There is a lot of misinformation out there on insurance claims, especially on social media. Let me tell you about Brazosport Roofing, LLC's experience in the last 20 years of roofing dealing with claims and clarify a few things for anyone filing a claim.
As a homeowner, you don't work for the insurance company. It is not your responsibility to turn in 3 bids to them. One roofer may say you need a repair, and another says you need a replacement. You might get a bid far less than what the insurance is supposed to pay. Most carriers use Xactimate claims estimating software with pre-set pricing. If you have a roofer come out and say you need a repair when, in fact, you need a replacement and the cost is less than your deductible, you will have no claim, and the insurance will pay out $0.
There are not enough folks with Brazosport Roofing, LLC, to look at all the hurricane-damaged roofs and make an assessment for your insurance company. They have the final say. Insurance companies bring hundreds of adjusters from all over the U.S. to assist. I have personally been on homes that have little to no damage, and they pay for a replacement, and I've been on homes that have damage and pay for a repair. There is no magic word I can give them to make them replace your roof. I can argue until I'm blue in the face, but they will make their decision regardless. There is an appeal process through most insurance companies if you are not happy with their findings.
Part of the confusion is how they paid out after the hailstorm of 2015 in the Lake Jackson/Angleton area. Let's say you were getting your roof replaced then, and the insurance said your replacement cost value was $15,000. You have a deductible of $ 5000. The insurance would take out the $5000 deductible and give you one check for $10,000. That was all you were going to get. You didn't have to prove you paid your deductible, either. It made sense then to get bids and pick the cheapest one. We were bidding at that time as well.
Fast forward to 2019 Texas Deductible Law HB 2102. That changed things! You have a $15,000 claim and a $5000 deductible. That deductible will be removed, leaving you with $10,000, but NOT in one check. It will be two checks. The second check typically takes 4-5 weeks to receive after the contractor lets them know the work has been completed.
They may ask the contractor for pictures of completed work or Windstorm Certification. There is no way of getting that second check, called recoverable depreciation, from TWIA (we learned this from Nicholas and the recent Angleton hail storm) without the homeowner showing proof that the deductible has been paid to the contractor via a canceled check from their bank.
So, between your first check, you receive a deductible and depreciation check that, in most cases, will be the total cost of your roof replacement estimated by your insurance company. It is counterproductive for us to give bids at this time or get into a bidding war when the insurance is already giving you a replacement cost. That is the price we go off of. That is the price they set, not us.
Also, there was a post saying it is none of your roofer's business what your insurance is paying you. Not true. From the TWIA adjuster report, also known as a Disposition packet: You may provide your contractor with a copy of the enclosed estimate. You will typically receive this packet via email or mail about two weeks after the adjuster comes out. It will have their findings on what they are paying for and what they are not paying for. It will have your claim number, deductible, first check, and recoverable depreciation.
We will not work a claim from insurance without seeing this, as there will be correspondence that, in most cases, will be needed from the contractor to the insurance company. There have been times when the insurance has not paid for the whole roof, has not measured correctly, or left something out that, as your contractor, we can review and discuss with them before starting the job and make you aware of.
Waiving deductibles, writing fraudulent invoices, or letting you keep money on the back end of the claim to profit is illegal. Beware of companies trying to do this. Not all contractors are bad. Do your homework.
If you can't find a so-called local roofer in a Google search, more than likely, they are not local!
-Daniel Gutierrez
Brazosport Roofing, LLC
Owner
