General Deadline To File Claim
From our experience, the typical insurance company has deadlines in which you can file a property claim. They are from 180 days up to 12 months, with 12 months being most common. This is strictly our opinion and some general information that may set a reminder to someone, or a detail some may not be aware of. Regardless of your particular timeline, we recommend contacting us immediately to get a free inspection. As well, you should contact your insurance agent for their actual limitation on days to file.
Can CMS Roofing help with my deductible?
There are options available but when dealing specifically with repairing your property in an insurance claim situation, our company and even the policyholder are held to some pre-determined rules. It is imperative for us at CMS Roofing & Restoration to abide by these but also offer assistance to our customers in as many ways as possible. For that reason, yes we can help, in the form of financial assistance. We have partnered with Hearth for this specific reason. It is also a great way to upgrade your roof or spend that little extra you wish you could, all without having to fork over the entire amount all at once. Check with your CMS Project Manager for information and details on how to qualify with one of our lenders.
As for actual discounts or forms of waiving deductibles, it is not law abiding. Kentucky passed a law stating roofing contractors who offer to waive a homeowner’s deductible on their property insurance claim could face serious punishment. This new law requires homeowners to pay the deductible under their property insurance policy.
As a result, it is unlawful for a roofing contractor to cover, forego, absorb, rebate, mitigate, or otherwise make deals with an insurance deductible. If a claim is filed intentionally with a waived or reduced deductible, the policyholder may also be in violation of the law.
Such laws don't exist in every jurisdiction, it seems. No matter what, you should never hire a worker who waives your deductible.
You should not let any roofing company near your roof if they are willing to commit insurance fraud to win your business. If they are discovered, you might also face consequences. Run away from a roofing contractor you discover willing to change the figures so you won't have to pay your deductible.
Where else will a contractor cut corners if they are ready to commit insurance fraud? What would you do if they mishandled your property or stole something? When they mess up or run off with your money, are you going to be able to take them to court after they helped commit insurance fraud? Why would they give you $1000 or $2000 and risk their company? If they are willing to steal, you think they may just look for ways to make it up on your job? Just employ good roofing contractors and avoid all the hassle, worry and bad karma.
It's true that none of us like to pay our deductible, but that's not how it works. A competent roofer knows how to communicate effectively with your insurance company to ensure that you receive all the insurance benefits to which you are due for your new roof.
CMS Roofing is pleased to offer premium services at reasonable costs. You can be sure that the work will be done correctly and by a trustworthy roofer because we care. Contact us right away; we are excited to hear from you!
10 Things You Must Know Before You Call Your Insurance Company
Preparing yourself before you file an insurance claim can save yourself a lot of headache, time, and even money. This also helps you add credibility to your claim.
Knowing these 10 Things will prove valuable as you go throughout the claims process. CMS Roofing & Restoration has licensed adjusters on call for assistance.
1. Know the exact storm date and time that you incurred damage to your home or business.
- Your insurance company will ask so it may prove handy to have it written down when you call.
- Knowing a general idea of what is damaged will help as well. It is not imperative that you know all of the damage, because most of the time you will not have known to look at certain things.
- This is the huge advantage of having a CMS expert assisting you with the damage assessment.
- Knowledge is power, and this is no exception. When the adjuster sees you have done your due diligence, they are more than likely to do theirs.
2. Have a storm damage specialist from CMS Roofing & Restoration evaluate the extent of the damage before the insurance adjuster arrives.
- This is very important for a couple of reasons. CMS looks at hail damage on a regular basis, we are able to go directly to areas that are usually damaged.
- Some damage is not obvious and we like to verify that the damages you have are significant enough to file a claim.
- It is our priority to ensure you have enough damage, in our opinion, to warrant a claim. We never want to give you information that suggests filing a claim when it is not warranted.
3. Know your current home mortgage company information and any primary lien holders against the property.
- The adjuster will sometimes ask this, and cross reference that information with what is on record at the insurance company.
- Most times in a claim, the insurance company will make the check out to you and any mortgage/lien holders on the property since those lien holders want to verify the work is completed.
