If your home is ever damaged by a storm, you will certainly have a lot of worries and questions on your mind. You’ll have to deal with filing insurance claims, wondering who is responsible for what, repairing your home to prevent additional damage, and all the while hoping not to get ripped off by the insurance company or an unscrupulous contractor. It is not a pleasant situation to be in at all.
The storm damage experts at Younger Exteriors want to help make a stressful and worrisome situation a little better with a little knowledge. Whether you’ve already been through a storm damage insurance claim before or you are interested in learning how to handle storm damage insurance claims should the need ever arise, read on through these five pro tips on how to handle storm damage insurance claims.
Call Your Roofing Contractor
In the aftermath of storm damage, the first thing to do is to prevent additional damage to your home from any storms that may follow the big one that just hit. Homeowners insurance policies typically don’t cover damage due to delay of repairs. This means calling your roofing contractor right away so that they can be at your home fast to cover up the initial damage in the interim before major repairs can begin.
Choose a reputable roofing contractor that guarantees their work in writing. If a home contractor doesn’t stand behind their craftsmanship, they’re not worth your time. It will only cost you more later.
Contact Your Homeowners Insurance Provider
Next, contact your homeowners insurance provider. By the time the adjuster shows up to your home, a good roofing contractor may already be busy at work covering up damage, making temporary repairs, or even making permanent repairs to your roof and home.
Insurance Adjusters
Your homeowners insurance provider will send an adjuster to your home to inspect and document the storm damage. You will be provided a proof-of-loss form for damage and losses to your home and personal property. At this point, your roofing contractor can relieve much of the stress and burden in this storm damage situation by working closely with your adjuster to ensure you receive every penny that’s due to you for storm damage.
Avoid Unlicensed Contractors
When wide-spread storms strike an area, it brings out unscrupulous individuals claiming to be roofing contractors. Be on the lookout for such persons pretending to be licensed and bonded roofing contractors when, in reality, they are scammers asking you for a down payment for repairs. It’s a sad situation where these types of people prey on homeowners during this vulnerable situation, and then you never see or hear from them again.
Ask any prospective home contractor that you are considering hiring for their contractor’s license and their website so that you can check them out thoroughly, including previous work and references. Check with the BBB and look up a contractor’s reviews on Google, Thumbtack, Facebook, and websites that provide customer reviews. Further, you can look up a contractor’s current license status with the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry.
Get It In Writing
Lastly, get everything in writing with any contractor you hire to do work on your home. This includes free storm damage inspections, storm damage estimates, and storm damage work orders. Contracts should include manufacturer warranties, such as for roofing shingles, and craftsmanship guarantees from your home contractor. If it’s not in writing in the contract, it does not exist now or later when you might need it most. Contracts should include the itemization and costs of materials and labor and estimate of when you can expect the work to be completed.
Most importantly, only work with a contractor with an impeccable history of great work, guaranteed services, and great customer reviews including 5-star average on Google. That’s Younger Exteriors! Contact us online or call us at (612) 360-0320 for unbeatable home repair and roof replacement services around!
