Skip and Pat have owned their home in Colorado Springs for a long time. 35 years to be exact.
In that time, they've had to have a new roof installed 6 or 7 times. The most recent time they had to have a new roof was after the August 6, 2020 hail storm that demolished many of the roofs in the southwest part of Colorado Springs.
After that storm, there was a Denver-based roofing company that was wandering the streets and literally tossing sales flyers into the driveways of homes in Skip and Pat's neighborhood.
Skip didn't appreciate the intentionally littering in his property, so he called the roofing company to complain. The roofing company at first seemed very accommodating and sent someone over to pick up the flyers that were scattered throughout the neighborhood.
The man who responded to Skip's complaint seemed nice enough and he talked to Skip about the needs for their roof. Skip liked him so agreed to have this roofing company perform the roof replacement. But that's when things began to go wrong.
Not long after that, when Skip called the roofing company to finalize the details, he wasn't allowed to speak with the man who came to his house. He tried repeatedly, but always had to deal with someone else. That's when Skip and Pat began to talk to one of their neighbors, who recommended Homestead Roofing.
In addition to the strange experience with the Denver-based roofing company, Skip and Pat had some other unusual circumstances to navigate.
When their insurance adjuster came to inspect their property, he didn't trust the plywood decking on the roof to support him. He told them that their decking was bad and wouldn't get on the roof. Well that made for an interesting inspection! Because he wouldn't get on the roof, there were a lot of details that he didn't include in his claim report. This became a battle as the adjuster and Homestead Roofing went back and forth to come to a conclusion about the complete scope of work that was necessary to re-roof the house. Of course the insurance company was determined to pay as little as possible, but in the end, they ended up revising the claim and including most of what was necessary.
Not only did they have some initial problems with the adjuster, their insurance agent was no help either. When the trouble started brewing with the adjuster refusing to get on the roof, Pat tried calling her insurance agent and left message after message with the agent's assistant. Even after the claim was finally resolved and months after the roof was completed, Pat has still never heard from her agent.
In 35 years, and having their roof replaced several times before meeting with Homestead Roofing, Skip and Pat have definitely had some unpleasant experiences with roofing contractors. Many times contractors wouldn't clean up their property during or after the job and Pat would have to walk around, picking up shingle debris, nails, staples, and other trash.
Since they are such seasoned pro's at the re-roof and insurance claim process, we asked them to impart some of their wisdom to other homeowners who may not have had to file a claim yet, or have a roof replaced. Here is a summary of their advice.
- Definitely know what your insurance policy covers and doesn't cover. This includes knowing what your deductible is, knowing what type of coverage you have, and if you have Ordinance and Law coverage. Ordinance and Law will pay to make your home comply with current building codes. Without Ordinance and Law coverage, any materials or procedures that are necessary will have to be paid for by you, the homeowner. Your insurance company will not be required to pay for these things.
- Don't choose your Colorado Springs roofing contractor "out of the phonebook." Or, we may say, off the internet. Their point was, make sure you talk to other people you trust - in their case, Skip and Pat spoke with one of their neighbors who recommended Homestead Roofing. Ask your friends, neighbors, family, or co-workers to recommend a roofing contractor they've worked with.
- Never hire a roofer who knocks on your door.
If you have questions about insurance, deductibles, or the roofing process, feel free to contact us today to speak with a member of our team.
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