Anyone ever have to fight an insurance company over hail damage?

[cbrsurfr]

On 5/20 a massive hail storm blew through. Hail up to 2.5" reported in the village. I personally saw up to golf ball sized hail. I was home during the storm.

I have State Farm Insurance. I had 2 claims on my old house that they had no issue paying out on in 2006 (roof) and again in 2008 (basement).

Initially I didn't think there was any damage but then I started to notice things like lots of dents in the fascia, gutters, roof vents, damaged screens, garage doors, fence, and tons of loose roofing granules, etc.

On 5/23 I filed a claim with SF. Earliest I can get an adjuster is 5/31.

In the meantime I go on the roof and can see damage. Particularly on the front of my roof tons of granules got knocked off. My front gutters are full and my downspout extensions (replaced 1 week prior) and parts of my yard are loaded with granules. I can see some definite hits. I can really only check the front (was where the storm primarily hit anyway) and some of the sides as the back and outer sides are too steep.

On 5/24 I have my first contractor out to inspect the roof. He takes lots of photos and highlights hail bruising with chalk and shows me the damage he found. He says there's clearly enough damage for SF to total the roof.

5/31 SF adjuster comes out. He notes all of the clear damage to the metals (fascia, gutters, etc.) screens, yard lights, etc. He also notes that all of my roof vents and power attic fan is hail damaged. But when it comes to the roof he says "there's no hail damage". He then goes on to say that there is hail damage but it's "old" damage and not covered. It also seemed to me like he cherry picked the areas to photograph because he ignored the small front slope with the most damage and took photos of the side slopes with less damage.

I had my roof inspected in 2012 when I bought the house and again in 2013 when I had some chimney work done. Neither one saw any hail damage. Now all of a sudden I have "old" hail damage?

I'm going to have some additional contractors out but so far SF is not willing to pay out on the roof. The damage they agree to is less than my deductible. If they all ID hail damage without me telling them, then I'm going to have to lawyer up I guess.

I'm planning on selling in the next 1-3 years and I won't be able to sell the house with a damaged roof. Rough estimate out of pocket would be 10-12K for a full replacement. Just the loss of granules alone over the whole roof had to severely hurt it's longevity.

Anyone ever contest insurance company findings and win?

https://www.flickr.com/photos/jjr329/sets/72157644574687689/

Cliffs
Hail hits house and causes damage
Claim filed
Contractor says roof should be replaced as well as metals, screens, etc...
SF adjuster finds some damage but only the cheaper stuff and total is within my deductible.
Can I fight and win?

 

[MongGrel]

I'd get the guys who had done the former inspections involved in this one I guess.

 

[alkemyst]

My Fiancee's new Honda was damaged with hail majorly....GEICO fixed it well except the body shop didn't replace some of the bumper hardware and 3-4 years later it's popping out around the headlights.

 

[MongGrel]

My Fiancee's new Honda was damaged with hail majorly....GEICO fixed it well except the body shop didn't replace some of the bumper hardware and 3-4 years later it's popping out around the headlights.

Bit of a different situation.

 

[BarkingGhostar]

State Farm is a company that stops doing business in states they cannot profit from. I had hail and wind damage to my roof about 3-4 years back. I asked my agent for his honest impression as I planned on replacing it on my dime the following Spring. he suggested I file a claim as it was the right thing to do. Allstate picked up the bill.

Now, I am not recommending Allstate, but I am bad-mouthing State Farm.

 

[HeXen]

Maybe ask them to send another adjuster, one that isn't a prick.

 

[notposting]

Pics?

 

[cbrsurfr]

Pics: https://www.flickr.com/photos/jjr329/sets/72157644574687689/

I don't have photos of the larger hail as I didn't want to get hit myself or damage my camera.

The adjuster took two sample areas. #1 was the left side of the roof above the big garage door, and #2 was on the back of the house. The storm came mostly against the front and the right side. Samples should have been taken from those sides.

DSCN0605 by JJR329, on Flickr

 

[dyna]

You need to find out why the "old" damage matters. You might not have been home when there was the previous hail storm that caused the initial damage and didn't think to make a claim. Maybe previous owners filed a claim, got paid and didn't get the roof replaced.

The granules don't wash away right after the storm. So if you have spots with granules lost, it was likely from a previous storm.

