Posts Tagged ‘claims’

Wind Damage

Wind Damage

How to Avoid Hurricane Damage

Once an impending hurricane hits, there often is little that can be done. Luckily, there are preventative measures that you can take to protect your property against wind and water damage.

These steps range from those best left to professionals to those for do-it-yourselfers.

Before making structural changes to your property, check local building codes and keep in mind that not all homes require the same degree of storm protection. For example, areas with a high likelihood of hurricanes and other strong storms may benefit greatly from “hurricane straps,” while this may not be an advisable investment for other property owners.

Check with your local American Red Cross or other emergency management offices for information on the area’s flood elevation, which can help you determine how much water is likely to flow into your property.

Also, remember that homeowners insurance does not cover flooding, so it is important to purchase flood insurance. Note: It will be 30 days before the policy takes effect, so don’t wait until the storm warning appears.

Securing the Roof

High winds can cause your roofing structure to fail, if the sheathing is not properly installed.

Roofs are designed to transfer the force of high winds down to the foundation. If the roof sheathing is not nailed into the rafters or trusses of your roofing structure, then it can fail to perform as designed.

From the attic, examine the roofing boards for proper installation. When replacing your roof, make sure that the sheathing complies with the latest industry standards.

Check for proper bracing of your roof’s gables, the upper portion of a sidewall that comes to a triangular point at the ridge of a sloping roof.  From inside the attic space, you should see X-shaped supports in these areas. If these supports are not in place, be sure to hire a contractor to brace them properly.

Hurricane straps, which are galvanized metal braces that keep the roof securely fastened to the walls of a home or building, are advised for properties in areas with a high hurricane risk. Installing braces should be left to a licensed professional.

Securing Windows and Doors

Your property’s windows and doors must be properly braced to withstand the high winds of hurricanes, because, if breached, the resulting high pressure can cause serious damage to your walls and roofing structure.

Protect your property’s vulnerable openings with storm shutters. They can be purchased for exposed windows, skylights, doors and other glass surfaces. They are available in steel, wood or aluminum. Their protection benefit can be mimicked with plywood.

Also most bolts that come with your doors are not capable of withstanding the high winds associated with hurricanes. Reinforcing bolts to secure your doors to the top and bottom frame will ensure that your doors will be able to handle the storm.

While no amount of preparation can prevent all wind damage, you can count on the professionals at storm damage restoration Delaware to restore your property.

Protecting Home Systems from Flooding

Your electrical system can be ravaged by flooding. To minimize and prevent damage to this vital system, make sure that the main electrical panel board and all electrical outlets and switches are located at least 12 inches above the flood elevation for your area. If not, consider elevating all wire and service lines 12 inches above the flood elevation, but be sure that all electrical wiring is done be a licensed electrician.

Electrically run units, such as washers, dryers, furnaces and water heaters, should be moved to a higher level or elevated at least 12 inches above the flood elevation, if possible. A base of concrete or pressure treated lumber that can hold the weight may be used to elevate the units. Consider building a flood wall around these units, if they cannot be relocated.

To prevent floating and potential spills, anchor fuel tanks to the floor and be sure that vents and openings are above projected flood elevation.

To protect your floor drain, install a float plug and a licensed plumber should put in a backflow valve to prevent sewage back up.

Even after taking preventative measures to protect against flooding, water damage can result. When this happens, its best to call in the experts at flood damage restoration Delaware to remediate the situation.

Skippy’s Storm Damage in Louisville, KY

Brownsville sports facilities fine after Alex
As the rain and wind dissipate across Brownsville, things are beginning to get back to normal for the various athletic programs. No damage has been reported from across the athletic facilities after heavy rain and some tornadoes hit the area in the wake of Hurricane Alex.

Incoming search terms for the article:

• wind damage
• Damage to roof and fence from high winds insurace claim
• how does wind damage structures
• who do you call to brace roof for mitigation measures
• what structures prevent wind damage
• preventing wind damage to storm doors
• how to prevent hurricane damage
• how can wind damage structures?
• how can wind damage structures
• how can wind damage a structure

Hail Insurance Claims

Hail Insurance Claims

It’€™s Your Hail Insurance Claim; You Should Get Paid for the Whole Thing!

