roof damage insurance claim

yujingsz1990 · Feb 22, 2024 6:03 am

My roof got damaged in the storm, with some cracks on the roof timbers. The insurance company offered me a cash settlement. Should I go for it? what is the risk of that?

building-expert · Feb 22, 2024 8:12 am

Typically an offer from the insurer will be a low ball offer where they hope you will accept and go away, you are then left with the task of building repair. Who assessed the damage? Where is structural report?

You are doing yourself no favours by giving here one line of information. What sort of answer do you hope from that?

yujingsz1990 · Feb 22, 2024 2:06 pm

My concern is that if I accept the cash settlement, my house will not be covered by insurance before I get the damage repaired. is that right?

building-expert

Typically an offer from the insurer will be a low ball offer where they hope you will accept and go away, you are then left with the task of building repair. Who assessed the damage? Where is structural report?

You are doing yourself no favours by giving here one line of information. What sort of answer do you hope from that?

Benny123 · Feb 23, 2024 7:05 am

yujingsz1990

My concern is that if I accept the cash settlement, my house will not be covered by insurance before I get the damage repaired. is that right?

building-expert

Typically an offer from the insurer will be a low ball offer where they hope you will accept and go away, you are then left with the task of building repair. Who assessed the damage? Where is structural report?

You are doing yourself no favours by giving here one line of information. What sort of answer do you hope from that?

If you accept a cash settlement then the workmanship for the repairs will not be guaranteed by the insurer. As a broker and underwriter 20+ years, I would recommend you don't cash settle. It is a lot easier for the insurer to cash settle and wash their hands of the claim.

Has a "make safe" been completed by the insurers emergancy repairer? Is the roof water tigh at the moment?.
If you do decide to cash settle then you will need to get the roof repaired within a fair and reasonable timeframe. If you don't, then subsequent water damage claims could be denied by the insurer as they would no longer be caused by an unforeseen event.

But I just continually don't understand why people don't use an experienced insurance broker to manage the insurance of their most valuable asset, their home.
My clients are always VERY grateful that we handle their claims end to end, so they don't have to worry about negotiating and dealing with insurers.

yujingsz1990 · Feb 24, 2024 11:01 am

Benny123

yujingsz1990

My concern is that if I accept the cash settlement, my house will not be covered by insurance before I get the damage repaired. is that right?

building-expert

Typically an offer from the insurer will be a low ball offer where they hope you will accept and go away, you are then left with the task of building repair. Who assessed the damage? Where is structural report?

You are doing yourself no favours by giving here one line of information. What sort of answer do you hope from that?

If you accept a cash settlement then the workmanship for the repairs will not be guaranteed by the insurer. As a broker and underwriter 20+ years, I would recommend you don't cash settle. It is a lot easier for the insurer to cash settle and wash their hands of the claim.

Has a "make safe" been completed by the insurers emergancy repairer? Is the roof water tigh at the moment?.
If you do decide to cash settle then you will need to get the roof repaired within a fair and reasonable timeframe. If you don't, then subsequent water damage claims could be denied by the insurer as they would no longer be caused by an unforeseen event.

But I just continually don't understand why people don't use an experienced insurance broker to manage the insurance of their most valuable asset, their home.
My clients are always VERY grateful that we handle their claims end to end, so they don't have to worry about negotiating and dealing with insurers.

I'm considering going for the cash settlement because I'm not confident in the repairs done by the insurance company. There might be hidden damage that hasn't been addressed, which could pose a risk.
If I decide to take the cash settlement and find it difficult to repair, I might use it as part of the funds needed to rebuild the house.

Benny123 · Feb 27, 2024 3:01 pm

yujingsz1990

Benny123

yujingsz1990

My concern is that if I accept the cash settlement, my house will not be covered by insurance before I get the damage repaired. is that right?

If you accept a cash settlement then the workmanship for the repairs will not be guaranteed by the insurer. As a broker and underwriter 20+ years, I would recommend you don't cash settle. It is a lot easier for the insurer to cash settle and wash their hands of the claim.

Has a "make safe" been completed by the insurers emergancy repairer? Is the roof water tigh at the moment?.
If you do decide to cash settle then you will need to get the roof repaired within a fair and reasonable timeframe. If you don't, then subsequent water damage claims could be denied by the insurer as they would no longer be caused by an unforeseen event.

But I just continually don't understand why people don't use an experienced insurance broker to manage the insurance of their most valuable asset, their home.
My clients are always VERY grateful that we handle their claims end to end, so they don't have to worry about negotiating and dealing with insurers.

I'm considering going for the cash settlement because I'm not confident in the repairs done by the insurance company. There might be hidden damage that hasn't been addressed, which could pose a risk.
If I decide to take the cash settlement and find it difficult to repair, I might use it as part of the funds needed to rebuild the house.

I wouldn't, but it's your decision. You will be foregoing "lifetime guarantee" of repairs undertaken by the insurer.

yujingsz1990 · Feb 27, 2024 3:50 pm

What is lifetime warranty? Is it warranted by insurance company or by the insurance company builder?

Benny123

yujingsz1990

Benny123

If you accept a cash settlement then the workmanship for the repairs will not be guaranteed by the insurer. As a broker and underwriter 20+ years, I would recommend you don't cash settle. It is a lot easier for the insurer to cash settle and wash their hands of the claim.

Has a "make safe" been completed by the insurers emergancy repairer? Is the roof water tigh at the moment?.
If you do decide to cash settle then you will need to get the roof repaired within a fair and reasonable timeframe. If you don't, then subsequent water damage claims could be denied by the insurer as they would no longer be caused by an unforeseen event.

But I just continually don't understand why people don't use an experienced insurance broker to manage the insurance of their most valuable asset, their home.
My clients are always VERY grateful that we handle their claims end to end, so they don't have to worry about negotiating and dealing with insurers.

I'm considering going for the cash settlement because I'm not confident in the repairs done by the insurance company. There might be hidden damage that hasn't been addressed, which could pose a risk.
If I decide to take the cash settlement and find it difficult to repair, I might use it as part of the funds needed to rebuild the house.

I wouldn't, but it's your decision. You will be foregoing "lifetime guarantee" of repairs undertaken by the insurer.

Benny123 · Feb 27, 2024 4:55 pm

yujingsz1990

What is lifetime warranty? Is it warranted by insurance company or by the insurance company builder?

Benny123

yujingsz1990

I'm considering going for the cash settlement because I'm not confident in the repairs done by the insurance company. There might be hidden damage that hasn't been addressed, which could pose a risk.
If I decide to take the cash settlement and find it difficult to repair, I might use it as part of the funds needed to rebuild the house.

I wouldn't, but it's your decision. You will be foregoing "lifetime guarantee" of repairs undertaken by the insurer.

The workmanship is lifetime guarantee by "the insurer", not the builder. They will of course ask the initial builder to rectify and if they don't they will appoint someone else.