Finding out your roof needs to be repaired or replaced can be troubling for many homeowners. Dealing with the insurance company claim, talking to adjusters and making sure you get compensated for all covered damages is a daunting process. Many homeowners are just unsure of how to even begin to file a claim.
To a homeowner insurance company, the roof is the most critical part of your property. It is the gateway to far more significant damage claims once it has sustained damage. Insurance companies review roofing claims very carefully, and they expect you provide proper documentation and other information to process your property claim.
Contractors and Claims
Some contractors in Florida have offered homeowners free roofs and offering to handle the insurance claim in exchange for them signing what is called an Assignment of Benefits (AOB) contract. This may allow the contractor to charge very high fees and sue your insurance company. In Florida, it is against the law for a contractor to file or negotiate an insurance claim. When you sign an AOB contract, you are giving up all your rights to your insurance claim. Do not lose the control of your claim.
Insured Peril
In the insurance claims business, many of the insured perils result in roof damage. This can be from windstorm, hail, fire, explosions, sinkholes, and collapse to name a few. It is not uncommon for the roof to be breached by an insured peril, therefore resulting in a variety of additional damages to the interior of the property, its equipment and contents within. Failure in a roof can often result in a total loss of the interior of the property as well as its contents.
Roof Leakage
Many properties suffer from a leakage from the roof that can cause many different damages. It can sometimes be challenging to fix roof damage. Sometimes you may not know what caused this leakage, and it has just become a burden on you. Do not take this responsibility upon yourself. As a public adjuster, we can be the bridge between you and your insurance company. You may be contemplating all the time, money, and energy you will have to spend on repairs. Don’t! We are with you every step of the way, assisting you to get the maximum claim for your damages.
Roof Insurance Policy
Some policies take the age of your roof into consideration at the time it was damaged. For example, if your roof is under ten years old, you may be covered for the full cost of repair or replacing the damaged section of your roof at the time of your claim. If your roof is over ten years old, you may only be compensated for the depreciated value of the damage to your roof. The depreciated value takes aging and wearing of your roof into account, meaning the value has decreased before any damage occurred.
Some polices will only offer roof damage coverage up to the depreciated value, regardless of your roof’s age. In most cases, your insurance company will send their own inspector to investigate and verify your claim. If the damage is determined to be from aging, wear and tear, or poor condition of your homes’ roof, it will typically not be covered under your policy. This is where a public adjuster can make a difference and assist in these claims to ensure your insurance company pays for what you are entitled to under your policy.
Roof Damages
If your roof has suffered roof failure particularly in a catastrophic loss environment like a hurricane, your first duty is to mitigate damages. You must try to protect and negate any further damage which can be a challenge. Decisions as to whether to put on a temporary roof or make a replacement will need to be made in an emergency situations without input or authority of the insurance adjuster sent out by your insurance company. Documenting and making the correct decisions can impact your claim immensely. A public adjuster is here to advise and guide you on all cautionary steps you should make to negate any further damage or have the insurance company dispute your claim due to your mitigation of your property.
Roof leak damages can be very dangerous because you can have roofs collapsing, potentially injuring someone within the property. Some damages that you can experience due to a leaky roof are:
- Damage to either the attic or interior of the property
- The growth of mold and mildew electrical wiring within the property.
- It can touch a current and catch fire slipping and falling utility bills become higher due to the insulation becoming saturated.
Period for Insurance Claims
As soon as you have sustained damage to your roof, contact a public adjuster as it can be a difficult situation to prove because there are many factors involved. You will need to most likely have a roof expert evaluate your roof to see what caused the damage. We will be the ones dealing with your insurance company, leaving you hassle-free. You don’t have to have more stress than you already do. Do not wait to file a claim because you only have five years to report the damage resulting from you roof leakage that was done to your insurance company. We know what to say to your insurance company, and how to deal with their tactics. We will strive to make you whole for your damages. We are the best at what we do, and provide exceptional service to property owners that have gotten damages because of leaky roofs. Contact us now! Do not hesitate. The clock is ticking!
