What happened to fast and accurate property insurance claim handling? Most Floridians gave insurance companies a chance to do a great job. Many are very disappointed. The above photo depicting roof damage is just one example.
Continue Reading Why Are Hurricane Ian Claims Adjustments So Wrong, Low, and Slow?
Quick question—what insurance defense law firm did I leave in 1985?
A recent blog, Litigating Tile Roof Claims, explains the view regarding roof litigation following Hurricane Ian from the insurance company view. The blog starts off with the typical default argument: there is no damage, and all the roof claims are fraudulent. It then notes law that arguably allows salvaged and boneyard tiles to be used:
Continue Reading Roof Claim Litigation View from Insurance Company Attorneys
Note: This guest post is by Steven Thomas. As President and Owner of Roof Leak Detection Company, Inc., Steven Thomas has evaluated over 20,000 roofing systems on commercial, industrial, and residential properties, and has been qualified in court as an expert regarding roof testing and evaluations. His company is an approved Testing Laboratory and has held this certification since 1994.
Why? The obvious reason is many homeowners and maintenance personnel do not know what to look for. That’s not a knock on them—roof damage can be very obvious or subtle.
Continue Reading Hire A Professional to Inspect Your Roof Following Hurricanes or Severe Weather Events
Most people never get on their roof after a hurricane. For many, they cannot physically do so, and it would be dangerous for them to attempt to climb up and inspect the roof for damage. Finally, even if a policyholder climbed up and inspected for roof damage, would they know what to look for?
Continue Reading Hurricane Roof Damage? How Does a Policyholder Know?
Florida’s 25% roofing rule is gone. The insurance lobby convinced Florida legislators to stop following good roofing construction practices this past summer. The newly passed legislation in Florida’s special session may allow insurance companies to patch rather than replace significant portions of your hurricane-damaged roof. Previously, if a roof was damaged more than 25%, it had to be replaced.
Continue Reading Roof Damage From Hurricane Ian? Understand Florida’s New Roofing Law
Patrick Carr has an interesting YouTube Channel that focuses primarily on topics of interest to restoration contractors, including the topic raised in yesterday’s post, The Reasonably Comparable Shingle Debate. I met Patrick while he oversaw the taping of me in Orlando about ten days ago. Jen Silver and Crystal Waterson interviewed me in
A significant adjustment debate is often the availability of reasonably comparable shingles. The typical disagreement arises when a shingle is no longer manufactured or does not match existing shingles on a damaged roof. The insurer will investigate. It then makes a payment based on a finding that comparable shingles exist and can be used to repair the damage. The insurer does not invoke the right to repair.
Continue Reading The Reasonably Comparable Shingle Debate
Roofing damage claims are the most common and contentious adjustment experiences. This video went viral. From speaking with many restoration contractors and public adjusters, the events of this video are unfortunately repeated more often than not.
Continue Reading The Roofing Claim Video
The International Roofing Expo in Las Vegas finished on Thursday. Roofers were asking me all kinds of questions. For example, they asked why insurance company pricing can be so low, could insurance companies ask for releases from their customers if the insurance company gave up its right to repair, and what they could do about mortgage companies holding onto their money after repairs were complete. The most controversial question was why Florida public adjusters supported Florida legislation that restricted roofers from being able to solicit business. I will let public adjuster leaders from FAPIA answer the last question.
Continue Reading A Question For Roofers and Public Adjusters—Should insurers deny claims for hail or windstorm damage if the damage is not discovered and reported within 6 months of the storm? Should insurers be able to prohibit lawsuits on this basis?
Insurance companies owe their insureds a duty to fully and fairly investigate a property loss, which includes a comprehensive inspection to identify all damages associated to the claim. Unfortunately, insurance adjusters will sometimes utilize an “any port in the storm” style reason to deny a claim; the adjuster cannot point to a specific tangible basis for denial, instead relying on a hypothetical justification. In that situation, the adjuster’s denial stands in paradox to the insurer’s duty to investigate a claim.
Continue Reading Claim Denial Reason: Did the Insurance Company Show Their Work?