Was your roof claim denied? Are you now “searching” what to do since your roof insurance claim has been denied? “Help my roof claim was Denied” is something I hear often.
Homeowners insurance companies have a duty to pay claims right? We all pay premiums so that when we have damage to our homes the insurance company will pay us for those damages.
Ahhhh…but wait. What if you have a roof leak that causes damages inside your home? You call your insurance company to file a homeowners claim that they classify as roof claim or a roof damage claim. The process starts. They send a claim adjuster to your home, he inspects the damages, gets on your roof, takes photos, measurements, and tells you the insurance adjuster will get in touch with you soon. In some cases, the insurance company might send an engineer.
Why would an insurance company send an engineer to inspect your roof?
The reason they are sending an engineer to inspect your roof damage is because they are going to deny your roof claim.
ROOF INSURANCE CLAIM DENIED [Reasons Insurance companies often will tell you]
Now, let’s examine some of the reasons your Insurance Roof Claim was Denied. As you will see in this letter from insurance company FedNat, they come up with all different types of “reasons” why the insured’s roof claim was denied.
FedNat took the shotgun approach for denying this insurance roof claim, which is, they just threw everything they could trying to make anything stick. The problem with this approach is that it’s so easy to counter and make the insurance company look foolish. Try not to laugh at some of these “reasons” but it is quite hysterical.
-The roof showed signs of wear and tear
-Storm created opening in the roof was not observed
-Wind related damage was not observed
-The observed issues on the roof are due to:
-Thermal expansion/contraction
-foot traffic
-golf balls
-manufacturing defects
-improper installation
As a homeowner, what can you do if your roof insurance claim was denied? First, I would contact a good public adjuster. However, with that said, the public adjuster needs to be able to have a sound plan on how to help you. Unfortunately, many public adjusters are more like “used car salesmen” simply interested in signing you up as a client. My advice would be to work with a public adjuster that owns his company, somebody who is personally responsible for your claim, and somebody who you can call at any time when you need them.
On July 1, 2021, the laws for roof claims has changed but they are being challenged in court. Some of the changes include attorney’s fees being a sliding scale, roofing companies not able to advertise, and before a lawsuit can be filed against an insurance company there needs to be a 10 day letter sent to the insurance company giving them one last chance to settle the claim before filing the lawsuit.
Here are some tips when you file your roof claim:
1. Don’t tell the insurance company that the damage to your roof was caused by rain. Rain is not covered but WIND IS COVERED. Windstorm events such as Hurricanes, Tornadoes, and Tropical Storms are covered by homeowners insurance.
2. Keep your description of damages brief. If they ask you what has been damaged just simply say “my roof, ceilings have stains, and there might be more but I don’t really know the extent of all the damages yet.”
3. When the claim adjuster comes to your house, I would rather you not be there for many reasons. If you can have a neighbor, friend, or somebody else who lives in the house let the claim adjuster in the house that would be ideal. Then, you want to tell that person that he/she should say “I don’t know anything, I was just told to let you in the house”
4. Lastly, get a roof replacement cost estimate for your own sake. However, don’t share this with the insurance company until you feel you are very close to settling the claim.
Example: (This would only apply to only roof damage with no interior damage)
Let’s say your roofing contractor gave you a price of $13,000 to replace your asphalt shingle roof. The insurance company offers you only $9,000. In this example, I would recommend sending the insurance company your roofing replacement estimate.
In closing, homeowners insurance companies in Florida are denying roof insurance claims at an alarming rate. Please don’t try to settle these claims by yourself because you actually could do more harm than good. With that said, if you need help with your roof claim please give me, Mike, a call anytime. My cell phone number is (754) 252-5438.
