Again, I have 15 years of commerical roofing and shingle exp…and about 4 years in business and I am doing fairly well…BUT I am sort of new to the insurance claims part of it of it all.
Whats the general rule of thumb, as far as most insurance companies are concerned, that you can file a claim after how many months of homeownership?
and what about time frame of tying a specific storm to a claim?
for example- My aunt owns 7 properties in VA. About 5-6 have shingles blown off ( wind damage of course, no hail damage ) 4 of the homes she has owned , and insured ,for about 3 years. 3 of the 7 she has only owned for 4-5 months.
Do most insurance companies pay a claim on storm damage if you have only owned the home or been with them for a short period of time?
and if she has storm damage now from Hurricane IRENE ( that happened around August , 6 months ago ) Will they attach that claim to a storm 6 months prior or more than likely attach it to a more recent wind storm?
We had a Customer earlier this summer in Indiana who filed a claim the day after they closed on their newly purchased house. Of course, the night before, their house got hit with a mini tornado causing about $30K worth of damage.
If there is a storm that occurred since she purchased the property, she may file a claim using that storm date. You should be forewarned that most Adjusters could tell the difference between fresh storm damage, years old storm damage and mechanical damage. If she has a valid claim, she is just as covered the first second after purchasing the policy as she is 20 years down the road.
but is there a time limit to file the claim for a specific storm?
for example…If there was a storm 14 mos. ago and the house was effected but the home owner did not see the damage until 14 months later, does the adjuster not approve the claim because the damage , or storm, took place too long ago?
That may be an arguing point by the Adjuster but the reality is it is when the damage is discovered. Now if the damage is 27 tabs missing on a visible slope, hard to argue that it took 14 months to discover it. If it is hail damage on a high roof not really visible from the ground, different situation.
Just make sure to file the claim with the correct insurance company. Even if you aunt is no longer a policy holder with them, the old insurance company is obligated to pay for damage. If the damaged is a covered loss wind and hail is a named peril, and it date of loss occurred during the coverage period.
The way I understand it, there are time limits to file a claimthat are either part of the insurance policy (contract) or they could also be statutory time limits to file a claim.
The one nice thing about many areas is that there have been many storms, some smaller and some larger. Any discovered damage should be from the date of discovery, but from time to time it does not work that way. Hail damage to a roof in an area that has not seen any hail in 5 years is likely to not be covered under the policy.
Absolutely make sure you are filing the claim with the correct insurance company. If it is within the time limits and even if they are not the current incurance company they SHOULD have to honor a valid claim.
