What mistakes should you avoid on a hail storm insurance claim?
Short answer. The costliest mistakes are waiting too long to report, giving the wrong storm date, letting the adjuster inspect without your roofer present, accepting the first estimate without reading it, and signing papers you do not understand, such as forms that hand over control of your insurance money. Missing the deadline to collect withheld depreciation is another common and expensive one.
Ten mistakes, and the fix for each
- Waiting until a leak appears. Hail damage can take a season to leak, and by then proving the storm is harder. Inspect within days.
- Guessing the date. Match the damage to a documented storm; see date of loss.
- Filing before knowing the damage. A claim with no payable damage still creates a record.
- Throwing away evidence. Keep shingles, photos and damaged items until the adjuster has seen them.
- Skipping the inspection or letting it happen without your roofer on the roof.
- Speculating on the phone about roof age or old leaks. Stick to what you know.
- Accepting the summary page. Ask for the full line item estimate and photos.
- Taking the deductible deal. Any offer to waive or cover it is illegal in Georgia.
- Signing an assignment without reading it. An assignment of benefits transfers your right to collect; Georgia bars contractors from taking an assignment of proceeds within a year of a declared disaster. See assignment of benefits.
- Forgetting the second check. Withheld depreciation is released only after the work is done and the final invoice is sent within your policy's deadline; see recoverable depreciation.
One more: spending the check without a plan
If your mortgage company is on the check, it will usually control how the money is released. Know that process before you sign a roofing contract that expects payment on a fixed date.