Vinyl Siding - Insurance Claim Question on Matching

[BMXKING]

Has anyone been thru a claim with Home Owners Insurance on Vinyl siding. The match they found is much darker in color than the rest of the home. I think it will look weird to have some walls in a dark "new" siding, while the rest of the home is a much lighter color due to the age of the siding and weathering. Any tricks to get the insurance company to replace all the siding so it all matches like before the storm?

Thanks to anyone who can help.

[crothmeier]

I used to sell building products during the sartell-st cloud-st michael hail storm or 1-2 years ago and ran into this with a couple of customers. Either the insurance wanted to peice in or only re-side one side, ect. It depended on which insurance company as to how easily they would re-side the whole house.

One of my customers kept requesting another appraiser come look and finally they replaced the whole thing.

Most of the time the replacement siding they came up with wouldnt install with the existing sididng, the "hooking" part was different, the texture of the woodgrain was different, and most importantly the color was off...

I also ran into it where the siding they reccomended was no longer made.

i would keep argueing (nicely) the above mentioned things, color, texture, make sure it hooks or snaps in correctly with the existing stuff.

[Meycatch]

I do construction for a living and I have never had a insurance company pay for the rest of the siding on a house so it would match. All vinyl siding fads with age. Most of the homes Ive done the home owner has to pay for the parts that arent damaged. The down fall of using vinyl. Sorry. But you never know. Keep pushing them.

[nofishfisherman]

One of the main tricks with insurance whether its home or auto is to request as many appraisers as possible. Keep pushing (nicely) to make sure you are getting the best possible outcome. The first offer is rarely a final offer.

We were able to get almost double the price for our car when it was totaled just becuase we said we weren't happy with their first offer. There was no complaint by our insurance company since they have a process for when this happens. They just went and got more estimates from local dealers that said their price was too low. No arguements needed, just pleasant convesation and simple request got us double the money.

Just like everything there is room for negotiations.

If that fails, then go to the next step and just make a pain out of yourself until they realize its easier to do the enitre house then it will be to put up with you any more.

[Dave]

Make sure you also check to see if the siding manufacturer has a fade warranty.

[echo2010]

The house I bought had been through a hail storm damaging several pieces of vinyl.

The insurance refused to cover the whole side of the house because they stated there was a way to "fade" new siding to match and they would need a sample of the stuff on the house.

My house was only 6 years old at the time and the siding was the same. We just said "forget it" and put new siding in the areas we needed replacement

The only things we noticed was the older siding had a duller finish in the sunlight while looking head on. Over the last 2 years it has blended in pretty good

[IFallsRon]

The brother-in-law had his house totally resided as the manufacturer didn't make the same color siding anymore. The damage was only to once side of the house.

[pike doctor]

Make sure that the new siding is actually the same as the old stuff. Sometimes they find a match that they believe is your product, but it isn't. Check to make sure the lock is the same, that the woodgrain is the same, and it should have the same labeling if any. If it all matches there is really no way to make them pay for the rest. Perhaps if you get to 50% or better of the walls damaged they will pay for everything.

Every adjuster I have ever met with has told me they don't have to pay for fading. Rather, that is an issue with the product on your house.

If you know what your siding is take it to the lumber yard and ask them to see if it is still made. I am working on a house right now that had six cracked pieces of siding. The insurance company found the siding color, style, etc. When I called the place to order the siding they said that it was discontinued. I got them to write a letter and subbmittd it to the ins. A 3 sq job went to a 30 sq job on a house that was built in 2006. Nice for me, not so nice for the insurance.

If you are unsure get a good contractor out to help you.

[BMXKING]

The match they found is not the same manufacture, I do know that. The sample they gave me appears to be the same color and the texture appears to be the same. Our contractor is not into insurance claim jobs, so they are kinda clueless. The insurance company is sticking to the we don't cover fading. I did make a call into the manufacturer to file a warranty claim, but I have not received the kit yet. My neighbor did get the warranty claim and they offered him $100 per square. I don't think that counts for much now a days though.

[pike doctor]

I would push to make them replace it all. Do you have AM fam or northstar mutual ins? They are going to stick to their story. If you get really upset you can go to the dept of commerce HSOforum and file a complaint.

And siding can look quite different once it gets on the wall. I would also call my agent and tell them that you are unhappy. THey usually make a call for you and that always helps. Tell him/her that you are going to leave the company. That cost them money then.

