There are many times when homeowners have tried to claim hail damage to their properties when in truth, the damage to their property was as a result of their own doing, their negligence, and not as a result of hailstorms.
For this reason, many insurance adjusters have denied claims of hail damage to roofs. They became increasingly careful of approving claims for hail damages by homeowners, and certainly, this has affected genuine claims for hail-damaged properties as insurance adjusters tend to reject their claims.
The question is, what happens when an insurance adjuster rejects the claims for hail damage to an insurance holder’s property?
If an insurance adjuster says no hail damage, find out why the insurance claim has been denied, ensure that your insurance policy is on comprehensive insurance coverage, gather all documents relating to your insurance policy, and file a claim for hail damages and the denial of your claim.
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Who are Insurance Adjusters?
Also called Claims Adjusters, insurance adjusters are personnel, employees, officers hired or fully employed by the insurance providers and sent to inquire of and investigate a damaged property, whose owner has requested an insurance claim, to ascertain the extent of the damage to the property, and determine the amount that the insurance providers should pay to the insurance holder for the loss incurred.
The amount determined by the insurance adjuster is then taken back to the insurance company. This amount is what the insurance holders or homeowners call the insurance claim.
To do their jobs properly, Insurance Adjusters go beyond just inspecting the property that needs the claim. They also go as far as interviewing the owners of the property and in extreme cases, the frequent users of the property in question.
They also do further research, and in situations where there are reports from the police concerning the property, they comb through every word, ensuring that the final claim they arrive at is the right one and putting the insurance company in the most desirable position.
Insurance Adjusters work in different capacities. There are public insurance adjusters who work for the insurance holder and help the insurance holder get the best and highest possible settlement you can think of.
Their interests are aligned with those of the insurance holders or homeowners as the case may be.
There are also the ones called the Insurer Adjusters. The interests of this kind of adjuster lie with the insurance company.
They seek ways to reduce the liabilities of an insurance company on the claims from an insurance provider.
Finally, there are the Independent Adjusters who are almost the same as the Insurer Adjusters, except that they are hired freelance and are not direct employees of the insurance company.
Reasons Why Insurance Adjuster Might Say No Hail Damage
Time Lag
There has been an irreconcilable delay between the time the damage was caused by hailstones and the time you are seeking to claim for hail damages on your car or roof.
Many times, it is stated in your insurance policy the timeframe when you can file for a claim on damage to your insured property. If you exceed that timeframe before claiming insurance, you might be denied.
Type of Insurance Policy
The type of insurance policy you have opted for might also be a good enough reason for an insurance adjuster to deny claims for hail damages.
Your insurance policy might not be enough to cover the damages you are seeking claims for, and for that reason, the Insurance Adjuster can deny your claim for hail damages.
Defaulted Premiums
If you have defaulted on paying premiums for quite some time, you might not be eligible to claim for damages on your insured property, and as such, your insurance adjuster might deny your claim.
What to do if Insurance Adjuster Says No Hail Damage
There is a list of things you can do if you file for a hail damage claim and after investigation, the Insurance Adjuster denies your claim, they are:
1. Find Out Why the Denial
The very first thing you should determine and try to understand is why your insurance claim has been denied after the insurance adjuster’s investigation.
The document of analysis generated from the insurance adjuster’s investigation would give you enough insight as to why your claim has been denied, so it is important that you diligently go through the document containing the full explanation of the denial by the insurance company.
If after reading the document, you still aren’t sure what it all means, you should then go through the next obvious step.
2. Go Back to Your Insurance Policy
What type of insurance policy are you holding as a homeowner? How are you insured? Are the terms of your insurance enough to cover hail damages? What type of damage will your insurance policy recognize as hail damage?
Perhaps the extent of damages to your roof that you are seeking a claim for has been excluded from your insurance policy.
If that is the case, then it is well within the rights of the insurance adjuster to deny your claims of hail damage.
3. Documentative Gathering
Ensure you gather up all the documentation relating to your insurance policy, filing a claim for hail damages, and the denial of your claim.
The reason is that the more information and documentation you have on the insurance policy and filings, the greater your chances are of recovering the claim the insurance adjuster has denied, especially when you are certain that you are in your rights and have stood by the rules of your insurance policy.
Documentation should include detailed photographs of the hail damage to your roof, the total amount the contractor has estimated would be the cost of repairs, your insurance policy, the denial by the insurance adjuster, and an informative description or write-up of the whole process.
4. File an Appeal
You do this by hiring an attorney who’s experienced in the field and understands the workings of a court of competent jurisdiction.
After meeting the attorney, you have to provide the attorney with all the information you have gathered from the previous step.
The attorney will be in the best position to tell you if you have a case with the insurance providers, and what your chances are of getting your claim if you eventually file for an appeal.
Once that is established, then the attorney should guide you through the process of filing an appeal to get your insurance claim.
How to Deal with Insurance Adjusters
It is important to add that, in dealing with insurance adjusters, you should understand their role, and know that they are just trying to do their jobs, and so, try your best to cooperate with them. It will make the process easier.
However, while cooperating with them, be very careful not to divulge too much information about the damage to your property, as you might end up saying the wrong things that will count against you in the investigation process.
Also, do not append your signature to anything as the insurance adjuster’s role is simply to investigate and report, not to collect any form of commitment. Also, if the roofer wants you to sign the insurance check before work commences, do not.
If you encounter an insurance adjuster that insists you sign a document, contact your insurance providers immediately. Check out: Do You Need a Permit to Put a Shipping Container on your Property?
Final Thoughts
Ensure that you do not panic when you know you are eligible for a hail damage claim, and your insurance adjuster says otherwise.
Understand the reason why he has denied your claim for hail damage and go through the proper procedures to appeal for your claim, especially when you are sure that you should not be denied the hail damage claim.
Many lawyers would gladly assist you in recovering your claim as you should not be paying out of your pocket fully for the repairs on a property that has been insured.
