The approval or denial of your claim rarely has little to do with the amount or lack thereof damage to your home. There has been an increase in complaints to the Better Business Bureau for many insurance companies have been denying residential claims for storm damage. You may be curious to know that a large portion of insurance companies have outsourced their claims department. This gives the insurance company a buffer between you and them. Your agent will often apologize for the denial of your claim and express remorse. They will explain that the independent adjuster is the person who has the power to refuse or validate your claim for storm damage. Contact IGC Roofing & Exteriors at 832-304-2000.
Let us
evaluate the top 5 reasons why residential claims for storm damage get denied.
The
independent company has the responsibility for inspecting all residential
claims for storm damage. They have the power to approve or deny your insurance
claim. However, the independent company receives their orders from the
insurance company. I find this a conflict of interest for the independent
adjuster has to consider the ramifications if too many claims are approved. I
have met with many adjusters who have told me that if they approve more than
70% of the claims that their annual contract would not be renewed by the
insurance company.
The
adjuster is the person who evaluates the property for damage. He or she may be
very experienced in residential construction or Houston Roofing practices or they
may have none at all. It is hit or miss with the adjuster you get to process
your claim for storm damage. The inspection for damage is very subjective to
say the least. I have seen homes torn to shreds with hail damage and the
adjuster would deny the claim as mechanical damage. Mechanical damage is a term
used for pop nails or it could be for poor craftsmanship. The inspection is
purely subjective on the part of the independent adjuster. On the other hand, I
have seen times when there has been minimum damage and it could go either way
and the adjuster would approve the entire claim. The key factor for approval or
denial is dependent upon the experience level of the adjuster who has the
responsibility of mitigating the claim for storm damage.
I have
had many adjusters convey to me that they were going to deny the claim, but to
request a second inspection from the insurance company. I found it strange that
an adjuster would tell me to request a second inspection for storm damage. I
had worked with this one particular adjuster many times who explained the
rationale behind this odd request. He explained that insurance companies have
insurance on their insurance policies. The insurance company will often times
tell the independent adjuster to deny all claims for they are out of money for
the quarter. The adjuster explained that when the money became available for
the next quarter they would be allowed to approve the claim. In a nutshell,
your insurance provider is waiting for the secondary insurance company to
reimburse them for your claim prior to approval.
If
weather conditions are bad in your area, this could hurt your chance of getting
your claim approved. This may seem odd, but independent adjusters have a
certain amount of time to complete the claims they receive from the insurance
company no matter how bad the weather. As you can see, if the adjuster gets
behind in his reports the only way he can get caught up is by denying a few
claims to offset the days of bad weather. He may be inclined to tell you or
your contractor to resubmit for a second inspection. This makes no sense
for it is an inconvenience to the homeowner as well as a waste of time. The
insurance companies are concerned with keeping their double A plus ratings with
the review board. If the weather is bad in your area, do not be surprised if
your claim gets denied.
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Most
insurance adjusters are from out of town. They travel from state to state
following the storms. You will have a better chance of getting your claim
approved if you file shortly after the storm. The adjusters know that if they
approve a claim that they will be responsible for the loss report statement
until all repairs are completed. Basically, if the roof
was measured to be 3900 square feet and there was a discrepancy about the size
of the roof
structure, then the adjuster is required to come back to the property and
re-measure the roof with the roofing
contractor. The adjusters are off on their measurements quite often.
They measure tight to keep cost as low as possible for the insurance company.
Therefore, they come back to about 60% of their claims that they have approved.
Toward the end, when request for inspections begin to decline, the independent
adjuster will start denying claims in an attempt to keep him from having to
come back to that state to mitigate a claim. Once the independent adjuster
leaves the state, rarely will your claim be reopened for review.
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Call us now to help you get the most out of your insurance claim!
Dont forget to contact your houston roofer for any of your roofing needs. Thanks again for reading our blog.
Cordially,
Posted 31st May 2011 by Fred Reinwald
IGC Roofing and Exteriors, LLC © 2012 the name Insurance General Contractors Roofing and Exteriors 2010™ IGC, IGC Roofing and Exteriors, IGC Roofers, Insurance General Contractors Roofing and Exteriors and the House design are registered trademarks of Insurance General Contractors Roofing and Exteriors LLC. The terms IGC Roofing and IGC Roofers are used for convenience only and may refer to Insurance General Contractors Roofing and Exteriors Corporation or one of its affiliates. Nothing in this document overrides the corporate separateness of the affiliates.
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