These Insurance People (Farmers Insurance) Are Trying To Get Out Of Something

Robert Ewens awoke early Monday to find water pouring into his home.

Two days into putting a new roof on his house in the 3100 block of South 74th East Avenue, Ewens had nailed tarpaulins and waterproof sheeting to his roof after forecasters predicted rain for Monday.

The storm's high winds blew off the tarps. Then the water came in.

"Inside, it looks like someone got a hold of 1,000 gallons of water and poured it in," Ewens said. "The furniture is sopping and soaking wet. It's pitiful."

He is fighting to get his insurance company to cover the damage.

Although his situation is unusual, Ewens isn't alone. This spring's storms have damaged a record number of roofs.

"More homes are being re-roofed from this series of storms than any other time in Tulsa history," said Neil Cagle, who owns All American Roofing in Tulsa. "It's overwhelming every roofing
company in the city."

Cagle estimated that 25,000 homes in Tulsa will need new roofs, causing a two- to three-month backlog. At this time of year, the normal wait is two to six weeks. Adding to the troubles, storms across the country are driving up the demand for shingles.

"The price of shingles has risen so dramatically and so quickly," Cagle said. "We're paying over 50 percent more for shingles than we were back at the start of the year."

Because of high shingle prices and a shortage of workers, a roof that would have cost $5,000 six months ago might cost $6,800 today. Cagle said many insurers are "dragging their heels" about paying the higher cost, which is causing some homeowners to resort to lower-cost roofers who might not do as good a job.

"There's a lot of guys who just go in and out of business," Cagle said. "Do you think those people will be here after this storm is all roofed up?"

The storm damage is apparently not finished. Tulsa International Airport has received 8.17 inches of rain so far this month, compared with a June average of 4.72 inches, the National Weather Service reported.

That puts Tulsa on pace to break the June record of 14.87 inches. The weather service predicts a good chance of rain Wednesday night and Thursday.

Ewens was replacing his roof because a storm in April damaged his old one. Farmers Insurance Co. had just sent a check for the new roof, which was scheduled to be finished by Tuesday.

Ewens said a Farmers representative told him that the water damage would be added to the existing claim because the new roof was "work in progress."

However, several other Farmers employees told him later Monday that he wouldn't be covered.

"I thought it was the sickest joke you've ever heard," Ewens said. "These insurance people are trying to get out of something."

Craig Dejager, a property claims manager with Farmers Insurance, said Ewens' claim had not been denied. The company will review a recording of Ewens' initial phone conversation with a Farmers representative to see whether he was told something "inaccurate."

"If he was misled, then we'll do the right thing," Dejager said.

Under a normal policy, he said, a homeowner would not be covered unless the storm created an opening in the roof.

A temporary roof usually would not qualify under most policies, he said.

Ewens' case might have to go to mediation offered by the state Insurance Department.

Lance Thomas, a spokesman for the department, said, "A mediation scenario occurs whenever everything else fails.

"We're going to try and resolve it as best we can before it gets to there."

Ewens, who runs a handyman service, said he spent nine years and more than $30,000 remodeling his home's interior. Much of that work was lost in Monday's storm.

He said he did everything he could to protect his house.

"I don't feel like I was negligent in the slightest," he said. "I took care of my property as best as anybody would do."

Source: tulsaworld.com