And if you are happy with the match that they found you then go with that. But 5 years from now it might happen again, and they might find something, and then you might have walls that have been sided in 3 different years

[JeffreyB]

Complain, Complain, Complain.  The squeaky wheel gets the oil..Go higher up the food chain and persist...

I live in a state (IN) that doesn't have any matching laws. statutes, or regulations regarding Matching.  But there are many that do- Minnesota, Ohio, Washington, and Kentucky are four states that have had Matching laws enacted in last 10 years and this is because usually it is not fair to the consumer to replace just one side of siding (aluminum or vinyl) or part of a roof due to matching issues (color, quality, or size of item).

 A lot of court cases had a real estate appraiser or real estate agent testify that a mis-matched house decreases a home's value, i.e. The value of home is now less than what it was pre-storm.  The insured should not have to go out of pocket (other than deductible) in order to make his house "Whole Again".  

 

Here is an excerpt from the NAIC that explains further (also written exactly the same into Kentucky state law among others):

 

The National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) has drafted a model law called the “Unfair Claims Settlement Practices Act.” It is a consumer-protection law that prevents insureds from predatory and unfair claims settlement behavior on the part of insurance companies. Most states have enacted their own version of this model law, and the specifics of each such law vary from state to state. The NAIC Unfair Property/Casualty Claims Settlement Practices Model Regulation (MDL-902, 1997) has a section which reads as follows:
       
           Section 9. Standards for Prompt, Fair and Equitable Settlements Applicable to Fire and Extended Coverage Type Policies with Replacement Cost Coverage.

      A. When the policy provides for the adjustment and settlement of first party losses based on replacement cost, the following shall apply:

            (1) When a loss requires repair or replacement of an item or part, any consequential physical damage incurred in making such repair or replacement not otherwise excluded by the policy shall be included in the loss. The insured shall not have to pay for betterment nor any other cost except for the applicable deductible.

            (2) When a covered loss for real property requires the replacement of items and the replacement items do not match in quality, color or size, the insurer shall replace items in the area so as to conform to a reasonably uniform appearance. This applies to interior and exterior losses. The insured shall not bear any cost over the applicable deductible, if any.

 

Good Luck to All..

 

Edited March 16, 2019 by JeffreyB

[BobT]

On 2/4/2009 at 10:25 AM, Meycatch said:

I do construction for a living and I have never had a insurance company pay for the rest of the siding on a house so it would match. All vinyl siding fads with age. Most of the homes Ive done the home owner has to pay for the parts that arent damaged. The down fall of using vinyl. Sorry. But you never know. Keep pushing them.

This makes sense. I suspect it might also depend on the insurance plan that was purchased. I'm sure there are policies that can be written to include replacing the whole side or entire siding to make sure it all matches when done but it would also come with a need to open the wallet a little more. 

[leech~~]

37 minutes ago, BobT said:

This makes sense. I suspect it might also depend on the insurance plan that was purchased. I'm sure there are policies that can be written to include replacing the whole side or entire siding to make sure it all matches when done but it would also come with a need to open the wallet a little more. 

 

BobT it's a very old thread.  Their just trolling through!  Did they catch ya!  

[BobT]

I guess they did. I wasn't paying attention to the date.

[ozzie]

still comes into play a lot today as this is typical in insurance policies.

[Kris Kris]

Yep still applies lol...insurance will only cover siding on front of my house and the sides don’t match :/. I was thinking of doing the contrast (shake siding) on front of house in the current color of sides of house, and then doing the remaining front siding in either a lighter or darker color (which actually isn’t much siding d/t the stone and shake siding that’s also on the front), this way it looks like it was done on purpose vs having just slightly mismatchedon front/sides. Anyone ever see this? Any thoughts? Thanks!

[Jenny5555]

insurance companies try to give you the least amount you need for the siding. I had to fight with mine to cover the base costs and then pay for any extra by myself. THis seems silly as it was hail damage, but they do this when you get into accidents as well. Although I did find a good company with reasonable prices here https://conservationconstructionofhouston.com/home/siding-2/ i still had a hard time with the costs. 

[leech~~]

14 minutes ago, Jenny5555 said:

insurance companies try to give you the least amount you need for the siding. I had to fight with mine to cover the base costs and then pay for any extra by myself. THis seems silly as it was hail damage, but they do this when you get into accidents as well. Although I did find a good company with reasonable prices here https://conservationconstructionofhouston.com/home/siding-2/ i still had a hard time with the costs. 

 

Houston we have lift off!