ri702bill 8,323]

We have our share of "Fly by Night" Contractors here in RI - some are infamous for their Business practices and have served prison time for their blatant fraud....

Time for some related humor.

 

Seems that 3 contractors from different states end up in front of the Pearly Gates at the same time. They are greeted by Saint Peter, but there is an issue. Saint Peter informs them that Heaven is almost full up with Contractors, but there is room for only one more... the Pearly Gate is in need of repair - Saint Peter requests an estimate from each. The first guy, Fred submits a quote for $800. The second for $1200 - he is asked why his is higher - he replies that he is old and requires a helper. The third guy is a Contractor from RI, he submits a quote for $2800 !! Saint Peter asks why so much?? Simple he says - $1000 for you, $1000 for me, and I sub-contract the job to Fred for $800...!!!!!

Edited June 11, 2023 by ri702bill

[Handy Don 12,232]

4 hours ago, Pullstart said:

Great read up!  I have recently been awarded a full tear off and replacement of my shop and storage barn, due to hail damage.  The pitch of the house roof paid off to deflect the golf ball sized hail stones in April, not take heat from them.

We bought packaged plans for our house and then hired an architect to make adjustments and make check visits during construction. Money well spent to have a professional with no skin in the construction side.

One place we differed (and I prevailed) was that he wanted us to save money and lessen the pitch of the roof and we wanted to keep the steeper roof. Which, as @ohiofarmer noted, uses more materials and more labor (the cost of the underlying trusses was very little extra and way cheaper than rafters). Worth it to get a full headroom attic and the classic colonial look.

We haven’t had a heavy hailstorm, but good to hear that the steeper pitch will likely do better in one (though the plastic covers on the solar HW panels would likely take a beating).

Edited June 11, 2023 by Handy Don