A few years ago, we had a large hail storm that went through the area and caused major damage to a number of houses in my local neighborhood. All the houses around me had their roofs checked and all had them eventually replaced. I called my agent and asked for a roof inspection. A roofer came out and said my roof was fine and did not need replaced. It was a miracle, all the houses around me were damaged, but my house was fine.
A year later another storm ripped through the area and knocked down my fence. I called the agent again and he sent out a contractor that checked the house, as well as the roof. He said the roof had some hail damage, but was not enough to warrant replacement.He explained how they count the number of hail dents in a square to determine if the roof is damaged. He said I did not have enough hail dings in the square and all was good. The amount to fix the fence was 4000 and my deductible was 3200, so I did not file a claim and fixed damage out of my pocket.
A few weeks ago a roofer was working on the roof of a house next door and saw damage on my roof. He agreed to check the roof for me and he found a massive amount of hail damage. The roof,turbines,gutters, front bay window and garage door all had major hail damage. The roofer called the insurance company and opened a claim. They sent an adjuster to check the roof. The adjuster agreed that the roof was badly damaged and needs replaced. The adjuster said the hail damage to the roof and window was old damage and is not covered. However, the damage to the gutters, turbines, garage door and fence, was caused by new hail and would be covered. The adjuster then exaplined that I must pay for the damage out of my pocket first and then give them the total cost. At that time they would cut me a check for the amount minus the deductible and depreciation of the house.I never heard of insurance company making you pay for damages and then reimbursing you after the repairs.
Because I did not call the Help Point line years ago to file a claim, they have no record of me calling my agent and no record of him sending a roofer to check the roof. The most amazing part is that they claim that recent hail damaged my gutters, turbines, fence and garage door but never touched my roof, the 2nd miracle.
I had my house built 15 years ago and although I live in North Texas and have been through a number of bad hail storms and high winds, I have never filed a claim for damages. I The houses on both sides of my house have replaced their roofs twice in the last 8 years. All houses in my neighborhood have had their roofs replaced at least once. So, farmers is claiming that I sat back while all my neighbors had their roofs replaced and ignored the possible damage to my house. They also tried to tell me that the some storms can damage houses around you and because of air flow can miss my house. This explains the damage to the gutters and garage door, and why the roof was not damaged by recent hail. This is the 3rd miracle. I am not giving up and plan to fight this as far as I can. I am not sure I will be successful, but it is now a matter of what is right and wrong. I am right and they are wrong.
