What To Do When the Insurance Adjuster Denies Your Roof Claim

A homeowner's heart may sink when they first get a roof claim denied by their insurance company. However, it's not the end. This video covers step-by-step what you should do after an insurance adjuster denies your roof claim so that you can make sure you get the roof that you've paid for.
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Join Brandon Hafeli as he gives step-by-step what you should do if your roof claim is denied by your insurance company.

0:00 Intro
0:46 Reevaluate Your Roof and Make Sure It's a Proper Claim
2:24 Request a Second Adjuster
3:16 Get an Engineer to Inspect Your Property
4:07 File a Complaint With Your State's Department of Insurance
4:48 Hire an Attorney
5:48 Outro

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Thanks for watching!

[BobBob-kwxq]

As an independent adjuster myself, the things we are looking for are signs of damage consistent with the perils (wind, hail, debris strikes) that the policy covers. Every independent adjuster that I personally know is looking for a reason to be able to pay for the roof, but it has to be documented. I suggest taking several photos of the roof every year to show it is undamaged. For Pete's sake, if you have had a hail storm you should take photos of the hail stones in your yard. Get the biggest 10 you can find and place them next to a quarter and photo them.

I used to build custom homes and thought I knew everything about inspections until I did this job. A roofer has a hard time with the difference between blisters and hail impacts. Blisters are wear and tear over time effects and look a lot like hail impacts to an untrained eye. One is covered by insurance, and one is not. Hail impacts will bruise the felt paper the shingle is made out of. It will drive the granules into the felt paper and leave a distinctive scar. If the roof is old it makes repairing it more difficult because of the brittleness. A full roof replacement is easier to get on very old shingles on average.

Document, document, document... it matters. Speak with your agents, they are selling you this insurance. They know what perils are frequent and can get you covered for them. It is too late when I show up. Ask about endorsements and what catastrophes can do to your deductible. They probably have an endorsement to counter that. Clear the roof of any tree limbs, even the smallest that gently rub in a wind is damaging the roof and can force a denial.

Lastly, Public Adjusters will almost always pay for themselves. It is a contract that you sign when you buy insurance and it has to be followed by law by me. If you make a profit from an insurance claim, it is ILLEGAL. Do not listen to that one cousin we all have that tells you they know the laws and gives you bad advice and a shady roofer's number. Insurance is going to try to repair if able, and replace if its the only option. This is how they keep your rates down. When looking for roofers, there are two types, roofers and roofing repair. Roofers do not want to do repairs, they want total replacement every time. Roofing repair guys are happy to show up and replace 25 shingles in 30 minutes but charge the 3 hour minimum and move on to the next house.

I will finish watching the video and edit this with any other points. Ok I will point out the PUBLIC ADJUSTER option, its an adjuster that you hire who works only on your side. I am paid by the carrier to be a neutral opinion. I try very hard to do this, but the PUBLIC ADJUSTER works just for you. This offers other options that he can explain to you. Let me be clear. Roofers are not the enemy, they roof. If a hammer is asked what it wants to do, it wants to hit something. Its what they are trained to do. When he sees a roof with blistering or manufacturers defects (it happens a lot, like way more than you think) he just wants to roof it. We do not argue if the roof is in need of repair, we argue what caused the damage. It HAS to be covered and DOCUMENTED by us. Blistering and manufacturing defects are NOT covered by most carriers plans.

I agree with you on everything you said. There are some dishonest Insurance carriers who will cheat and believe me calling the Department of Insurance will get results if you have a legitimate claim. Nobody wants that, on any side. They get things done but you better be right when you call them. If you have been cheated, CALL them. Left you a thumbs up.

[johnanderson]

I had to finally get a public adjuster to help: insurance refused to test my roof for asbestos & even though it was presented to them: I didn’t realize I could have a second adjuster come. Finally public adjuster got done, but at great $$ loss to me as they charged big fee: I think insurance company was dishonest as they actually refused to test asbestos & claimed could tell by looking & they were wrong. Roof being repaired & interior walls with mold finally being addressed, but at significant loss to me