Insurance adjuster or roofer...

[mothernature]

....who do I listen to? Pretty sure I know, but would like to hear what you would do! Got big hail and it damaged the house roof, shed roofs, some of the wood siding on the house, etc.! So I called my agent and he turned in a claim. An adjuster called the next day and told me to get some estimates on the roof and he will be out on the 18th. Have an aquaintance who has owned a roofing company for 30yrs, he came out and looked at the house and place. He said not to give estimates to the adjuster, walk the adjuster around and note ALL the damage, his job is to make sure the damages get paid for that's why you pay insurance. We are going to push to have our roofer friend do the roofs, he has excellent reviews and charges fairly for his work. So I think I am going to meet the adjuster on the 18th with no estimates, they are handling A LOT of claims in our area right now and know how much roofing jobs cost, and there are the other damages he needs to address. What do you think?

[Pam6]

We just had damage to a property we owned and if it was up to the agent we would have got NOTHING! We got two estimates and then he even wanted to take depreciation off of the estimates! I was so upset how we were treated by our agent. This was our first claim in 5 years!! I would get estimates from other contractors even if they are not going to do the work so you can make sure that you are getting a fair price from the insurance adjuster.

[Michael W. Smith]

[QUOTE=mothernature;5118234So I called my agent and he turned in a claim. An adjuster called the next day and told me to get some estimates on the roof and he will be out on the 18th. He said not to give estimates to the adjuster, walk the adjuster around and note ALL the damage, his job is to make sure the damages get paid for that's why you pay insurance. [/QUOTE]

I've never put in a claim other than with vehicles, however I would think the adjuster is going to want at least 2 quotes if not 3. They then usually go with the lowest quote.

I really don't think your plan is going to work of only having your roofer friend do the work and then have the insurance company pay him whatever the charges are. While the adjuster should know roughly what all the work is going to cost, they sure aren't going to write you out a check based on the adjuster's estimate and hand you the check.

Getting quotes keeps the contractor's competitive and fair - the adjustor then will look over the estimates to make sure they ARE fair. Kind of a two check system.

And I really think you will have to get a quote other than your roofer friend's.

[goatlady]

All depends on the company and the damages. I just lost my well pump, all the wire and the control box to a lightening strike. Called the Ins. Adjuster Tuesday a.m. when the well guys got here, adjuster chatted with the well guy and said not a problem. The adjuster called me on Friday, asked for a FAX of the estimate, which I sent within the hour, adjuster called back and said the check was cut and in the mail. Got the check on the following Tuesday for full amount less my deductable and everybody is happy.

[zookeeper16]

JMO......Every insurance company has different standards and requirements (as an example .... how many dimples from hail damage in a square foot). If you have a "friend" in the roofing business, it's not going to matter when you get your estimates because you and he will do whatever it takes for him to get the job.

I would have the adjuster come out, see what he/she says, get two estimates and then the last one from your "friend." Keep in mind, the insurance matters may be slower than normal because of the recent weather and the amount of claims being processed right now.

[Jenn]

Hopefully your friend will do the work for whatever the insurance company will pay for it. Help keep it fair for the friend by getting a good estimate from somewhere else so they don't pay you/him low for your area. Of course that's unfair to the other company which has no chance of getting the job though... Pay them a fee to do the estimate?

BTW get a metal roof.

And what's the deal with roofs anyway? I know when there's a leak or bare spots it needs to be fixed, but I had my INSURANCE ADJUSTOR tell me on one house 'well it's up to you. We'll pay to replace the roof or you could just leave it.' We are in USAA- more money we (and a hundred thousand of our friends) spend more it costs and less of a 'dividend' we get back every year (socialist insurance- be afraid, very afraid!) so we didn't bother. Probably should, though, have taken the insurance money and added some more of our own and gotten a metal roof.

[DAVID In Wisconsin]

I've worked with insurance adjusters for 30 years. I always found it easier and faster to have estimates handy when they first arrive. I have found most adjusters and insurance companies were fair to my customers and generally paid exactly what the policy called for. I cannot imagine why a contractor wouldn't want to furnish a written estimate. That sounds really strange. I'd never let anyone do any work for me without an estimate.

