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Calgary14 · 08-19-2021, 08:43 AM

I had some hail damage to my house in early July and the insurance company just got back to me with the details of the claim.

The damage isn't as bad as the NE hail storms (I'm in the deep south) but there is a lot of siding damage, roof, eavestroughs etc.

The insurance company is offering a cash settlement and I could either use one of their preferred contractors, do the work myself or use a different contractor. The amount of the settlement is higher than I assumed it would be.

I have a contact with a roofing company that's done work in the past and they did a good job so I could use them, but that's not to say they would necessarily be the cheapest. The work by the preferred contractors is guaranteed, if I use a different contractor it is not guaranteed.

There are quite a few companies going door to door offering their services. One of them deals with insurance directly on behalf of the homeowner and they claimed they could get a substantially higher amount than the original settlement offer simply by looking for things that might have been missed in the original estimate. I'm not sure exactly how that works or if its a good idea.

I'm not sure what to do - take the settlement offer and use a different contractor, try to get a higher settlement amount (not sure how - negotiate?), or just use one of their preferred contractors. I've never had a substantial insurance claim so not sure what the best option is. Does anyone have experience with a hail insurance claim and if so any advice?

08-19-2021, 08:43 AM	#1
Calgary14 First Line Centre Join Date: Jan 2014 Exp:	House insurance - need advice I had some hail damage to my house in early July and the insurance company just got back to me with the details of the claim. The damage isn't as bad as the NE hail storms (I'm in the deep south) but there is a lot of siding damage, roof, eavestroughs etc. The insurance company is offering a cash settlement and I could either use one of their preferred contractors, do the work myself or use a different contractor. The amount of the settlement is higher than I assumed it would be. I have a contact with a roofing company that's done work in the past and they did a good job so I could use them, but that's not to say they would necessarily be the cheapest. The work by the preferred contractors is guaranteed, if I use a different contractor it is not guaranteed. There are quite a few companies going door to door offering their services. One of them deals with insurance directly on behalf of the homeowner and they claimed they could get a substantially higher amount than the original settlement offer simply by looking for things that might have been missed in the original estimate. I'm not sure exactly how that works or if its a good idea. I'm not sure what to do - take the settlement offer and use a different contractor, try to get a higher settlement amount (not sure how - negotiate?), or just use one of their preferred contractors. I've never had a substantial insurance claim so not sure what the best option is. Does anyone have experience with a hail insurance claim and if so any advice?