We have insurance to cover unforeseen events. Most of us expect that our insurance company will be there for us when we need it, but that isn’t always the case. In general, I have found that the initial estimate that insurance companies give their clients are too low to realistically cover the needed work to return a home to its prior condition.

Often insurance companies will omit parts of a job in their estimate, or they will not want to completely repair something preferring to fix things in more of a patchwork way. When a job is done in such a matter it can have a direct impact on the home’s curb appeal and value.

Recently, I was working with a client who had hail damage to his roof. The hail damage was evident on one part of the roof, but not the other. The insurance company wanted to only repair the damaged part of the roof which would have left the repair incomplete. In addition, I would have been responsible if the roof leaked, which could be a possibility as only part of the roof was being replaced.

I had several conversations with the insurance company’s claim handler, but to no avail. I asked to have the adjuster come out to the site so I could show him my concerns. I explained to him that I couldn’t partially repair the roof but be responsible for the entire roof. He agreed and approved replacing the entire roof.

I am very proactive when it comes to dealing with insurance companies as I want my customers to get what they deserve. Often times this involves a some extra effort on my part, but in most instances insurance companies are receptive to my concerns.

Once the insurance adjuster understood my concerns he approved replacing the entire roof.