You’ll need to consider if the damage came from a single event or whether it occurred slowly over a period of time.

• Qualifying Example: There is a shingle torn from my roof and lying in the driveway

In this scenario, a shingle was torn from the roof in a single event and almost certainly qualifies for an insurance claim.

• Questionable Example: There is a piece of metal flashing that is lifted upward on my roof

In this scenario, if the wind blew so hard that it bent the flashing on the roof, that would be a single event and it would most likely qualify. If the natural expansion and contraction of your roof slowly backed the nails out and lifted the flashing over a long period of time, your insurance company would likely tell you this is a general maintenance item that is not covered by an insurance claim.

• Non-Qualifying Example: The shingles on my roof have lost their granules, and the fiberglass is starting to show through

In this scenario, the sun and rain weathered the shingles over multiple years, which slowly compromised the shingle. This would be considered natural weathering of the roof and will not likely qualify for an insurance claim.

Insurance companies legally have to pay your claims or they are at risk of being shut down by the Texas Department of Insurance. Unfortunately, no law says they have to do it voluntarily nor do they have to make the process easy. As soon as you contact your insurance company, they are recording the call, and anything you say can and will be used against you in the process of adjusting your claim. These call centers have scripts, and in many cases, they bait property owners into saying the wrong thing so that they can deny your claim over the phone before anyone even sees your property. That is why you must know what you are doing and saying. You should always contact us before talking to your insurance company. The best advice we can give if you are filing a claim on your own is don't say anything unless you know without a doubt that it is 100% correct.

If you were driving your car and someone crashed into the side of you because they ran a red light, common sense tells us that is the other driver's fault and you should not be penalized. Unfortunately, the insurance industry doesn't quite see it that way. In their eyes, you were in control of the vehicle so you could have somehow avoided the accident. To them, this means you are partially at fault. While in this instance you may only be considered only 10% at fault, this is still grounds for the insurance company to label you a higher risk and increase your premium.

When it comes to insurance claims from storm damage to your property, however, things don't quite work that way. If a storm hits your home, this is considered an act of God, and there is no percentage of fault to the property owner. You aren't driving your home, so you couldn't move out of the way. You can't feasibly bubble wrap your whole house before the hail or tree limbs hit, and, therefore, the insurance company cannot legally penalize you for filing a claim. The sad truth is that many property owners refuse to file a claim because they are in fear of a premium increase. What happens next is the insurance company raises the rates for the entire zip code you live in because of the increased risk from storms. At this point, you become the only person in the neighborhood without your damages repaired but your rate increases anyway.

If you have filed a claim in the past, you may have had a contractor say they will waive your deductible so you can get funding from the insurance company with no money out of pocket. We have arranged this deal in the past with discounts, rebates, and many other creative methods, but times have changed, and this is no longer legal. As of September 2019, with the passing of HB2102, it is now a felony for both the homeowner and the contractor to process insurance claims without the insured person paying their deductible in full. The insurance companies even go as far as verifying bank records to ensure the deductible has been paid. Many contractors are still marketing free roofs or offering to waive your deductible with some sort of loophole, but this is still illegal. We recommend you only use a reputable company like Upper Hand to avoid costly mistakes or, in this case, possible jail time. Long story short, yes, you do have to pay your deductible. If you don't have the funds available, check out our financing options so we can get your damages repaired. You need to act fast because you have a short window of time when the insurance company has to help pay for it.

If you have had a claim denied previously, we can most likely still help you. As of right now, we have a 100% approval rating on insurance claims. We are by far the best in the business when it comes to processing claims. We not only fight to get your claim approved, but we seek the maximum allowable by law. This means that your project should have a larger scope of work and higher quality installation than it would if you used another contractor. We have had many customers over the years who report being denied over five times when working with other contractors, and we can still get the claim approved.

One thing that will hurt your claim is if you have already filed a claim and the claim was approved but you failed to get the damages repaired. In this case, the value of the previous claim may be deducted from the amount of your new claim. If you need additional funding to cover the difference, check out our financing options.

If you hit the insurance claim lottery and get a very good adjuster, claims can be processed in as little as one to two weeks. However, most of the time, your insurance company won’t make it that easy for you. Most of the time, we have to fight back and forth to get the claim approved. This can take between three and six weeks in most cases.

Sometimes, even after we have proven to the insurance company that your claim is completely legitimate and they are legally obligated to pay, they still refuse. At this point, we may bring in additional support such as a public adjuster, umpire, and appraiser to support us. This process usually takes about one to three months.

Unfortunately, sometimes this still isn't enough, and for whatever reason, the insurance company still refuses to pay. The next step is getting our attorney involved to make them pay the claim. While most people don't want to get legal parties involved, it is highly effective. This process usually takes about six to eight months.