- They have an interest in the home, so they have made sure to get their information to the insurance company.
- You want to make sure the correct mortgage company is on file with the insurance company so that it is not made out to anyone without any interest which could potentially delay the process.
4. All insurance adjusters are not the same.
- Some are staff adjusters and some are independent adjusters who are Sub-Contractors for the main carrier. The two can differ greatly.
- Local adjusters are paid on a salary basis with a license that generally deals with all lines of losses from auto, fire to property and casualty claims.
- Local adjusters tend to be a bit more conservative, in our experience, and more likely to try and make repairs as opposed to replace entirely.
- Independent adjusters a lot of the times are paid on a commission bases. We believe mainly due to the fact they are typically in town for a short time, to help local adjusters on the amount of claims being placed.
- So the more damage they find and can justify then the more they are paid.
- They usually have a greater knowledge of storm damage because this is their primary focus as they go from storm to storm adjusting claims.
5. Hail and wind damage - Adjusters tend to have a 4 feet rule
- Anything lower than four feet in height, insurance adjusters tend to say it is “mechanical damage”, which is damage caused by something other than a storm (wind, hail, flying debris, etc.).
- An experienced storm damage rep from CMS Roofing knows the difference and can almost always differentiate “mechanical” damage and storm damage.
- We have no problem voicing our opinion in these cases. Keep in mind, we are experts at construction and roofing, adjusters generally deal with a multitude of scenarios and are not the ones involved in these actual trades.
6. Know what year your home or commercial building was built.
- The insurance adjuster will use the age of the property to calculate what the depreciated value is of the items they are going to be paying for.
- Specifically knowing the age of the roof, siding, and/or gutters is generally the most important.
- Depreciation is the standard amount the insurance company will hold back until the repairs are completed.
- The newer the roof/siding/gutters, the less the depreciated amount will be. A newer roof requires less damage than an older roof.
- This damage threshold formula takes in account old damage, weathering, and other factors.
- An experienced CMS Roofing & Restoration Storm Damage Specialist will have knowledge of this process.
7. Estimate and document the cost of personal property that was damaged.
- Grill covers, patio furniture, lights, mailbox, planters……Theses are examples of what is referred to as personal property.
- Receipts, google or even amazon shopping are great ways to estimate these damages and will help the adjuster find the correct replacement cost of those items.
- Preparing this ahead of time can save the adjuster time, and keep it from being an oversight. The adjuster is more likely to pay for those items as they appreciate being saved the time and hassle. Even having an approximate value will help.
8. It pays big time to have an experienced storm damage representative present at the time of the insurance adjuster meeting.
- Knowing the standard process, lingo, and being comfortable inspecting a roof proves vital.
- You do not want the representative working for the insurance company the only professional at the site. Its basically like going to a deposition without an attorney.
- Do you know what damage to look for, and what your policy covers? Many times the adjuster coming to your home has been looking at auto losses or septic back ups all month.
- Given the right approach, adjusters will be glad they had assistance by CMS. We come ready with ladders, stabilizers, and many times a report or even measurement of your home all ready.
- This is where CMS Roofing & Restoration excels. We have licensed adjusters on call. Many times, we have worked with your insurance adjuster in the past.
9. Schedule the adjuster meeting for the morning if possible.
- In the morning, adjusters are just getting started.
- They haven't been inundated with phone calls and everyone likes working when it is cooler outside.
- The air temperature is cooler which means the shingles are not scorching hot yet either.
- Being the last appointment on a scorching hot day after being on tons of roofs and walking on a steep roof is just not as fun.
10. Contact CMS Roofing & Restoration
- Now that you have an idea of what is in store for the claims process. Con- tact us, we will come out and do a free inspection on your entire property to see if a claim is permitted.
- We know generally what dollar amount the claim paid should be. There- fore if we do not think you have a sufficient enough claim in dollars or if we do not believe the damage to be extensive enough then we will recommend not filing a claim.
- We strive on quality and honesty. We do not recommend a claim unless we are certain that your policy covers the loss and feel that you are entitled to a payment from the Insurance Company.