Anyone have tips on dealing with insurance company?

[PapillionWyngs]

After Ike, had insurance claims, and was worried about roof. It is 7 years old, but we just wanted to be sure. We bought this house 9/07, so it is new to us. Insurance company says whole roof needs to be replaced, along with gutters, and gave us a check (made out to us and the wrong Mortgage Company) that won't even begin to replace it. According to them, we have a $3500 hurricane deductible. We had no idea. They depreciated the roof quite a bit, and we just don't know what to do - where to start fighting.

Any hints would be greatly appreciated, since I have to start working on this tomorrow.

[TheNiche]

Any hints would be greatly appreciated, since I have to start working on this tomorrow.

Read your policy. Understand it intimately. Use Google and Wikipedia to clarify insurance jargon.

This is good advice for all property owners. A lot of people--probably most--just do what the bank tells them to do and don't understand what all they're paying for.

It does strike me as a little odd; in my experience, banks usually require insurance up to replacement value. But then, I've never dealt with a requirement to have a windstorm policy.

[rbarz]

After Ike, had insurance claims, and was worried about roof. It is 7 years old, but we just wanted to be sure. We bought this house 9/07, so it is new to us. Insurance company says whole roof needs to be replaced, along with gutters, and gave us a check (made out to us and the wrong Mortgage Company) that won't even begin to replace it. According to them, we have a $3500 hurricane deductible. We had no idea. They depreciated the roof quite a bit, and we just don't know what to do - where to start fighting.

Any hints would be greatly appreciated, since I have to start working on this tomorrow.

most people have a different deductible for hurricanes, which usually is 2% of the insured value of the home. There is nothing you can do to fight this unless your policy says something different than what they are giving you.

If you had a 3 tab roof then the insurance co should depreciate the roof 28%. If you had a dimensional roof than the depreciation is 20% or less depending on the type. (the age of your shingles divided by the life of that type of shingle). If they miss figured this than its easy to fight. Just tell them what they messed up.

Also insurance companies usually give quite a bit more than what it costs to replace a roof in houston. But make sure they include the cost of decking (if needed...), sofit, facia, etc.

How big is your house? One story or two? and how much is the insurance co and contactors saying it costs?

[crunchtastic]

The depreciation is standard, and since you probably have 3-tab shingles, check the math to be sure. You can't fight the deductible and depreciation as that's all spelled out in the policy. You can, however, go through all the line items and make sure they've included everything. You should have dollar values for tearing off the old roof, any temporary repairs you did yourself, disposing of the old roof, new sheathing if required, ridge vents, roof vents, guttering, additional charges for steep slopes (if any), and finally, the new roof itself. The sheathing should be the most expensive line item.

To give you some sort of comparison, I just got my claim report yesterday. I have a 3-tab, 25-year comp shingle roof and a medium-steep slope. It's a single story and the roof surface is 2581 ft. The've priced the new roof at $13,249 (before deductible and depreciation), which includes re-decking (mine is not decked at all, currently, just composition over old cedar). After depreciation, a little over $11,000.

If the decking was not included, my settlement would have been for about $7,000, which is pretty good down here where roofing is cheaper. When you get estimates from contractors, have him give you the numbers on a per square foot basis, or do the math yourself. You may be able to argue the costs with your insurance company if they are lowballing you, after depreciation and deductible.

Good luck.

[PapillionWyngs]

Wow, thanks for the information. Our house is approximately 1700 square feet. One story. She also forgot to include the fence, which we share with a neighbor.