Recent Storm damage and Insurance worries (rental, home, purchasing)

[john3232]

In 2012 I had some wind damage done to a rental while I wasn`t in town. The roofer sent out by property management said I needed a new roof. I called State Farm and they sent someone to inspect the roof. The claims adjustor explained State Farm wouldn`t pay for a new roof because of missing shingles. Since the cost to replace the shingles was about the same as my deductible I paid for the work to be done myself.

Last week the storm caused wind damage to the same rental property and shingles came off.
I will return to AZ in three weeks and thought it was a good idea to report the damage to State Farm and file a claim.

Then I hear from a buddy that contacting State Farm and having them send out a claim adjustor will cause your policy to be flagged even if there is no payout.

So I called State Farm back and told them I didn`t want to file a claim until I got returned and personally inspected the roof. They said too late but what they could do is change the claim to “report only”

Do I have anything to worry about? I didn’t realize just the act of filing a claim can be a negative mark against ones policy.

[john3232]

O.k I was able to obtain an answer in the RE forum:

You will only get “dinged” if you have a claim that rises above your deductible.

Now. If there is damage, and you choose to repair yourself - make sure they CLOSE the claim. State Farm is notorious for leaving those open, which can cause you problems if you want to switch.

Two more quick questions: The claim I filled in 2012 with State Farm regarding wind damage to the roof was denied but is still on my record.

Does such a claim remain on record indefinitely?

Or should it have fallen off after a certain number of years?

Also if I decide to replace the roof without State Farms being involved should I let them?

The claim I filed last week with State Farm has been changed to "record only"

My guess is I should tell State Farm if a new roof is installed which in turn might keep my premium from going up.

.

[Storm27m]

I had a similar experience with USAA (in Kansas at the time). I called to inquire about filing a claim but the agent suggested I get quotes first to see if the cost of repairs exceeded the deductible. They did not and I never filed the claim. Fast forward a few months and my insurance jumped in price by about 40%. I called USAA to inquire about the hike and was told they recalculated the rates for the area due to the number of damage claims.


I started shopping around and, in doing so, found that USAA did indeed file a claim on my account that paid out $0.00. Ironically, the company that informed me that I had a claim against my record was State Farm. I called USAA to see if they could remove it and they said there was nothing they could do. The claim was on my record for three years (I think) before falling off or at least getting to the point where it didn't count against me.


It DID have an effect on my rates but not at the extent of the 40% mentioned above. The majority of that raise was indeed area and insurer wide due to increased prices for damage claims (lots of hail damage the previous few years).


Ok, so not a huge problem in itself right? But what happens when you get more damage and file another claim later? And perhaps another one? Now maybe you have several claims against your record. From what I gather, you will have a harder time finding cheaper insurance. And part of that was for a zero payout claim that you didn't ask for. I was lucky and my first claim had fallen off by the time I filed a second claim a few years down the road.


The moral of the story...get quotes on the damage before you ever contact your insurance company.

[john3232]

Here's a more active thread on the subject:
Recent Storm damage and Insurance Concern


Bottom line I'm good with State Farm. Lesson learned. Never contact them unless I'm sure I'll be filing a claim

Now once the roof has been replaced I will contact my state Farm agent and let them know.

In a couple of weeks I will get a Clue report to find out what is on it regarding my recent activity.

In the past I've given state Farm details regarding rental property I was purchasing before the closing date. my guess is they ran a Clue check on the home because the premium quote was always reasonable