Waiting for prices to “drop” for roofing supplies is not recommended for a multitude of reasons:
Insurance is not a get-rich-quick scheme in the event of an accident or claim. There aren’t roundabout, “thrifty ” ways of getting reimbursed by an insurance company for a roofing claim while pocketing most of the checks you receive.
In short, insurance is meant to restore you to the state you were in prior to an accident. No insurance company on earth is going to rebuild your home bigger or better than it was before a claim. They will all put it back together with “like, kind and quality” materials. In the claim process, trying to save money in the short-term (either for yourself or for the insurance company) is often devastatingly expensive in the long run.
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Insurance deductibles are part of the agreement between policyholders and insurance companies that help to ensure accountability in the event of an accident or claim. Asking a repairman to “cover the deductible” by increasing an estimate or bill is considered fraud. For more details, please feel free to visit this Homeowner’s Insurance Fraud outline.
Yes, there is always a difference. Unless you are the kind of person that would rather have a microwave burrito rather than one from a restaurant. What I am saying is there is always a difference, they may look the same but they are not the same. This is why there is a difference in price, However, If insurance is paying for an authentic burrito from a high-quality restaurant and you would rather have a microwave burrito, then have at it.
Any of our Project Managers or your insurance agent can help you.
Actual Cash Value (ACV) isn’t equivalent to replacement cost value (RCV). ACV is calculated by subtracting depreciation from the estimated replacement cost value. The depreciation amount is calculated based on the expected “useful life” of the home, and then that depreciation percentage is multiplied by the RCV to get the ACV.
Here’s an example: Bill purchased a 30yr roof for $10,000 Fifteen years ago. The roof is damaged in a hail storm. Bill has a $1,000 deductible. His insurance adjuster tells him that the roof had a calculated “useful life” of 30 years and that A similar roof today costs $13,500. The destroyed property had 50% (15 years) of its life remaining. The ACV = ($13,500) X (50%”The expected useful life remaining”) answer $6,750. If Bill does not have replacement cost coverage RCV then all Bill would receive in this scenario is $5,750. (ACV-deductible) If Bill had Replacement cost coverage he likely would have received $12,500 (RCV – Deductible)
Example 1
Private Pay
When you hire a roofer, 50% of payment is due before work starts, and the balance is due when work is completed. You pay the contractor out of your savings.
VS
Insurance Claim
Insurance payments are due when you receive payment from the insurance company. The adjuster decides the scope of the work and price the roofer will be paid.
Example 2
When additional damage is found aka multiple layers of roofing, damaged decking, additional requirements by city code officials… Your contractor will update the estimate and you may be over budget on your project.
When additional damage is found (such as multiple layers of roofing, damaged decking, additional requirements by city code officials), your contractor will send documentation of additional damage found to your adjuster. Your adjuster will adjust the claim to cover these additional damages, providing they are properly documented.
Great questions! Simply put: HAAG-Certified Inspectors are tested professionals who possess the resources to assess roof damage with confidence, and they understand what documentation the insurance company needs to make your insurance claim go smoothly.
It’s common sense: building materials don’t last forever. Throughout a product’s life cycle, its ability to keep you dry and insulated can be affected in a variety of ways. The natural process of weathering and aging can be accelerated by a number of factors:
While these issues are very different in origin, on the surface, they can look quite similar. Determining the actual cause of a problem with confidence requires advanced knowledge and thorough investigation techniques.
This is why Haag Certification is so valuable. Haag-Certified Inspectors are not beginners in the field. They are adjusters, estimators, home inspectors, roofing contractors, consultants, and other industry pros who have fine-tuned their inspection skills to find damage where it exists.
Not only must students meet prerequisites to attend, but they receive three days of direct and intensive training from seasoned Haag Engineers. (Haag’s course developers and teachers draw on HAAG’s long history as a leader in the field of forensic engineering. Course instructors have over 300 years of combined field experience and have authored numerous industry-leading reports and researched studies on damage assessment.)
