Roof Insurance Claims
Philadelphia PA and Surrounding Counties

How To File a Roof Insurance Claim

Severe storms can damage homes, cars, and businesses. The links to the right go into greater detail about dates and locations of hail storms and wind storms in Philadelphia and nearby counties, along with hail damage and wind damage checklists. Here are some tips to help you:

• Contact a reputable roofing company that is familiar with insurance claims. Most credible companies will agree to repair or replace your roof for what the insurance company agrees to pay for the job plus your deductible. If they are willing to do it for less, especially when damage repair work is plentiful right now, it might mean they are forced to sell on price alone, and could be an indication of quality or cash-flow problems.
• Assess the damage and notify your insurance company immediately if you suspect damage. If you have a list of your home inventory be sure to provide that to your agent.
• If necessary, make temporary repairs to protect your property from further damage, such as placing waterproof tarps over damaged sections of your roof, and cover broken windows. Keep receipts for all materials purchased.
• Don't dispose of damaged items until an adjuster has looked at them.
• If you have a camera or camcorder, take photos or record a video to document damaged property.
• Have your policy number handy when you're ready to make your claim.
• Provide your roofing contractor with the insurance agent’s name, telephone number and your policy number. Most insurance companies send an adjuster to look at your roof within five to seven days after you file a claim.
• The most serious losses will be given priority, but your insurance agent will see that your needs are taken care of.
• Set the appointment, and if your contractor wants to be present when the adjuster arrives, give him the time and date and adjuster’s name and telephone number.
• If your claim is approved, most insurance companies send an initial check for approximately fifty percent of the claim.
• If you have a mortgage on your home, the first check will be made out jointly to the you and the mortgage company. Contact your mortgage company and ask for the department that handles insurance claims for information on their process to get the check endorsed. Don't sign the check until it comes back from the mortgage company in case the check gets lost in the mail. Once you receive the check back from the mortgage company, endorse it and deposit into your bank account.
• Call your contractor when the first check comes in from the mortgage company. A downpayment is usually due when the crew arrives at the jobsite to begin the work. Keep in mind that roofing companies have to purchase your repair materials upfront and pay their employees or subcontractors weekly.
• Upon completion, your roofing company representative may do a final inspection and go over the checklist with you. Note any items that need attention and sign the final inspection checklist. If your mortgage company has requested a final inspection, call them now.
• The final bill will be faxed or mailed directly to the insurance company.
• Upon receipt of the final insurance check, the invoice is due. At this point contact your roofing company to pick up the final check for the balance due.

Hail Damage Scams and What To Watch Out For

According to the National Insurance Crime Bureau, in the first half of 2010 questionable hail damage claims increased by 107 percent when compared to the first half of 2009.

Here's what you need to watch out for:

• Beware of "storm-chaser" companies that are not locally-based. They troll the country after hailstorms looking for business. After the work dries up they leave town and you might have difficulty contacting them or getting them to come back if you have subsequent problems with the work they did.
• Beware of signs advertising “Want a free roof?”
• Beware of any company whose main pitch is that you can get a new roof paid for by the insurance company.
• Companies may not explain that you have to pay a deductible to get the repair or replacement done.
• A brochure may be left on your doorknob or in your mailbox telling you that catastrophic hail and windstorms struck the area and you may have severe damage to your roof. The roofing company may offer to help you get your insurer to pay for a new roof.
• What does “a free roof” really mean? Here’s how it works. The contractor tells you there is hail damage from a recent storm, and that his company will waive the cost of the deductible the homeowner will pay his or her insurance company. That means the individual gets a “free roof.”
• If they want you to sign something before they get on the roof, be extremely careful because you may be signing a contract.
• If someone suggests that you can "make money" on the roof replacement, that may be insurance fraud. Insurance companies are monitoring claims to protect themselves and their policyholders, because of losses sustained in the last few years.
• If they pressure you to "hurry up or you'll miss the insurance deadline", don't even talk to them. And don't do anything until you talk to your insurance agent.
• Watch out for phrases like: "insurance companies are compensating homeowners", or "most homeowners in this area are unaware of the damage on their roof".
• If a roofer is willing to commit fraud against the insurance company, can you trust that he will do what he says on your roof?
• Fraudsters will sometimes climb on a roof and cause intentional damage by using a ball-peen hammer or small rocks to tap the shingles to fabricate hail damage. Hail damage is random, and insurance adjustors can tell the difference between genuine hail strikes versus somebody who has taken a hammer and caused intentional damage.

