Hail damage and insurance dispute

CascadeClone

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Oct 24, 2009
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Do you have an agent from Travellers? Someone who actually sold you the policy, who you can talk to? If you have an agent, start there.

We had really good luck with our human being from American Family, post derecho. Handily, his office was only ~6 blocks away from the house, so gf was able to walk there the day after and physically see him in person. He was having a bad time as you can imagine, but he got us absolutely taken care of. Every time we got stonewalled by an adjuster, or a customer service agent, or whatever - he (or his assistant) got it resolved.
 

mynameisjonas

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Jan 19, 2019
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Good luck with that. Typically no other insurance company will take you for two years following a claim.
While this is not true……Typically it is better to wait a few years after you file a claim to switch insurance companies so that you get the best rates because after a while previous claims start to hurt you less.

That being said, I think, since this was uncontrollable due to weather, I don’t think it should hurt you at all. And you should be able to switch companies without getting dinged On premium.
 

mynameisjonas

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Jan 19, 2019
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They're a big company but Nationwide was great to work with when we had our roof replaced two years ago. We live in Grimes and between the derecho in 2020 and a serious hail storm in 2021 pretty much everyone in our neighborhood needed their roof replaced. I filed a claim and literally within 4 days of the adjuster coming out I had a large check in my hands.
I’ve talked to some roofers, and most of them say nationwide is one of the worst to work with.
 

ruxCYtable

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Aug 29, 2007
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Colorado
They're a big company but Nationwide was great to work with when we had our roof replaced two years ago. We live in Grimes and between the derecho in 2020 and a serious hail storm in 2021 pretty much everyone in our neighborhood needed their roof replaced. I filed a claim and literally within 4 days of the adjuster coming out I had a large check in my hands.
I also sell Nationwide. West Bend showed me a lot after the derecho but Nationwide is solid as well.
 
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JimmyChitwood

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Get a private damage estimate. Refuse to settle with the insurance company until they are willing to meet your demands. If not, lawyer up and have them pay the law costs.
 
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salennon07

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Aug 4, 2016
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I just got off the phone with Waddle again, they have been awesome to work with. They're working on submitting their appeal to Travelers to appeal their roofing assessment. They also told me they have a third party roofing adjustor that I can touch base with IF their appeal is unsuccessful. That way I'd have a non biased assessment of my roof and hopefully would push Travelers to cover.
 

ruxCYtable

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Aug 29, 2007
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West Bend was absolutely rock solid with the derecho. Highly recommend them.
I often tell people, I would write everyone with West Bend if I could. They are not always the cheapest, but when you need them they do the right thing. As a person who makes a living in sales, it is nice to have 100% confidence in your product.
 

DGC

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Oct 16, 2018
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I went through the same thing in 2021, my roof was shot (old age) and then we got hail that did a little more damage to the roof and wife's car. I was out of town with my truck at the time. My adjuster said that most people have depreciated value on roof's. I had full replacement value. My adjuster said "most of the damage is due to old age and not hail, but I am not going to testify that in court." Got a new roof, had to pay some money but got a new roof mostly paid for. Here is what I learned
1. claim money is not the adjusters money, their job is just to make sure you have the coverage that pays for it
2. roof coverage varies greatly from insurance company to insurance company and even policy to policy
3. hail is weird, my roof was damaged and my neighbor to the south was, the neighbor to the north was not
4. hail damage is hard to see unless on the roof

All that to say, has anyone actually looked at your roof besides the adjuster and his drone. If yes point out exactly the damage you believe was caused by the hail. If no inspect it yourself or have someone inspect it. Many roofing companies will offer a free inspection in a situation like yours, hoping to get the job if there is one. Either they will find the roof to not be damaged, and less headache for you, or they will find damage and can point it out to the adjuster. Good Luck with this.
 

cyfan92

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Sep 20, 2011
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Augusta National Golf Club
I got a new roof last summer from Nationwide.. REALY minor wind damage and the contractor was unsure if I'd qualify.. I use an independent insurance agent that gets me multiple quotes yearly for our home and cars.
 
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TXCyclones

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Sep 13, 2011
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Depends on what the claim was for. Typically weather-related claims will not prevent you from finding other coverage.
While this is not true……Typically it is better to wait a few years after you file a claim to switch insurance companies so that you get the best rates because after a while previous claims start to hurt you less.

