Am I Screwed?

[joe_stack20]

So i have had 2 different insurance adjustors come over to my place to look at my shingles. First one was a early 20's college kid, that told me i have a defective shingle. Brand name of Certainteed is what he told me, and claims that they are organic. (By the way the claims are for wind damage.) with a 500 dollar deductible, the amount of shingles missing was well below it, so that claim was a strike out. 2nd adjustor comes out after more shingles have blown off, and then water started to leak inside of my home on the ceiling, casuing a small mildew spot bout the size of a big grapefruit, he again told me it was a faulty shingle, and water got into a house through a valley. AND THE GUY NEVER EVEN GOT UP ON THE ROOF, i asked him repeatedly if he wanted a ladder to get up, and he said "no this is all i need to see" he told me the shingles were bad, but not covered through insurance. Insurance will only cover the shingles that have blown off. How in the heck can these guys say with 100% certainty, that the shingle is defective, dont they need to show some sort of hard effidence, rather than them just saying it is. The only thing i am covered for is the shingles that blow off. And i understand that, but i am throwing all this money into Homeowners insurance, and they are happier than heck to take my money, but when a guy wants them to help, they leave you hanging out to dry. Anyone run into this with their shingle damage claims?

[fishdale]

I have the same type of shingles but was lucky enough to have a few that blew off so they needed to replace the roof. There is a big lawsuit going on with the makers of the shingles which you can get more info if you google "certainteed shingle settlement"

I would suggest maybe having a roofing company come out and give you there advice when the adjuster meets with a knowledgable roofer some

[joe_stack20]

How many shigles blew off your place before they replaced the whole roof?

[brian6715]

How many shigles blew off your place before they replaced the whole roof?

I have re-roofed a couple houses that had just minor hail damage, stuff you could barely see. I think you have a pretty shady insurance company.

Also, certainteed shingles are absolute junk, I have re-roofed houses with those shingles where certainteed picked up a portion of the bill for the home owner, maybe look into that?

[fishdale]

How many shigles blew off your place before they replaced the whole roof?

4 or 5 when they decided to replace it. Last few days I have had another 20+ blow off. There is something in MN that says if they can not get the same shingles to fix the roof they have to replace it and since they do not make these shingles any more they can not get them.

[Redlantern]

I'd give a call to the state's attorney generals office to find out what rights you have. Insurance companies are in the business of taking your money and not wanting to shell it out. You need to be persistant.

[pike doctor]

Who is the insurance company? You are dealing with Certainteed Horizon shingles. Did you call your agent and tell him that you expect a discount on your insurance since they were no longer covering your roof? Ask for a letter from the insurance that told you that they would no longer cover those shingles so you could have replaced them long ago.

As a contractor I have been down this road dozens of times. I usually end up making the insurance adj understand. The smaller companies will fight you tooth and nail, but it kinda sounds like you have american family or all state.

You are wasting your time dealing with claims people by yourself. Its what they have been told to do. You need to be in touch with your agent and get a contractor between you and them.

How bad are they curling, or are they delaminating and crack, and having the color leach out leaving black streak? Do you have shingles left in the attic of you garage to prove they are certainteed? Does you policy specifically say that they do not cover organic shingles?

If you have replacement cost w/ an exact match policy and they no longer make you shingle they need to pay to replace your roof. You need to get to a level beyond the field adjusters. When you are done switch companies.

[Gillie]

Oh man! I had the same shingles but, was lucky enough to have tons of damage by wind and hail. Insurance covered most of it (over $15,000). The roofing company said they put in a claim for me over a year ago. Haven't heard a thing. I've been rather ill for over a year and haven't had the chance or the fortitude to look into it. Will do soon, though. PLEASE report it to the Attorney General's office! They can't do anything unless they have enough people reporting the same situation. We tried doing it for a bloody asd;lkjads;lkj brand-named all in one boiler/hot water heater/furnace/ underfloor heating. I had heard other problems from some of my customers but no one reported to the Attorney General's office in MN. He did try to contact them and put up a fight for us. Anyway...listen to the advice given previous to my post. Good luck to you! I know how you feel.

[chad austin]

Joe,

Did the insurance company issue you paperwork showing what they were willing to pay for? Did they issue you a check for damages?

The insurance company CANNOT order "repairs" for an organic roof as organic and asphalt shingles are not "like kind and quality" and organic shingles are not sold here nor are they recommended for cold climates, if they agree to repair or replace anything get proof ie.. paperwork, check and find yourself a good storm damage repair company

Gillie,

Just an FYI, nobody except the policyholder can file a claim on said homeowners insurance, i hope you didn't give that roofing company any money

[Gillie]

Nooooo, I meant (lol), filed the notice with the lawsuit. Sorry, I wasn't clear. My insurance company was awesome, btw!

