Hail storm roofing scams.

[N80]

We recently had a severe hail storm. In some parts of town there was serious damage. Where I am some cars got dimpled but not much else.

Then the out of town roofers came like a swarm. Constantly knocking on doors. Up on everyone's roof drawing chalk circles all over the place and taking pictures

Then almost every single person on my street got their roofs replaced. Most of them from shady out of town roofers.

My roof is about 14 years old. I called the local roofer who installed it 14 years ago and asked them to come inspect it. They said they found no hail damage. He said if I wanted him to he would try to see what my homeowners insurance would do. I trust him. I said no.

On the one hand I'm disappointed in what I see my neighbors doing. The whole process just seems like a huge scam and a big part of why insurance is so expensive. I sort of feel like what I see going on is wrong and that is part of why I didn't want to participate in it.

On the other hand, the insurers are clearly culpable for this process. It takes nothing for a bunch of rambling gypsies to get a claim approved. (I'm not being derogatory, these are actual Roma gypsies from around Augusta Georgia. If they are okay with it then maybe it isn't wrong to get a free (or prorated) new roof even if the hail really didn't hurt it.

Anyway, interested in your thoughts.

 

[oldnslo]

Around here some insurance companies have their own inspectors that come around to look at damage and approve claims. I have two friends that work for insurance that do this. They can’t force you to use xx company for repairs but they do approve or deny a claim.

 

[tradosaurus]

A ball peen hammer will work wonders in creating a hail damaged roof claim.

 

[ultrarunner]

I'm old school where insurance is to make the unbearable bearable.

I also keep high deductibles so turning in a claim with a 10k deductible means the claim would be substantial.

Insurance companies pass on the cost or leave the market.

As an aside property loss through criminal activity generates the reply, that's what insurance is for.

I think the premium should be significantly higher for low deductible policies and it would at least make the insured think about making a claim.

 

[Rockbadchild]

There is truth in what you are saying but there is also truth in hail damage to the asphalt shingles (if that's the type of shingles you are talking about) sometime you don't see actual physical damage like holes or impact points but rather the lost of shingle granules. You can sometime observe the granular in your gutters after a hail storm and lack of granular on your shingles so even though there is no real ''damage'' to the shingles their life is greatly shorten so if someone had a new roof and just lost 10 years of their life in one storm it is not pleasant and could consider making a insurance claim and that I understand ... also not all area or house get hit at the same intensity or size of the hail, then the roof pitch and angle to the front of the storm are all factors to the damage received.

 

[EddieWalker]

I struggle in decided which is more corrupt in the building trades. Roofers or Foundation Repair companies. Both will lie, cheat and take advantage of you. It's such a hard choice in deciding which is worse.

 

[hiddentacocatneddih]

My grandmas roof has obvious hail damage
The insurance adjuster came out and said, nope no hail damage here.

They told her she could pay for her own inspection and submit it to the adjuster. They said they might adjust the adjuster and pay the inspection fee if they side with them but if not your out the money.

 

[3Ts]

When we had hail damage the insurance company said that we'd have to have our roof replaced or they wouldn't insure it anymore.

 

[5030]

Around here some insurance companies have their own inspectors that come around to look at damage and approve claims. I have two friends that work for insurance that do this. They can’t force you to use xx company for repairs but they do approve or deny a claim.

Exactly what I do. If I suspect any storm damage to any of the roofs on the homes I own or this house, I call my insurance man and have their inspector come out and look. Just had the roof fail on my big Clearspan storage barn and I called my insurance broker and had the company inspector come out and assess the damage. It needed an entire roof minus the end panels and they covered the whole thing to the tune of 15 grand but I hired a crew of local kids to pull it over and paid them 50 bucks each to do it and my insurance carrier reimbursed me for that as well. It's a 90 foot long x 16 foot high x 47 foot wide steel truss (hoop) building with an overhead metal roll up door on one end and a man door on the other and the roll up door is 15 foot high. I keep all my farm equipment plus my semi truck inside it and the RV inside as well. Took 20 years for the fabric (4 ply polyethylene rip stop) to come apart in a wind storm. Much less expensive than a pole barn and here in Michigan, any outbuilding that isn't set on a footer isn't a taxable structure. It's retained with screw anchors spaced every 8 feet, screwed 4 foot in the ground.

 

[gsganzer]

The ones that are claiming damage and joining the scam are probably the same ones that complain about how expensive insurance is.

Just because you can, doesn't mean you should. It's a sad reflection on the ethics and morals of today's society. In most people's eyes, rules apply to everyone else, not them.