Getting through a roof damage insurance claim is not a walk in the park. It can be challenging, mainly when the original estimate from your insurance provider appears to be lacking. This is a regular occurrence in areas that experience storms frequently, causing the rise of several claims. If you are experiencing this and are wondering why your insurance estimate is insufficient, you’ve come to the right place. In this article, you will find clarity and learn how and why you should supplement your roof damage insurance claim.
What Does It Mean to Supplement Your Roof Damage Insurance Claim?
Supplementing your claim is required when the original payout doesn’t sufficiently take care of the costs you need to restore your roof after damage. When you supplement your insurance claim, it means you are requesting that your insurance company increase the claim’s payout amount by providing modified estimates or extra information. For a clearer picture, a supplement on your roof damage insurance claim is when your roofer demands adding extra materials, trades, or labor to your insurance. This typically occurs when the claims adjuster does not add adequate siding, shingles, or other materials to get the work done on the loss coverage.
In addition, there are cases where the excluded items are needed by the local building code. In such cases, your roofing contractor will draw up a new estimate to include significant materials and submit it to your insurance company for authorization.
Is Supplementing Your Roof Damage Insurance Claim Necessary?
Sometimes, claims adjusters skip crucial roofing elements or forget to include local building codes that need upgrading during fixing. Furthermore, the original estimates that insurance companies make available usually have a general price plan that doesn’t factor in specific aspects like margin of profit, local landfill fees, contractor overhead, and other factors. These omissions affect the amount your insurance company will offer you. Their coverage may only cover some of the expenses you need for a thorough and satisfying roof repair.
How to Supplement Your Roof Damage Insurance Claim
- Get a thorough estimate: Begin with a well-detailed estimate from a reliable contractor who lists all the required fixes and costs. The estimate should include local code requirements and pricing.
- Examine and compare: After getting the estimate from your roofing contractor, compare it with the one your insurance company offers. Take note of missing things that are crucial for the proper restoration of a roof.
- Present supplemental claims: Present the exhaustive estimate to your insurance company as an additional claim. You may need to provide them with documents or any form of evidence to prove the raised costs. You may also have to negotiate.
You can also get professionals on board to help you draft and submit the supplemental claims. Experts understand the intricacies of insurance claims and will do their best to ensure you get the most satisfactory result.
What If You Don’t Want to Deal With Supplementing Your Insurance Claim?
The procedure of supplementing insurance claims and negotiating with your insurance company can be exhausting. Moreover, there’s no assurance that it will cover your whole roof replacement.
Some homeowners don’t want to supplement their claims. To avoid the back-and-forth, they utilize the original payout and determine the next step from there. If you are like such homeowners, you can cover the remaining cost from your pocket after using the payout. This implies you will spend more money in advance, including your deductible.
You can pay for the whole thing if you don’t want to spend a lot or are short on cash. This permits you to make monthly payments like you’d repay a loan and pay the roofer in advance.
Since you paid the roofer upfront, you’ll also get to keep the insurance money, excluding your deductible. However, you still need to show evidence that you did the work according to the scope of work in order to get the second check.
Conclusion
At the beginning of this article, we promised you’ll find clarity and know everything you need to supplement your insurance claim. We believe that you now understand what it means to supplement your claims, why you should, and how you can go about it.
Only on rare occasions that an insurance claim wouldn’t need supplementing. However, you have to decide whether you want to go through the process, which isn’t pleasurable, to cover more. It is not surprising that most homeowners don’t want to go through the stress of supplementing. Hence, we advise that you work with a trustworthy roofing company with years of experience with roofing supplements. Getting approval for your claim to get the complete amount you need for your roof restoration would be a breeze for them.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does supplementing mean in roofing?
In roofing, supplementing a roof damage insurance claim involves getting your insurance company to cover more items by presenting them with a modified estimate. You own your right to enjoy your benefits after years of paying premiums.
What will my roofing contractor do to supplement my roofing claim?
Your roofing contractor’s position is that of a partner whose role is to help you get your home back in good condition. It would be best if you have them to help you present the right work scope, including a copy of code requirements, evidence of the damage (pictures), and every necessary detail your claims adjuster requests to get approval for your insurance claim.
How do I know if I need a roofing supplement?
You may need your roofing contractor and insurance adjuster to guide you through the degree of damage your roof has experienced and the necessary repairs. You may need a supplement if you discover more damages that were not accounted for. Such damages include damaged siding, windows, or gutters. However, because most property owners lack the expertise to spot damage quickly, they are left at their contractor’s mercy. Hence, as a homeowner, only go for roofing companies with a clean track record.
