How do you identify hail damage. We had a pretty significant storm a few months back, and since then probably 1/3 of the houses in my neighborhood have gotten new roofs. I had a contractor approach me. Decent guy - no pressure or anything, but definitely looking to be the beneficiary of any insurance pay out. How should I proceed?
call your insurance agent and ask them.
seriously.
Yup. Start with the insurance guy. My in-laws just got a new roof due to hail damage.
Actually, be very carefull about aproaching your insurance agent as in some states, like mine, they can legally regard that simple question as a claim and jack your rates or drop you accordingly.
Hail damage typically results in broken shingles. In can crack them without snapping pieces off at the moment. Super severe hail can break up the plywood or strand board of the roof itself. You can inspect this pretty well from the inside. You'd be looking for the sort of damage you'd expect on the inside, splintering, sharp bulges, holes, etc.
I dunno Dave, there's always the "what goes around comes around" logic.
If there's nothing wrong with your roof and a contractor wants to beef up his kid's college fund by getting something free from your insurance company, somehow, someday that comes back to haunt you. Maybe a pipe breaks and floods your living room walls, or you get stranded in the woods when your Jeep pukes I dunno; but knowingly taking something like that isn't exactly stealing. More like creative rules interpretaion but it all works out in the end.
maybe it's just me.....
Dan
did he tell you that you have "bruised shingles"?
these guys are storm chasers, anywhere there is a hail storm they descend upon the town, go door to door pointing out invisible bruising on the shingles and have you get the insurance company pay them to put on a new roof. it's one of the bigger scams in the business out there. some years ago i received a letter inviting me to become a subcontractor for xxx doing vinyl siding and their whole meeting was based on trying to get myself and several other remodelers to walk door to door in columbus(ohio) convincing homeowners that their shingles and vinyl siding had been bruised and structurally effected by the recent hail storm and that they had to pay no money out of pocket other than deductible for new stuff.
places like that are why our insurance costs so much.
I'm definitely not trying to get something via a shady deal. If, OTOH, my roof really was damaged, then that's what insurance is for. I was home during the hail storm, and they were some big suckers - golf ball size to baseball size.
Bruised shingles are a real explanation.
A hail damaged shingle need not be broken. But a bad hit will cup it. Lift the sealed edge and remove the "gravel " coating.
Most insurance companies have a damage rate: 3 hits per square yard etc or something like that.
I paid for a new roof that I SHould have claimed the year before. So check it out. ( I didn't hesitate to have the wife's elantra's hits fixed )
Call your agent. He will have an adjuster come and look at the roof. We had a serious hail storm years ago and got a new roof. The roof looked fine from the ground, but was "bruised". There was so much business for roofers after that storm that we couldn't get a contractor to come look at it for months. Finally went with a jack leg builder who did a crappy job. We are probably going to need another roof soon.
Take your time to find a good roofer!!!!
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