[Harry Chickpea]

Get the written estimates. This is part of your due diligence as a homeowner understanding what is going on, what will be needed for the repair, what the pitfalls are, who is qualified to do the work and so on.

Once you have that information under your belt, it becomes much harder for anyone to bamboozle you.

[mothernature]

Quick update. We have a written estimate from our roofer friend, this is a guy we 'know' and he has excelent reviews and is in very good standing with the BBB, etc.! His crew have all been with him for many years. DH had 2 more local roofers come out and do estimates yesterday, they are all within 600$ of eachother. Also talked to my agent yesterday afternoon, he said the adjuster does have to look at and record ALL the property damage, shed roofs, siding, etc.! The adjuster was just going to pay for the roof on the house! Also, the ins co will let me choose whomever I want to do the work. So we will be walking the adjuster around and show him ALL the hail and wind damage, provide roof estimates, and give him a copy of our notes on what is damaged.

[Beeman]

Outbuildings may not be covered unless they are added to the policy. Adjuster has to look at damage and will probably come back to verify repair, not that anyone would try to steal or trick their insurance company.

[Belfrybat]

I used to work in property and casualty insurance. It doesn't matter who you get to actually do the job -- the insurance will pay a certain amount based on what the estimates are. Always get three estimates. Some insurance companies will average the three, some pay out on the lowest, but who you get to do the work is up to you as long as they are a legit business. When we had a damaging storm, often the adjusters couldn't get to each property so depended on those estimates. The fact they are so close is in your favour as the adjuster won't try to lowball you.

[crunchy_mama]

We had a house burn down and our experience was we got full value on the house, declared total loss, no estimates required for that. On the fencing(warped by heat) we just had to get one estimate(which was more than our full amount of coverage for that), same w/ landscaping then we just a check and pocketed that money. Past getting the money they didn't care.

[mothernature]

I didn't want to come off sounding like I wanted more out of the ins co than I am entitled. The adjuster was arrogant on the phone suggesting all I would get is the house roof taken care of. My policy does cover the out buildings, carports and so on. I don't want the money, I want the repairs made. We never had to make a homeowner's claim before so I knew I would get good advice from those of you who had. And Harry you are right about having the info under my belt, I'm prepared now because I know what I need to know!

[tiogacounty]

Originally Posted by Beeman

Outbuildings may not be covered unless they are added to the policy. Adjuster has to look at damage and will probably come back to verify repair, not that anyone would try to steal or trick their insurance company.

Any of the numerous policies I have had in PA. would specifically required you to deduct any outbuilding from the policy for them to be excluded. Typically they include a value for the primary dwelling, a figure for contents and a percentage of the dwelling value for garages, outbuilding ,etc....

It sounds like you have major damage so go ahead and get it fixed but try not to turn in any other claims in the future. Insurance companies will raise your rates or drop you if you make more than a few claims. Remember, insurance companies are not in business to pay your claims. They maximise profits by paying as few claims as possible.

[Pam6]

Originally Posted by mothernature

I didn't want to come off sounding like I wanted more out of the ins co than I am entitled. The adjuster was arrogant on the phone suggesting all I would get is the house roof taken care of. My policy does cover the out buildings, carports and so on. I don't want the money, I want the repairs made. We never had to make a homeowner's claim before so I knew I would get good advice from those of you who had. And Harry you are right about having the info under my belt, I'm prepared now because I know what I need to know!

I feel for you on the arrogant adjuster. My agent is wonderful...adjuster not so much. He tried to low ball me all he could. Even tried to talk me out of making a claim all together. I was able to get estimates from any company I wanted and then I could go with a completely different company that I did not get estimates from. You can even just turn in your top two highest estimates and then go with the least amount, that you did not show the adjuster, to help offset your deductible. The adjuster paid out on our lowest estimate and we actually wanted to use the company that was the higher of our estimates though. So we had to pay the deductible plus the difference.