In my spare time I’m a contractor who works with adjusters specifically for hail damage on roofs. I’m pretty damn good at it. My denial rate is less than 10%.
There is a common test known as the Haag test that is a common reference for the industry. It involves hail dents within a square (10’x10’) What is considered a dent can be debated. Every insurance company has different criteria that has to be met. Some need the mat to be broken. Some need 6-8-13 or more dents in a square. Some like to see additional evidence, such as dents in the soft metals, A/C, fascia, or siding. Every company is different, every adjuster is different.
I just finished a job last week, neighbor on either side was having the roof replaced from hail damage. (I’m doing both neighbors.) The guy had dents in the roof, dents on the furnace cap, A/C and siding. Everything was approved for hail damage, except the roof. Homeowner was pissed. I don’t blame him, but it was a 80-20 percent chance of being a claim. He was that 20% that didn’t get approved. He had American Family. I cannot say across the board any one insurance company is more or less lenient than the other.
Contractors can (gasp!) be sleazy as well. One of the reasons why hail claims are so popular, is because it can be debated, especially on older roofs. Your contractor is not only making your case, he’s making the case for his own profit. And it is very lucrative. He isn’t fighting for your roof because he thinks you’re a swell guy.
I had an adjustment this morning, it was State Farm, guy was very professional, not only made the adjustment, but also did the paperwork immediately afterwards in his truck, made a check out right away. From start to finish, maybe an hour and a half, and homeowner had a new roof being ordered within three hours, to be installed early next week. I wish more adjusters were like the State Farm guy I had today.
Contractors can be assholes, I know this, I am one, and I’m married to one. If the damage is there, it’s there. I’m glad you got your roof, but you may have suffered from a bit of neighbor-itis. Just because your claim was approved, still doesn’t mean you had enough damage. Most adjusters do a very good job. And they also get paid MORE if they approve your claim. If I had to trust a contractor or an adjuster, I think I’d trust the adjuster. Just sayin’
Oh, and chicks can know their shit about roofs, too. You can ask the adjuster I met with on Tuesday, who is grand pooh bah of the insurance/roofing coalition of the midwest. Yes, he approved the claim after I made my case.
If you are professional, and know what you are doing, there are very rarely any problems. I wonder if your contractor is familiar with hail claims, or is more into just sales, quick money. It could also be that your contractor has a negative reputation amongst adjusters.
It could be one specific adjuster assigned into that area who is evil, bitter, and cheap. If it is one specific adjuster, he will likely be replaced soon, everyone hates readjustments, and every one REALLY hates when you get engineers involved. Wasting a lot of people’s time and money, and causing bad feelings and impugning reputations.
Most adjusters are not local, they go wherever the storms are.
Do you have any idea of the economic impact building a downtown office tower has? If that’s how they’re spending their profits, then more power to them. Everybody from unskilled trash collectors to electrical engineers gets paid to do the work, and local businesses from food trucks and restaurants to parts and materials suppliers profit as well. I’m not defending the insurance companies here, particularly if their profits were coerced from people through dishonest dealings. But bashing high profit just generally is ridiculous because, if it is earned honestly, it means the company is doing something very good that a lot of people like.