Most home insurance policies will offer coverage for unexpected sudden and accidental damage to your home.  If your home’s roof or exterior façade is damaged during a storm by hail, wind, subsequent water intrusion or fallen debris, then your home insurance should cover the cost of repairing the structure to its ‘pre-loss condition’.

However, insurance claims aren’t always so cut and dry. Some homeowner’s insurance policies have stipulations or a ‘clause’ regarding reduced coverage depending on the age of your roof. The façade of your home or business may also experience compromised coverage if it is deemed to be non-maintained, and thus unable to be repaired.

Some recent insurer policies being offered on the market today have attempted to shift more of the financial liability back to their customers in lieu of increased storm events, and frequency in hail claim submittals.  These policies are paying for less and less of your roof’s full replacement cost, and leaving the insured with increased out-of-pocket expenses to contend with.  For example, these types of policies may state that if your roof is less than 10 years old then the full dollar value of your roof replacement is afforded coverage.  However, if your roof surpasses 10 years in age, then the insurance company may only reimburse you for the depreciated value of your roof.  Meaning your claims depreciation dollar amount may be non-recoverable, and you are afforded only an actual cash value settlement from the insurer.

At High Pointe Construction we HIGHLY RECOMMEND that all home and business owners thoroughly understand their insurance policy, in its entirety, before purchasing coverage from their prospective insurer.  This can be of the utmost crucial importance when it comes time to file a claim for property damage due to a covered peril.

Our Procedure

Step 1) Post storm occurrence A complete and thorough inspection of your property will be performed by a High Pointe representative at no-cost to you.

Step 2) Secure the structure and mitigate further damage. If there’s a hole in your roof covering, broken glass, or wind damaged perimeter fencing, then High Pointe Construction will secure your property to create a safe area for all residents, and reduce further damage to the structure by applying any tarps or plastic coverings required to reduce additional water intrusion.  Securing your property is a must!

Step 3) We recommend contacting your insurance company’s claims center reporting department.  Your insurance company will issue a claim number to you, and provide further instructions, while inquiring about your homes condition.  High Pointe can assist you in reporting your property claim, if desired.

Step 4) Record any damaged items including personal property.  High Pointe will assist you in making a thorough list of any damaged items, including personal property, in order that you may adequately present these items to your insurer for consideration.  Don’t forget….photos, photos!

 Step 5) Insurer assigns a field adjuster to your claim, and dispatches him/her to your location for the insurer’s initial assessment.  The field adjuster will make an initial determination as to what is, and what is not, covered under your policy’s provisions.

Step 6) The insurer issues your initial settlement offer based on the field adjusters report.  There may be coverage offered for the cost of repairing your roof to its pre-loss condition, or replacing your entire roof, according to the terms of your policy.  NOTE: Your policy’s stated deductible amount will always be applied to any settlement offer, no matter the determined dollar amount of the claim, and is the insured’s financial obligation portion of their claim.

Step 7) Cross-referencing your initial settlement offer.  Examining your initial settlement offer in comparison with the list of damaged items that you’ve previously recorded, along with any photos you’ve taken after the storm or loss event, is extremely important in determining if your field adjuster was thorough, or not.  Field adjusters can often have 5-10 claims that they’re assessing in just a single day’s time.

Step 8) Examining your insurers initial settlement offer with your High Pointe representative Allowing us to review your insurers initial settlement offer ,with you, is crucial in determining if your settlement offer includes all of the materials, labor, and procedural costs needed to repair your home to its pre-storm condition.  There are many factors that are considered in your insurers initial settlement offer.  These initial offers can be highly undervalued for many different reasons.  At High Pointe Construction we take great pride in assisting our clients with receiving the proper settlement amounts from their insurers.  Thorough and accurate claim assessments are what our clients have come to know as a large part of our service.

Step 9) Communicating discrepancies with your insurer.  Once you and your High Pointe representative have had the opportunity to examine your initial settlement offer, then High Pointe will assist you in presenting any oversights, missed items, or inaccurate assessments to your insurer.  This process is generally referred to as supplementation.  A supplemental estimate will be assembled upon discovery of any additional items needed to be presented to your insurer.

Step 10) Assembling your estimate is the next step in our process.  Once you understand the scope of work that your insurance company is approving, then we can begin to assess the true and accurate cost of the insurers proposed scope.  Although this may take some time complete, High Pointe Construction is committed to helping you receive the most accurate quotes during the estimation process.

Following the completion of these important steps, High Pointe Construction will begin the planning phase of your project.  This process will include cost agreements, material selection, timeline review, start dates and more.

Assisting our clients in restoring their greatest asset is something we truly enjoy.  It brings us great pleasure to see our clients get back on their feet, and back in their homes.  Partner with High Pointe Construction for your next project and we can assure you that you’ll be telling all of your friends and family about our service!