Damages from Roof Leaks
Roof leak damages can be very dangerous because you can have roofs collapsing, potentially injuring someone within the property. Some damages that you can experience from a leaky roof are:
- Damage to either the attic or interior of the property
- The growth of mold and mildew
- Electrical wiring within the property. It can touch a current and catch fire
- Slipping and falling
- Utility bills become higher due to the insulation becoming saturated
Case Study
A single-family home had a roof leak after the hurricane. They filed a claim through their insurance, but the insurance company only paid the client $6,870. It did not even cover a meter of the home. So, they hired a public adjuster and took the claim to appraisal and received $78,870. This was enough to cover the full roof replacement and all the interior damages.
FAQ
Roof Damage FAQ information by Serafin Martinez on Scribd
Does Home Insurance Cover Roof Damages?
The majority of roof leaks should be covered by your home insurance policy. However, it also depends the severity of the leaks. As you may already know, insurance companies only compensate you if the damages are resulting from sudden or accidental incidents and in some instances the damages are excluded from your homeowners insurance.
In a sense, some insurance companies will give you coverage especially if you have the dwelling coverage in your insurance policy. Dwelling coverage includes your homes structure such as the roof from certain damages. It can also include wind, fire, or even hail damage.
Insurance companies can also consider of the age of your roof during the time of the damage. Typically, if your roof is under 10 years old, you make be able to get reimbursed for it. But if its over 10 years old, they will tell you that you will be responsible for taking care of the repairs yourself.
How Do Roofs Get Damaged?
Many factors can be associated with roof damage. Some of the most recurrent are
- Cracked lashings
- Broken shingles Valleys that are not properly sealed
- Cracked vent booting
- Skylights that are not correctly installed
- Clogged gutters Fallen trees
How to find the source of a rook leak?
- Start by looking for the location of the leak inside your home. Make sure that that the water source is inside your home and not any other components in your home is the problem.
- When the source of the leak is found, measure the location of the roof leak in the living room from different angles. One angle can be perpendicular to the exterior walls.
- Then go into the attic and find the leak on the underside of the roof deck. Make sure to use the measurements that you have taken from your living room
- From the attic, measure the location of the water from two points. Fixed points such as vent pipes for bathroom, chimneys or vents are good sources of angles.
- Go to the roof and use the measurements you’ve obtained in the attic to the roof surface.
- Finally, find the location where the water is entering your attic space. Work in concentric circle from the location where the leak is occurring. If the material in the roof show signs of any openings, you may have just found the source of your roof leak.
How can you prevent the damage?
- Check for the most common place to find a roof leak. Leaks would most likely be found in common spaces such as your roof, it may have missing shingles. If you have a chimney, it can be found there too. Plumbing vents and skylights are also common places to find leaks.
- Sometimes leaks can happen in the shower. Covering the shower leak with plastic sheeting can temporary fix the leak.
- If you find a leak and temporarily want to fix it, you can. You must climb to the roof with handyman tools such as a hammer, nails, flashlights and tar.
- To repair leaks in shingle roofing, you can remove the damages shingles and replace the damaged shingles with new ones.
How much does it cost to fix a roof by a professional?
- First of all, the amount to get it done by a specialist varies depending on how much damage was caused. If the leak can be repaired by a rubber sealant, professional services for this is marginal. However, if you need to repair a large section of your roof, hiring a professional for this kind of job is varies greatly. This may entail: new shingles, cement, plywood and labor.
- It is always best to hire a professional to repair your leaks only if your leaks are large. Performing work on your roof can be dangerous, and while you may feel like you’re saving money by repairing a leak yourself, you could end up costing yourself far more if your repairs are inadequate and lead to wood rot or mold damage.
- Also, if your insurance company realizes that you tried to fix the roof leak yourself and you did a bad job, they will deny your claim and will not get reimbursed. They will hold you accountable to repair it yourself.
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