If you’re in the midst of filing a hail insurance claim, you’re likely ready to accept a check from your insurance adjuster and move on. After all, filling out forms and living in a state of chaos is no fun. You want the stress to end and the ability to make the necessary repairs.

However, insurance companies don’t always pay you in full so it pays to take your time during this process. Remember that insurance companies are businesses, not non-profit organizations. They are in business to make money, not spread goodwill. This means that they have to make wise decisions, charge premiums for their service, and look for ways to minimize their losses.

Now, you have paid for your coverage through your premiums and you deserve to get the service that you paid for. Unfortunately, unless you are vigilant, you may not be fully reimbursed for your insurance losses.

This doesn’t mean that your insurance adjuster is out to get you or is dishonest, but it does mean that you have to be proactive. Insurance adjusters are often extremely busy and don’t take the time to thoroughly inspect your home for damage. You must insist on it. For example, if your home was battered in a hail storm, insist that the adjuster physically inspect the roof for hail damage or have a roofing company’s inspection report in hand detailing the recent hail damage found.

Keep in mind that the insurance adjuster’s estimates may be insufficient. The adjuster may authorize carpet cleaning after a pipe bursts in the home when in reality the carpet will need to be replaced. Another concern is when the insurance adjuster is unfamiliar with actual building costs in your area. In addition, adjusters often use software to calculate repairs. If these calculations were based on an incorrect entry, the results will be wrong. For example, if the adjuster meant to enter 100 square feet but accidentally entered just 10, the dollar amount calculated will be way too low.

Because of all of these factors alone, you must scrutinize every detail. Compare your insurance adjuster’s settlement offer with actual estimates. You may need to sit down and negotiate with the insurance company, pointing out mistakes, omissions, and estimates that are too low. This is not unreasonable, nor is it unexpected. However, very few homeowners are willing to take these actions. There’s no reason to be intimidated. So long as you have documentation and approach these negotiations professionally, you should be able to work with your insurance company and get paid for the whole thing.

Hail Insurance Questions:

How do I get an insurance adjuster to consider paying me the same amount they would a body shop?

I had recent hail damage on my car. It is paid off and older. I was considering taking the cash-out option on the insurance claim and putting the cash into repairs. I received 3 quotes from reputable body shops and they ranged from $2100 – $2400. Just came back from a meeting with the adjuster (All State) and they offered $1380. He told me if I wanted more, take it to a body shop and All State would pay the difference to the body shop. Why, if All State will pay the body shop $2100 to repair my car, will they not give me a check for $2100? I know darn well that I’ve given them more than that amount over the last 10-years as a policy holder! To make it even more pertinent – one of the quotes is from their ‘preferred’ body shops!

Can I appeal to the Texas Department of Insurance?

Thanks in advance for helping a consumer compete and win against BIG Insurance companies!

Replies:

I’m sorry but you’re not going to get any help form the TX Dept of Insurance on this one. One of the basic premises of insurance is to cover damages or losses WITHOUT profit to the policyholder. Allstate is not doing anything wrong here and there is nothing for you to win. I’m pretty sure the state of Texas will tell you the same thing.

Thousands of people each spring  file hail damage claims – they have hail damaged cars that they have no intention of repairing. The policyholder figures they can make some easy cash, even though they are not entitled to do that.

The estimates that you received form the body shops included their profit. The body shop is permitted to profit from your damage, but not you. Allstate is offering you the lower figure because if you are not going to repair the car or are going to repair the hail damage yourself you are not permitted to make a profit.

I suggest you take the $1380 because this is one fight you’re not going to win. If you want you can call the TX dept of insurance at 1-800-578-4677 and talk to one of their investigators.

