Steps to help in Hail Damage Insurance Claim

According to the Federal Alliance for Safe Homes, hail causes more than $1.6 billion worth of damage in an average year to residential roofs in the United States, making it, year in and year out, one of the most costly natural disasters. Detecting roof hail damage after a hail storm can be a difficult task. Experts say the best things to look at when you are trying to determine the possibility of hail damage are the downspouts, gutters, metal vents, and roofing shingles. If you have not experienced a severe hail storm, it is hard to explain the destruction caused in such a short time. Here are some tips to help handle the experience when it comes to hail-related insurance hail damage claims:

    Some roofing contractors may offer to pay your deductible for you instead of the contract to fix your roof on the payment of the insurance company. This practice might be a good sales pitch for the contractor, but for you, it might be bad news because it may make you complicit in insurance fraud along with the contractor. The Principle of Indemnification followed by insurance policies means that a policyholder cannot profit from payment for the policy - and by having the contractor outright pay for the deductible, you might just be doing that. This action can invalidate the policy - so be careful with how you deal with your contractor.

    Hail damage insurance claim deductibles and referrals are one way to get your contractor to legitimately pay for some of your hail damage deductibles by referring other clients to the contractor instead of that service. Many contractors have an incentive or bonus of up to $100 for any referral that becomes a job. There are other above-board ways that an experienced and conscientious roofing company can help you with a high deductible. In most cases, all you need do is ask, and you will be presented with several options to deal with your deductible.

    Getting an independent Hail Damage Appraisal - The insurance company will send what it calls an adjuster to assess the damage from hail. The adjuster will inspect your house and the roof and come to a total figure that should cover the cost of fixing the damage from hail. Here you should also get an independent appraisal from a roofing contractor. This should ensure against bias from the adjuster and should give a better cover. The contractors usually do the appraisals for free - so along with their payment of deductibles in place of referrals, this is a pretty good service.

Managing your hail damage cover and its deductibles is an important aspect of living with hail storms. With the right information, you can save yourself hundreds of dollars in fees and deductibles, as well as a quality roof replacement due to damage from hail.

4 important tips for Homeowners for Roof Hail Damage

Hail damage to the roof is quite common than most people think. If you are living in a storm and hail-prone state like Florida, your home might be frequently damaged by it. Damage to your roof's shingles can compromise the effective life of your roof and even lead to large-scale problems if not identified promptly. Taking some proactive steps will help protect your roof against damage and will help you save a considerable amount on the roof repair of your home.

You will not only ensure that your roof lasts longer but also have fewer roof repair expenses as well if you take definitive steps to lessen the effects of the frozen balls on your roof. Investing in hail resistivity roofing materials would be advisable and prevent hail damage to the roof. Here are a few tips which will help you properly identify roof hail damage.

Tip #1: Check for visible damage from inside the home? If you see water stains or slow drips on the inside of your home, then you may a problem which requires immediate action. A new water stain on your ceiling is most definitely a sign that your roof was damaged. If left untreated, the problem will worsen leading to further damage which may require a complete tear-off of your existing roof, not to mention repairs to the interior of your home.

Tip #2: Check for visible dents on your roof's shingles? Just because you don't see any damage to the inside of your home does not mean your roof was not damaged. Don’t neglect the exterior damage, you run the risk of damage to your home in the months to come. Even worse is if you don't file an insurance claim within the time guidelines stipulated in your homeowner's insurance policy, you may lose the benefits that you are entitled to now. Identifying shingle blisters requires a visible inspection of your roof. Sometimes blisters may be hard to see.

Tip #3 Get professional opinions. There's no denying when a hail storm has blown through town. If there is knowledge of a storm, and you contact your insurance company, they will most likely dispatch an adjuster. That adjuster represents your insurance company. His job is to identify the damage, assess the cost to repair or replace your roof and make sure all of the paperwork is to process a claim. Although the insurance company offers their adjusters, Contact independent Public adjusters for best results and opinions on the damages.

Tip #4 Records and Writing. Most insurance companies will only issue a check directly to the roofer. This protects the insurance company from the homeowner pocketing the proceeds and never repairing the damage. By getting your roofing contractor to agree to the type of repairs to be performed and the costs involved, will ensure that your roof gets the required repairs. If your roofer agrees that the insurance check is sufficient to repair your roof hail damage, then they should be willing to do the repairs for that cost, nothing more.