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Well, after about 1/3 of the houses in my neighborhood have gotten their roof replaced for free from a "storm chaser" I think I am about to go that route. I resisted the temptation the first few times they came knocking but about 4 months ago I noticed water stains in a bathroom upstairs that is rarely used so I suspect my roof has a leak. The home is about 9 years old and just yesterday a company came knocking and asked if I wanted a free roof inspection.
I got the inspection and of course they said I have wind and hail damage. They gave me the names of some neighbors that they had done and after speaking with 4 of the neighbors, all were pleased with the work and are happy with their roofs. Most were done before last years hurricane and have been leak free.
Has anyone gotten this done before and can you give me your opinions good or bad? Thanks
Why on earth would you do that? You can use whatever roofer you want for an insurance claim. Use a local, reputable roofer.
Unless of course you're looking for someone to commit fraud....
Your 9 year old home doesn't need a new roof (unless you actually have legit hail damage), and it's unlikely your leak was caused by hail.
Call your insurance company first, have them look at the roof, then hire a local roofing company. Don't do it the other way around.
Why on earth would you do that? You can use whatever roofer you want for an insurance claim. Use a local, reputable roofer.
Unless of course you're looking for someone to commit fraud....
Your 9 year old home doesn't need a new roof (unless you actually have legit hail damage), and it's unlikely your leak was caused by hail.
Call your insurance company first, have them look at the roof, then hire a local roofing company. Don't do it the other way around.
In my experience, it is best to have a local roofer on site when the insurance company comes to do an inspection. Sorry, but the insurance company is not in the business to pass out whole new roofs. They will try their best to limit their liability.
In my experience, it is best to have a local roofer on site when the insurance company comes to do an inspection. Sorry, but the insurance company is not in the business to pass out whole new roofs. They will try their best to limit their liability.
The insurance companies are passing out new roofs to boatloads of people that don't need new roofs. They make their money either way - it doesn't matter to them.
I did contact my insurance company a year ago and an adjuster came out and said my roof is fine. It was months later that I noticed the small leak. This time around I am going to have a contractor here when the adjuster comes.
The insurance companies are passing out new roofs to boatloads of people that don't need new roofs. They make their money either way - it doesn't matter to them.
In your opinion. I doubt you can come up with any statistics on this.
I did contact my insurance company a year ago and an adjuster came out and said my roof is fine. It was months later that I noticed the small leak. This time around I am going to have a contractor here when the adjuster comes.
Personally, I think that is the best way to go. Adjusters are by no means experts.
In your opinion. I doubt you can come up with any statistics on this.
To be fair, your statements were your opinion as well.
In the past I've discussed roofs, storm damage scams, and similar with many folks in the industry including one family member that's been in the property insurance business for 35 years, and a friend who is in a similar line of work but for a different insurance company (something like 15 years), and of course my own insurance company.
Those in the business tend to agree on one thing: an insurer typically has a greater potential claim risk on a home with an inadequate or defective roof than it does by paying a dubious claim for full replacement. In other words replacing the roof benefits the insurer. Do they try to save costs on it? Sure but they want the roof done right. This is one of the reasons they verify the age and current condition of a roof before even making a decision to insure the home owner at all, or threaten to cancel if the home owner doesn't replace the roof. No insurer wants to overpay, but if the roof is of a certain age already, and is storm damaged, they sometimes lean toward helping with replacement rather than risk future damage.
So, no offense, but m378s opinion seems to actually reflect the perspective of insurance companies more accurately than yours, so I'm not sure I would bet on the outcome of any statistics challenges between the two differing opinions.
To be fair, your statements were your opinion as well.
In the past I've discussed roofs, storm damage scams, and similar with many folks in the industry including one family member that's been in the property insurance business for 35 years, and a friend who is in a similar line of work but for a different insurance company (something like 15 years), and of course my own insurance company.
Those in the business tend to agree on one thing: an insurer typically has a greater potential claim risk on a home with an inadequate or defective roof than it does by paying a dubious claim for full replacement. In other words replacing the roof benefits the insurer. Do they try to save costs on it? Sure but they want the roof done right. This is one of the reasons they verify the age and current condition of a roof before even making a decision to insure the home owner at all, or threaten to cancel if the home owner doesn't replace the roof. No insurer wants to overpay, but if the roof is of a certain age already, and is storm damaged, they sometimes lean toward helping with replacement rather than risk future damage.
So, no offense, but m378s opinion seems to actually reflect the perspective of insurance companies more accurately than yours, so I'm not sure I would bet on the outcome of any statistics challenges between the two differing opinions.
My opinion wasn't claiming a wild assumption of new roofs being passed out by the "boatload". My opinion was that it would be best to have a local roofer on site at the time of the inspection by the insurance adjuster. That was my experience. After a very large hailstorm in Texas completely ruined our roof, garage doors, and window screens in our home I called my insurance company to come out. I had spoken with a trusted roofer and he had suggested that I have him on site at the time of the inspection. The adjuster just happened to be the same adjuster I had previously come out for a flood problem. She wouldn't even get up on the roof to look at it - she had another guy go up and use his phone to video the roof so she could look at it on the ground. Her first opinion was that there was no damage in the 10' X 10' square they marked out. It was a joke. My roofer, who had been a few minutes late, then had to go up and take his own video of all the parts of the roof that had damage. In the end it all worked out, but dealing with the insurance company was the worst. Fortunately, I had learned my lesson from the flood. The insurance company wants to pay as little as possible for any home claims.
Your leak above a bathroom will in all likelihood just be a plumbing vent boot. They only last 8-10 years, and typically located just above the bathrooms on the rear roof slope. Easy fix, maybe a couple hundred bucks total.
The storm chaser roofers tend to do subpar work, and it shows a few years down the road. They tend to cut a lot of corners. Your neighbors being happy with them is basically worthless unless they are experienced in roofing and can quantify the quality of work. That would be like me, an inspector and contractor, giving a glowing review of a software engineer.
If you bring out a quality company like the several mentioned here you can still file the claim though, and have peace of mind. Good luck!
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