Incoming search terms for the article:

• allstate hail damage claim
• allstate hail damage
• allstate hail damage coverage
• allstate hail claims
• allstate hail damage roof
• WHAT IF YOU CASH YOUR hail INSURANCE CLAIM CHECKS FRAUD
• taking cash hail damage
• if i have insurance do they give me a check for the damge to my car
• allstate hail
• things to suggest to an adjuster for storm and hail damage

Windstorm Claims

Windstorm Claims

How Much Homeowners Insurance Coverage Do You Need?

If you are considering homeowners insurance, it should become obvious very quickly that you need to determine how much coverage you will need. This will require that you really examine your situation and learn what you can about every aspect of home insurance for your area that you can. There are some differences depending upon what region of the country you live. Let’s learn more about homeowner’s insurance.

Basically, you need to know what the approximate cost of replacing your home would be if something tragic like a fire or a natural disaster happened. This will help you to decide what amount of coverage is really appropriate. Then you will be able to make the best choice fits your needs. Some policies operate with certain amount limits so you may be able to find one that is within your home’s limits.

It may also be pertinent to obtain more coverage than you absolutely need rather than making your estimate exact or too close to the total value. This gives you some more flexibility in case any future problems prove to be more expensive than you first believed. You should not make too many assumptions about the likelihood of future events. They have a tendency to be proven wrong. Perhaps, the best example regards weather conditions. Where once it was rare to see a serious thunderstorm or tornado, one could pop up next week and do serious damage to your neighborhood or whole town. You just don’t know for sure.

If you have a homeowner’s insurance policy, you have a serious measure of protection that covered the destruction of the property as well as personal possessions. Most policies cover homes that have been damaged by windstorms, fire, hail, explosions, as well as theft and acts of vandalism. Moreover, if you are not able to live in your home due to any of these occurrences, your insurance policy will be able to supply financial assistance for the homeowner and other family members. This may also include temporary housing while repairs are made to the home.

Naturally, some losses are not covered by insurance policies. In some cases, the policies will only cover certain types. If there is no coverage, you may be able to obtain some sort of coverage through state-sponsors catastrophe funds called windpool programs.

Floods have their own separate insurance policies. You can obtain one from the National Flood Insurance Program, which was established by FEMA. Obviously, it covers damages to homes and property due to high water and flash floods. If you have any questions about whether you living in area that is considered a high flood risk zone, it should be a priority to find out what sort of coverage you might have.

A good piece advice for those who already have homeowner’s insurance policies is to periodically review the terms and make sure that they are updated to cover the latest changes in legislation regarding insurance coverage. Homeowners’ insurance coverage is a big deal. Your own is one of your most valuable assets. You should do what you can to protect it.

Tips for homeowners: Recent severe weather across Southwest Michigan means insurance claims
Severe weather that hit Michigan over the weekend will most likely result in some residents filing insurance claims. Tornadoes are considered “windstorms” and generally covered by homeowners insurance policies. However, flooding is not covered by a regular homeowners policy but can be purchased through the National Flood Insurance Program.

Tornado Insurance

Tornado Insurance

Floods And Tornadoes Could Mean An Increase In Buildings And Contents Insurance

With the unnatural extreme weather that the UK has seen during the last few months such as the flooding that hit some parts of the country and the tornadoes that hit some parts of the Midlands, buildings and contents insurance could soon go sky high so it is now more important than ever that you shop around for our cover with a specialist broker.

The specialist broker will be able to find you the best deal on the cover while at the same time helping you to decide that you do have adequate cover. While tornadoes are thankfully a very rare occurrence in the UK they do happen as those living in the Midlands found in September 2007. Buildings insurance would of course be essential in cases of damage made by such as floods and tornadoes and without it the repairs for the structure of the property could end up being very costly.

Repairs such as from the likes of the tornadoes and floods can run into thousands of pounds for repairs to the shell and replacing damaged contents and it is important that you are fully covered because you would need buildings insurance to cover and damage made to your actual home and cover for the contents for damage done to your possessions. While of course tornado damage could mainly be to the outer shell of your home when it comes to flood damage rising water can severely destroy the possessions in your home along with damaging the outer.