Some things to consider:

• While hail insurance claims have gone up 61 percent since 2006, hail fraud claims have jumped by more than 130 percent.
• Get independent verification of a hailstorm in your neighborhood. The National Weather Service or your local meteorologists have this information, and you should also talk to your neighbors.
• Homeowners should know that hail storms large enough to cause damage are a matter of record by the National Weather Service and by private weather information gathering businesses that insurers use for detailed information on storm locations, movement and severity.

After a storm:

• Look around your property. Is there evidence of hail damage to vehicles, the air conditioning unit, gutters and siding on your home, and plants? If there is no collateral damage around your property, you may not have serious roof damage either.
• You should be aware of which way the storm was moving. Most residential homes are not built with flat roofs, but instead have angles or pitches which means if there is any damage from hail, it is likely that the angles of the roof facing the storm would be more prone to damage, not the opposite side.
• Don't rush into signing a contract with a roofing company. Insist on written estimates for the work.
• Investigate the track record of any roofer or contractor you consider hiring. Look for companies with a good reputation in your community, get references and don't give anyone a deposit until you are sure they are reputable.
• Watch out for companies going door-to-door or leaving hangers on your doorknob. Companies that do this are not necessarily bad ... they may be doing work in your neighborhood and just alerting neighbors to stop by the job site to ask questions. But some storm chaser companies hire temporary employees to canvass neighborhoods trying to generate roofing leads. Ask how long the people have worked for the company, and/or whether the company has a local office and if so, where is it located?
• Someone's word should not be the only deciding factor when determining whether there is enough damage to justify a roof replacement.
• The pattern of hail damage is usually random across the expanse of your roof. Damage that appears to be concentrated in one or two areas may be man-made. Fraudulent companies have been known to use rocks or ball-peen hammers to simulate hail damage. Phony damage can also be applied to the siding of a home as well.
• Hail damage does not always require an entire new roof.
• Roof scammers emphasize how the homeowner gets a new roof paid for by the insurance company. These scammers damage the reputation of honest contractors by duping homeowners who are unable to judge the amount of real damage or even if real damage occurred.

Insurance Fraud Statistics

On June 2, 2010 the National Insurance Crime Bureau released its latest ForeCASTSM report which examines both hail loss claims and hail loss questionable claims (QCs) for the period January 1, 2006 through March 31, 2010. The full report is available on the National Insurance Crime Bureau's website.
Here are some highlights from the report:

• In the first half of 2010, questionable hail damage claims increased by 107 percent when compared to the first half of 2009.
• During this time frame, the number of hail loss claims filed with insurers increased by 61 percent, from 256,000 in 2006 to over 413,000 in 2009. At the same time, the number of claims referred to NICB for suspected fraud increased by 136 percent, from 301 in 2006 to 711 in 2009.
• “These statistics back up what our agents have been experiencing in their field investigations,” said NICB President and CEO Joe Wehrle. “There are a lot of unscrupulous fly-by-night roofers and repairmen who are what we call ‘storm chasers.’ They follow the storms and deliberately try to rip off unsuspecting home owners and their insurers by making unnecessary repairs or deliberately inflicting intentional damage to a roof or siding to try to get insurance money.
• “The increase in questionable hail loss claims shows that insurers are on the lookout for these scam artists, and home owners need to be leery of companies offering a free roof without first checking with their insurer to ensure there is legitimate damage and the repair company is reputable.”
• "We’ve been actively involved with our members and law enforcement in pursuing suspected unscrupulous roofing companies that take advantage of storms to fake or deliberately cause damage to roofs in an effort to get insurers to pay for a replacement roof that wasn’t damaged by a storm."