Getting a roof replaced as a result of old age or damage done by an act of nature, involving insurance is a necessity. While this may be straightforward in some cases, it may involve a lot of hassle for others.
Hence, this post.
This post will guide you on how to get your roof replaced with an insurance claim. Homeowners’ insurance coverage can be expensive, but then when the need for a claim arises, insurance companies are very sly.
What to do if your roof needs to be replaced.
Review Your Insurance Policy.
The first step to take is to review your insurance policy and the claims available to you. It will be silly and embarrassing to fight for the coverage you never have. For example, in your homeowner insurance policy, is roof damage included or you’ve had wind and hail damage excluded?
And also, if coverage is for replacement cost or actual cash value. All these are the basics you’ve to consider before filing for a claim.
Assess the Damage
Hire a reputable roofing contractor to assess the damage done to your roof. For states requiring certification for roofing companies and Pressure Washing Tampa, make sure you hired the one that is duly certified and licensed in your state.
Also, you should assess the whole house to be sure about the degree of damage and the necessary claims you will need to make.
Get your Roof Inspected
After you’ve hired competent and duly certified contractors, request for a roof inspection. This will serve as a documentation process from your end and confirm the gravity of the damages. Ask them to take a lot of pictures of the damaged roof to build your case for the proper repair of your home. For states requiring certification for roofing companies, make sure you hired the one that is duly certified and licensed in your state. Reliable contractors such as Couvreur Gatineau usually have all the necessary certification information on their website.
Make Temporary Fixes
If need be for temporary fixes, do ensure you promptly carried out those to protect your home from further damage and your family members from harm ways. But make sure you keep all the invoices and receipts generated in the process for reimbursement from the insurance company.
Be Timely With Your Claim
If your hired contractor has not already filed a claim on your behalf with the insurance company, do so immediately with an estimate gotten from him or the roofing company.
Also, while submitting an estimate, ensure that it corresponds with what you had and not what you intend to have or how you want to change things. This way, there wouldn’t be many loggerheads between you and the insurance company.
Schedule Visit by an Adjuster
After a few days of filing for a claim, the insurance adjuster will come to inspect the damages and claims made. During this visit, ensure your roofing contractors are aware and possibly available to point out areas of damages that may be obscured to the adjuster. Doing this will validates your claim and also ensure that the adjuster and the insurance company are aware of the degree of damages.
Takes Notes
During the adjuster’s visit, ensure you take notes of the name of the person and the date and time they came over to your property, and the claim number. Keeping a log of correspondence will ensure that your claim is easily trackable.
You should also ask relevant questions such as “if the damages are covered by your insurance policy?” or “how long will it take for the claim to be processed?” and so on.
Last bite;
Don’t let the insurance company boss you around, understand all the details involved in your claim and the repair work necessary for your roof. Insurance companies are a venture and are out to make profits, so all their actions will likely be directed in this same vein but to the detriment of you the homeowner.
So make sure, they don’t run you aground, give them a concise estimate but make no mistake of carrying out multiple estimates. This is because the company may request to see all the estimates made and choose only the lowest of them, and in most cases, the lowest is not always the best for the job.