While there could be an increase in premiums for buildings and contents insurance due to these natural disasters the cheapest and best deals can still be found by going with an online specialist broker. An specialist home insurance broker will be able to search the buildings and contents marketplace around on your behalf to find you the cheapest premiums for adequate cover. Although floods such as those recently seen are few and far between and tornadoes ever rarer it is essential that you do take out cover to guard against them otherwise it could end up costing thousands to replace the contents of your home not to mention any structural damage that can occur.

It is essential that you do look around for the best deals on buildings and contents insurance and if you want to scour the entire UK marketplace for the cover then going online with a specialist broker and letting them shop around on your behalf is the best way to go. The broker will be able to access the entire marketplace and will know where the best deals can be found but making savings on the cost of the cover is not the only reason why you should go with a specialist broker. The specialist’s website will offer a whole host of information regarding insurance, FAQs and articles about the various types of cover are all available and if you want to understand policies then it is essential that you take the time to digest this information.

Tornado Warning Issued For 2 Missouri Counties
A tornado warning has been issued for two Missouri counties until 8 p.m. Friday.

Incoming search terms for the article:

• tornado windstorm insurance
• best tornado insurance
• tornado insurance
• tornado insurance for contents
• tornado insurance versus wind damage insurance
• tornado insurance vs wind insurance
• windstorm deductibles for tornado in Missouri
• windstorm insurance vs tornado

Wind Damage To Roofs

Wind Damage To Roofs

Roofs blown off in Gelephu windstorm
16 May, 2010 – On the night of May 12, Pema Dorji and his family were having dinner in their one-storey kitchen in Tarithang, Gelephu when a strong wind shook the bamboo hut and blew away the CGI roof.

How to locate a leak in your roof

Owning a house is a full time job! Sometimes it feels like if you don’t have one problem, than you have another! Having a leak in your roof is one of the most common household problems, but happily, just because there is a leak does not necessarily mean that you have a huge, expensive problem on your hands. Especially if you were able to identify the leak early, repairing your roof can be simple and cheap! But don’t put off doing it, because if you do, you may experience a variety of larger problems, such as mold, mildew, and even damaged foundations.
So first of all, try to find exactly where the roof is leaking.

If some of your ceiling tiles are wet, then you should be able to trace the leak backwards from the tile to the roof. Certain areas of your roof will be most prone to leaks. So if the location of the leak is not obvious, you will want to check the following areas first; low spots in the roof, areas around the chimney and skylights, areas where shingles are missing, and vent flashings from plumbing, the furnace, or wall steps.

Once you figure out exactly where the leak is, you should move things such as televisions and furniture that are underneath the leaky area to keep them from getting damaged. You may discover that a recent windstorm took some shingles off the roof. Winds gusting from 50 to 75 miles per hour can damage your roof. If this is the problem, all you have to do is replace the missing shingles.

Another common cause of leaking roofs is flashings that are not functioning correctly. Roof flashings are thigs that keep water out of areas of the roof where there are protrusions such as pipes and chimneys. If the junction between the flashings and the rest of the roof are not watertight, you can get leaks in the roof. Flashings can often cause leaks in the roof if they are not installed correctly, and flashings are the most susceptible part of your roof. Many early roof problems are actually just flashing problems. If you repair the flashings, it will usually fix any other problem you are having with a leaky roof.

Finally, if you cannot find the source of the problem yourself, you might want to consider hiring a roofing professional to keep your home from being subject to further water damage.

Incoming search terms for the article:

• shingle missing from roof insurance
• how to locate wind damage on the roof
• what would cause a ashingled roof to leak after wind storm
• will a missing shingle cause a leak
• will a missing shingle cause a roof to leak
• will one missing shingle cause a leak
• can roof leak when missing some shingles
• wind damage on roof near chimney
• wind damaged shingles and adjusters
• wind storm has blown some shingles off roof Will it leak?