When it comes to roof claims in today’s market, carriers are now looking very closely at the ‘date of loss’. The date of loss is obviously when the damage occurred to the property. The issue that we now see occurring is the ‘date of loss’ not being in range of the policy term(s) if you have recently switched carriers.
Carriers are now confirming that the damage to your roof, has in fact, occurred while you have had an active policy with them. If they find the damage happened prior to you placing coverage with their company, they will not cover the claim. They will recommend you contact your previous carrier to submit the loss.
Example: You decided to have your roof inspected for hail damage this month. The roofer you hire states that, you do in fact have hail damage. He will more than likely provide you with a date of loss from the last known hail storm in the area. Let’s say that date is 1/1/2016 but you switched insurance carries in March. Your new insurance carrier will take that into account and say they weren’t insuring the location during that time of loss and will not be covering the claim. You could then contact your previous carrier to submit a claim under that policy term.
The carriers are hiring companies who can provide reports of damage specific to your region by using advanced satellite technology. These detailed reports disclose the specific documented times that storms occurred in your region along with measurements of the wind and hail during the storm. These are reports that the carriers are now utilizing in all storm claims to prove or disprove the damage during the stated ‘date of loss’.
It is very important to be proactive with having your roof inspected if you think damage has occurred. Taking quick action means you are submitting a claim in a timely manner, shortly after damage has transpired and to guarantee you are submitting a claim with the correct insurance provider and not ending up in a battle of ‘who will cover this?’.
If you are looking for a company to perform a free inspection on your roof, please visit our site for a list of trusted partners that we work with: www.mountainlakesinsurance.com/emergency/
Look for our upcoming blog addressing ‘Where & How to File a Claim’. Subscribe to our blog here: www.mountainlakesinsurance.com/blog/ to receive more interesting and valuable information.