To earn their designation as HAAG- Certified Inspectors, students must prove an in-depth understanding of advanced damage assessment techniques and philosophies by passing a comprehensive final exam.
Students maintain active status as Certified Inspectors by requalifying through testing on an annual basis. Simply put once more: HAAG-Certified Inspectors are tested professionals who possess the resources to assess the damage with confidence.
Check our team of HAAG Certified Inspectors Tyler Slade, Dallin Slade, Dee Armstrong, and Addisen Johnsen at HaagCertifiedInspector.com today!
Any leftover roofing materials from a project belong to the contractor. Selling, keeping, or disposing of the leftover product is considered theft.
Bid: An offer (at a certain price) for something, especially at an auction.
Estimate: To roughly calculate or judge the value, number, quantity, or extent of something.
Getting a roof properly repaired is never a “bidding” situation. That results in sacrificing long-term quality for the short-term price. A roofing claim is always based on an estimate, as roofers and adjusters do not have x-ray vision.
My insurance company gave me all of the money needed to repair the roof, so why shouldn’t I find the lowest “bid”?
Please refer to the question, “What if I find a contractor who can do the job for less money?”.
This is known as a “lose-lose” scenario. Everybody loses, and here’s why:
Imagine the adjuster your insurance carrier sent out estimates $13,000 to replace your roof, and you have a $1,000 deductible.
Let’s say you find a contractor who can do it for $10,000. Then this contractor does everything listed on the estimate. When the roofer is finished, they will send proof to the adjuster that they did everything the adjuster listed on the estimate, and the insurance company will then send you $9,000. You would then take the $9,000 you received from the insurance company, add you’re $1,000 to it, and pay your contractor the $10,000 that the contractor estimated.
Seems practical? There are actually a few reasons it’s not.
In this scenario, all the parties lost. The roofer made less money and most likely skimped on quality and cut corners to give the low “bid.” For the low price, you most likely do not have a warranty from the manufacturer or the roofer. So, when the roof leaks in the next few years, the insurance company will have to pay out more money to repair the damages to the inside of your home.
It cost more in the long run, and then you lose as a homeowner because you have to pay a roofer to fix or replace the roof (again) that should have been done right the first time.
In many cases, upgrading to impact-rated shingles with a lifetime warranty cost only a few hundred extra dollars added to your claim. So, yes, when you’re spending $15,000 on an average roof, spending 1% more to extend the life of that roof for another 20 years is an amazing deal. Throw in the wind warranty and hail resistance, and it’s a no brainer.
Roofing codes will allow one time of covering over a roof that has existing damage. However, it’s a bad idea. Putting a new product over old problems is a recipe for disaster. This would be like placing a newspaper over dog poop. It was a bad idea the first time it was thought of, it was a bad idea the second time, and it’s still a bad idea.
Insurance companies try to take into account the changes that will happen in the future that may affect what a building needs, and they’ve set up a sort of provisional coverage that may be added onto policies to protect your assets further. Dave Moore Insurance explains this coverage very well:
“Building Ordinance or Law insurance coverage is a common property insurance endorsement that reimburses property owners for cost associated with demolishing, repairing, rebuilding, or constructing a structure if a covered loss prompts additional changes due to laws or regulations. Usually, these ordinances or laws are associated with local building codes, which require the property to be up to current specifications.”
Read more about this particular coverage and how it can benefit your home insurance protection.
Definition: A deductible is the amount of money a policyholder must pay out-of-pocket toward damages or a loss before their insurance company will pay the remainder for a claim.
Your deductible will be taken out of the claim money you receive from your insurance company. For instance, if your insurance adjuster is estimating a replacement cost value of $1,500 for your claim and your deductible is $500, you’ll receive $1,000. You will then take the $1,000 you received from the insurance company add your $500 to it and pay your contractor the $1,500 that the insurance company estimated.
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