 

[DrPizza]

The damage looks rather trivial to me. Kind of what would be put under "normal wear and tear." If everyone filed claims for damage like that, homeowners insurance would cost 10 times what it costs now.

 

[momeNt]

its denting to metal covers, and dents to asphalt roof. If you had slate or stone roof and entire pieces are gone, I could see a problem. Or if wind ripped off asphalt shingles, that's a problem. It looks like normal wear and tear.

Nice looking house. I wouldn't sweat dings to your roof fixtures and shingles.

 

[MikeyIs4Dcats]

its denting to metal covers, and dents to asphalt roof. If you had slate or stone roof and entire pieces are gone, I could see a problem. Or if wind ripped off asphalt shingles, that's a problem. It looks like normal wear and tear.

Nice looking house. I wouldn't sweat dings to your roof fixtures and shingles.

the problem gets to be what the OP is finding out, if you don't fix damage as it occurs, down the road your claim may be denied as old damage.

 

[cbrsurfr]

I only took pics of the lower stuff on the front. Not willing to go higher up. It's hard to get some of the damage to show up. All the metal on the front of the house is dimpled like a golf ball. According to insurance co 6 hits in a 10x10 area on the roof constitutes replacement. According to contractor #1 I have that, particularly on the front and right side. Also a single ding in gutters, garage door, trim, etc. = replacement. I was kind of surprised on that.

I guess it just irks me that the adjuster despite knowing the direction of the storm chose samples that were away from the storm. Its like filing a claim because someone keyed the drivers side of your car and the ins co looks at the passenger side and says "What damage?"

I'm waiting on a call back. Insurance company said they will send another adjuster to inspect and I can have my contractor of choice there to go over the damage. If they agree that the roof is fine, then I'm fine with that. I just want another opinion and a 3rd party present to make sure I'm not getting screwed.

At the very least I will have to have the metal work replaced (facia, vents, etc.) as that all looks pretty bad and is very noticeable. That would be out of pocket.

My uncles roof was totaled with less damage. I'm pretty sure at least 75% of the neighborhood has filed claims. Neighbors roof was just totaled by insurance company yesterday. Everyone across from me needs their back siding completely replaced amongst other things. The brick in front saved me a lot of damage.

 

[MikeyIs4Dcats]

I suspect they pulled a history on the home and found out the previous owner had a claim and the think they didn't fix damage. That happens, and it sucks. But if that was the case then the roof inspector SHOULD have caught it.

 

[vi edit]

State Farm is a company that stops doing business in states they cannot profit from. I had hail and wind damage to my roof about 3-4 years back. I asked my agent for his honest impression as I planned on replacing it on my dime the following Spring. he suggested I file a claim as it was the right thing to do. Allstate picked up the bill.

Now, I am not recommending Allstate, but I am bad-mouthing State Farm.

Which is funny because the OP lives in the state that State Farm is HQ'ed out of.

 

[NetWareHead]

State Farm is a company that stops doing business in states they cannot profit from. I had hail and wind damage to my roof about 3-4 years back. I asked my agent for his honest impression as I planned on replacing it on my dime the following Spring. he suggested I file a claim as it was the right thing to do. Allstate picked up the bill.

Now, I am not recommending Allstate, but I am bad-mouthing State Farm.

I had state farm for almost 15 years and had them insure everything under the sun. They were my first insurance company and I began using them when I got my driving permit. They insured my auto, property, home owners, umbrella policy etc etc etc. I made probably 3 minor claims to my auto in that time span. I hit a deer one night in my car and using some bullshit reasoning denied my claims. They only replaced half of my bumper and the other half was denied. They called it "existing damage". I had pictures of my vehicle the next morning before I washed it covered in blood,fur and animal guts were all over the car, not just on the part they paid out.

In addition, they sent me to one of their "recommended" service centers. A sham of an auto body shop that failed to diagnose a vibration in my car's front suspension. I had hit the deer at highway speeds and ran over it. As a result, I bent the rim of a wheel. I had to take the vehicle to another mechanic of my own choice and the problem was diagnosed by SIMPLY PULLING OFF THE RIM from the vehicle!! A pair of eyes was all that was needed to see the misshapen rim and their "recommended" service center pissed my time away and argued with me that the damage was fixed and they didn't know where the vibration was coming from.

