Insurance Claims

Hail Damage Repair - Twin Cities Minnesota

The intention of these stories is to illustrate the need for experienced, professional help repairing your hail damage, as well as to provide examples of how complex and unique each home is. The following stories are all true. The names of most homeowners have been changed to protect their privacy.

Insurance Company wouldn't budge. (Back to Top)
Jim's neighbors had all installed new roofs with proceeds from their insurance claims following a mid-summer's hail storm . Jim's insurance company/adjuster simply wouldn't budge from their diagnosis of needing only patching and no replacement. Jim had fortunately contracted a local, knowledgeable contractor that had been down this road before, and opted to use arbitration as a method of agreeing on the amount of damage on Jim's roof. Arbitration involves a representative for the insured (Jim), a representative for the insurance company, and an umpire. There are a number of such umpires in most metro areas that have studied and qualified for umpire status. They are hired by the homeowner and insurance company to determine the extent of damage when the insurance company and homeowner can't agree on the damage. The result of Jim's appraisal yielded him a new roof paid for by his insurance company.

A New, Free Roof! (Back to Top)
Greg and Colleen in Eden Prarie, Minnesota asked a local contractor for an estimate on new siding for their home. Several contractors visited their home and gave them estimates for new siding. Only one contractor inspected their roof for hail damage, and discovered that it also had damage. That contractor met Greg and Colleen's insurance adjuster, and negotiated a new roof. Now, Greg and Colleen paid for their new siding and gutters, but received a new roof. They were able to pick out the exact color scheme they desired instead of having to match to their existing roof color. Of course, the $5,000 in equity (the new roof) wasn't bad either.

Contractors Threw In the Towel? (Back to Top)
Don was contacted by Lori after she had offered two other contractors work. They weren't able to accept the low price offered by Lori's insurance company, and were unable to negotiate a higher price. Don met with Lori's original insurance adjuster, who wouldn't budge from a ridiculously low price. Don contacted the insurance company and requested another inspection. This time, the price was fair. Don secured Lori's business and Lori wound up with a great looking exterior. Don's experience made all the difference for Lori. In many cases, the original price from the insurance company isn't so ridiculously low, to a contractor who is anxious for work. Often, such a contractor is also new to working with insurance companies, and is unaware they don't have to accept a below-market price. As a result, Lori would have received an inferior exterior due to the tight funds the contractor would have agreed to work with.

Contractors Threw In the Towel? (Back to Top)
"We were working on a home in Bloomington, MN because of a hail storm. The neighbor liked the look and asked us to bid her job. Well, after inspecting their roof, we found hail damage. She contacted her insurance company. A few days later the adjuster shows up and reports "no damage." My company did a follow up with the adjuster, showed what we believed to be hail damage, and the roof was approved. Because of that, most of the homeowners on that block received new roofs from their insurance company."

Taken Advantage of By the Adjuster (Back to Top)
Mr. and Mrs. Wade of River Falls Wisconsin, contacted us after their insurance adjuster assessed their home and submitted their insurance claim. The adjuster had awarded approximately $600 for repair consisting of: repainting the end of their home's siding, replacing a small window, and replacing a gutter downspout. Don, (a local contractor experienced at working with insurance claims), met with the adjuster at this same house for a re-inspection. When Mr. and Mrs. Wade received their new claim, they were awarded over $6,000 for repairs, including: complete removal and replacement of their roof; new siding and painting for the end of their home; and replacement of gutters and the window. Mr. and Mrs Wade happened to be in their early 80's and weren't real familiar with the building trade. When the adjuster was accompanied by a contractor that knew what he was doing, the result was quite different!


Fair Settlement Two Years Later (Back to Top)
John realized he had hail damage six months after a storm had passed through the Twin Cities of Minnesota. Fortunately for John, there was no leaking as the roof was quite severely damaged. At that time, his insurance company awarded John approximately $2,500 for repair of 60% of the roof. The compensation was low due to depreciation, according to John's insurance company. The following summer, John installed the roof himself as he was working currently as a roofing subcontractor. Two years later, John had moved from installing roofs to working with homeowners on their insurance claims, and he had a much better understanding of what fair compensation constituted. John contacted his insurance company and requested he be paid additional funds from his claim of over two years ago. He simply desired to be paid a fair price he would have received two years prior had he known what he knew later, (or had he hired an experienced contractor). John's request paid off as he was awarded over $4,000 in additional funds, over two years after the storm had struck and the damage was repaired. A little bit of expertise paid off for John, just as it does for every homeowner who hires experienced contractors on their behalf. Had John not moved into a position of working with other homeowner's claims, he would have never known he had been short-changed in the first place.

Too Late? (Back to Top)
Sally's home suffered severe damage from a spring hail storm in Western Wisconsin. When a local contracting firm experienced with hail damage met Sally, this was the predicament she was in: She had signed a contract with a local contractor to replace her roof for the approximate, fair price of $5,000. Their work was done sufficiently, but here's where it gets sticky: Sally had received only $7,000 from her insurance company to repair her roof and siding. After completing Sally's roof, her contractor collected final payment and went on to roof other homes, leaving Sally with the predicament of finding a siding company to re-side her home for $2,000. Fortunately for Sally, she found a contractor with the construction skills and the know-how to deal with this situation. The new contractor negotiated with Sally's insurance company to provide additional funds for the siding, not to mention gutters and some window repairs. The unfortunate truth is many homeowners wouldn't have found a knowledgeable contractor and would have settled for not re-siding their home or perhaps trying to remedy the problem with the remaining $2,000, which isn't possible to do properly. The first contractor (that installed Sally's roof) probably meant well, but "meaning" well could have cost Sally in the end.