That being said, I think, since this was uncontrollable due to weather, I don’t think it should hurt you at all. And you should be able to switch companies without getting dinged On premium.

It's been a few years but I had a chimney struck by lightning (in IA) that had to be repaired. It's the only claim I had ever made but the insurance company was really difficult getting it resolved. So I decided to switch insurers once it was done. Because the claim was less than two years old no other company would insure the property. I sold the property a few months later, but when I bought a new one the same question came up regarding "within the last two years" but this time I only had to pay a higher premium.
 

cycloner29

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Dec 17, 2008
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Have State Farm and they covered everything from the deracho damage! Only worked with the claims guy and one adjuster. I ended up taking some pictures of damage they did not see and they covered that as well.

We have friends in the area you are talking about, but they are in housing association. They are getting a new roof and 80% new siding as the north facing section has no damage.
 
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Gorm

With any luck we will be there by Tuesday.
Jul 6, 2010
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I got a new roof last summer from Nationwide.. REALY minor wind damage and the contractor was unsure if I'd qualify.. I use an independent insurance agent that gets me multiple quotes yearly for our home and cars.

Nationwide is my vehicle and home owners as well. I didn't have enough damage during the derecho to file a claim, but a large hail storm in 2011 destroyed my roof. Nationwide was out within 3 days and wrote me a check for a new roof and minor vehicle damage. I've really liked being with them despite the rates going up significantly in recent years.
 

Frog

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May 6, 2021
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I just got off the phone with Waddle again, they have been awesome to work with. They're working on submitting their appeal to Travelers to appeal their roofing assessment. They also told me they have a third party roofing adjustor that I can touch base with IF their appeal is unsuccessful. That way I'd have a non biased assessment of my roof and hopefully would push Travelers to cover.
Wishing you well.

I am another one in the tank for West Bend. We were going to have our roof replaced because of old age two years ago. It was 15 yrs old and corners were breaking off. The roofer said it was damaged so we called our agent who we have three different coverages for home, farm and vehicles. He had West Bend adjuster come out. He said the shingles were damaged by hail and worked with us on the storm date by other claims in the area. WB covered the roof and gutters on front of our house. Adjuster told us he could tell shingles were damaged by pressing the shingles with his thumb?

On the other hand, some straight line winds on the 31st damaged our oldest grain bin that we had patched when put a new dryer in. It buckled at the weld and split. That I am having claim trouble with. Instead of splitting storage on rented farm and my place, I was going to do a major upgrade on my place with new system in 2025 but now looking to speed that up with Suckup.
 

CycloneDaddy

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Sep 24, 2006
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Johnston
I just got off the phone with Waddle again, they have been awesome to work with. They're working on submitting their appeal to Travelers to appeal their roofing assessment. They also told me they have a third party roofing adjustor that I can touch base with IF their appeal is unsuccessful. That way I'd have a non biased assessment of my roof and hopefully would push Travelers to cover.
Waddle sucks … there are houses from 2 years ago that still are not done in our neighborhood that used Waddle as a contractor … good luck.
 

mynameisjonas

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Jan 19, 2019
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Waddle sucks … there are houses from 2 years ago that still are not done in our neighborhood that used Waddle as a contractor … good luck.
That’s crazy, so they started the job and didn’t finish? What happened? Feels like there is more to this story.

I’ve heard nothing but good things about them. I’m meeting with them soon to do a roof inspection.
 

CycloneDaddy

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Sep 24, 2006
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Johnston
That’s crazy, so they started the job and didn’t finish? What happened? Feels like there is more to this story.

I’ve heard nothing but good things about them. I’m meeting with them soon to do a roof inspection.
This is how they work. They are going to ask you for your insurance adjuster paperwork that shows how much insurance is going to pay you for damages. They are going to say they can do the work for that amount. Waddle is then going to nickle and dime your insurance company and keep the extra money.
 

mynameisjonas

Well-Known Member
Jan 19, 2019
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This is how they work. They are going to ask you for your insurance adjuster paperwork that shows how much insurance is going to pay you for damages. They are going to say they can do the work for that amount. Waddle is then going to nickle and dime your insurance company and keep the extra money.
Yeah I won’t be providing that to them. They can give me an estimate of what they charge, it’s none of their business what my insurance company does or doesn’t do.