I ended up getting the rest of the car fixed on my own dime. I was so pissed off, I pulled everything I had with State Farm. My house, properties, umbrella policy and the auto and moved to liberty mutual. Fuck you State Farm! Your snarky know-it-all claims department can eat my shit!

 

[SunnyD]

I have State Farm Insurance.

Found your problem.

 

[notposting]

We now have Auto (2 cars), Homeowners (just bought) and are considering Life insurance with State Farm. This thread is just great for my peace of mind

Good luck OP

 

[Papagayo]

Insurance Company makes decisions based on the report from the inspector.

I had the roof replaced and didn't pay a dime (State Farm). Hail damage.

 

[cabri]

We now have Auto (2 cars), Homeowners (just bought) and are considering Life insurance with State Farm. This thread is just great for my peace of mind

Good luck OP

We had home owners insurance with State Farm based on previous policies with them 20 years earlier and also, other policies.

After 2 floods (that they paid for), they then cancelled. After 2 months of chasing down other options (most names rejected because of the two claims); I got a company that was only $100 more per year than what I had with State Farm. Makes you wonder if I was getting ripped off while with State Farm.

However, we have been pleased with the life and business policies.

 

[cbrsurfr]

I suspect they pulled a history on the home and found out the previous owner had a claim and the think they didn't fix damage. That happens, and it sucks. But if that was the case then the roof inspector SHOULD have caught it.

That's what I'm trying to argue with them. After getting screwed by the inspector on my first house, I made sure to get a highly rated inspector for this house. We spent 5.5 hours going over the house top to bottom.

The second inspection was a year later in 2013 by a friend of mine who's a contractor. He repaired the chimney for me and went over the roof. He's a good guy and I completely trust him, if there was damage he would have told me so.

Actually now that I think about it, State Farm pulled the claims on the house and the only claim was when the dishwasher leaked and damaged the hardwood floors.

 

[ultimatebob]

Found your problem.

Yeah, State Farm is bad. My wife's car got broken into, and they stole her brand new laptop and a bunch of cosmetics. They covered the laptop, but only gave her 50% value on most of the cosmetics after waiting about a month for them to process the claim.

 

[IndyColtsFan]

I've been fighting with insurance to replace my damaged roof since January. After months of back and forth (won't go through all the details), they finally agreed to replace the roof and we're ironing out the details. I've actually got to call them back this afternoon because their claim paperwork didn't cover some of the stuff needed so I need them to add it.

Keep fighting with them and if you have a good contractor, have the adjuster and contractor work together on the roof inspection and discussion. That's what I did and it helped me tremendously. Even still, it has been very frustrating.

 

[Gooberlx2]

State Farm is a company that stops doing business in states they cannot profit from. I had hail and wind damage to my roof about 3-4 years back. I asked my agent for his honest impression as I planned on replacing it on my dime the following Spring. he suggested I file a claim as it was the right thing to do. Allstate picked up the bill.

Now, I am not recommending Allstate, but I am bad-mouthing State Farm.

This. When Boulder was on fire a few years ago, my co-worker, whose house burned down to the foundation, had State Farm. Their bullshit on paying out claims was so bad that everyone in the neighborhood with them banded together to hire a team of lawyers. Eventually they paid, but the people with USAA, Amica, etc... all had essentially no issues.

 

[cbrsurfr]

***Update

I've been going back and forth with State Farm. They had conveniently closed my case before I got the actual write-up from the 1st adjuster.

He left all kinds of stuff off that he said was covered and low balled everything. I've had a few contractors out and every single one says I have roof damage which is the main point of contention. They all used the phrase "it's a no brainer" which I thought was a little odd, but at least they're consistent. I've seen photos of all the bruising but because it's a dark roof they need to be marked with chaulk to show up in pics.

Cheapest estimate so far was $11,500 and that only included the big stuff (roof/gutters). State Farms estimate was $2779.

They are going to analyze the estimate (they only would accept one, so I used my preferred contractor). They will speak to them and then if they determine that there is a difference (they obviously should) a 2nd inspection will be setup with the contractor present.

So I'm feeling slightly better about State Farm, I just got a bad adjuster. Depending on how the rest plays out will determine if I stay with them. Hell who knows they may drop me after contesting the 1st adjuster.