[joe_stack20]

Chad, the 2nd adjustor, issued me a check for approx. $225, did i cash it and run, NO!. I am now in the process of trying to line up a damage/claims contractor to meet with the adjustor next week. Hope it all works out. By the way American family is the policy holder. And if this does or does not work out for me, I will be changing Insurance companies.

[chad austin]

Joe,

By them issuing you a check for damages, they are admitting there is damage to the roof (they've paid you to find someone to complete the repairs) and therefore they must now replace your whole roof as they cannot repair the organic shingles, I would continue to fight this if i were you.

AmFam used to be one of the better insurance companies to work with but the last couple of years they have been putting their "insured" to the way side.

[pike doctor]

I was pretty sure you had AM FAM. They have been really frusterating lately like Chad said. I am currently dealing with them on a siding job where there is a layer of aluminum siding over the top of redwood that is covered in lead paint. They will NOT pay to do lead safe work on the property because the paint is on the second layer and they only owe for the first one. They said I need to go to the homeowner for the rest of the money. When you are all done with whatever happens I would definetly be switching companies. And DONT go with allstate.

[dougger222]

I was pretty sure you had AM FAM. They have been really frusterating lately like Chad said. I am currently dealing with them on a siding job where there is a layer of aluminum siding over the top of redwood that is covered in lead paint. They will NOT pay to do lead safe work on the property because the paint is on the second layer and they only owe for the first one. They said I need to go to the homeowner for the rest of the money. When you are all done with whatever happens I would definetly be switching companies. And DONT go with allstate.

Am Fam has a $10K limit on safe lead removal written into every claim. Take full advantage of this. Take a look at the claim paperwork you'll see it... They owe for it because as soon as you start ripping off the top layer of siding your going to distrupt the paint on the redwood siding.

[dougger222]

To the OP,

If your shingles are organic they are discontinued. If the slopes were there's wind damage is either old or defective it's considered "unrepairable". That being said Am Fam should owe to replace the wind damaged slopes. Prior to 7/07 if your roof required more than 25% replacement you had to bring your entire roof to code which meant a new roof. That law has since been changed so we see more partial roofs being bought again. They contractors won that day though by no longer allowing roof overs (not all of MN).

In calendar year 2010 when you renew your home owners policy you have to opt for an endorsement to cover roofing and siding matching. This endorsement is $30-40 a year on top of your premium but you have to ask for it it's never automaticly added to your policy. With this endorsement your limited to $20K in repairs for "undamaged" sides or slopes (roofing and siding). So far this year have not had one with Am Fam with this endorsement. Luckily there's been enough damage in most cases to get the roof and or siding bought anyways. Am Fam is the only insurance carrier that's done this but a friend of mine with another carrier claimed they no longer consider matching at all. For those of you in the trades it's the military insurance provider, the one who typicaly has a contractor ask as adjuster.

This year have had over all good luck with Am Fam which has been my experiance for the past 5 or so years. Never had any luck with Allstate and no longer represent insured with this carrier. As a matter of fact if they offered free insurance I'd pass!

If you have the matching endorsement or if you have not yet renewed your policy this year they have to condiser roofing match. Demand your adjuster to accept a shingle pulled from your contractor to be sent to Itel in FL.

A couple year ago Haag released a memo stating fiberglass shingles can be replaced on organic roofs. They also released a memo stating no shingles had to be replaced in order to remove and replace vents.

[pike doctor]

Am Fam has a $10K limit on safe lead removal written into every claim. Take full advantage of this. Take a look at the claim paperwork you'll see it... They owe for it because as soon as you start ripping off the top layer of siding your going to distrupt the paint on the redwood siding.

[dougger222]

$100-125 seems a tad high, IMO. You are lead certified? Or in other words you've given the gov. money for this new "tax"? First you need to start by doing the lead test. I'm certified but have yet to do a lead job. A GC friend of mine has done several. To do the lead test he charges $420. I want to say he's an extra $40 per window and not sure on siding. Can ask him what he charges. He does most claims with S.F. and they pay his prices.

Other than a tarp on the ground which is a good idea anyways with two layers your not looking a ton of extra labor to remove the lead on the wood siding.

The thing is Am Fam may not want to pay extra but they have to pay extra. Contact the orginization in charge of the new lead law and ask them to give you something in writing stating the lead paint will be disturbed while taking the top layer of siding off. Guessing it's the EPA???

[pike doctor]

I already did the lead test, confirmed positive. I took the class and got the cert. Havent registered with EPA yet. I was figuring in the price of the test, disposal and everything into the 100-125. I figure disposal will be 15 per square. I thought about 20 a square for the test. 60 to remove the extra layer, and the rest would be for all the lead safe practices and extra hours and supplies. I am roofing the house tomorrow so I will be on the phone with them when I get tired.