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That's not hail damage.
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There was a recent thread that ties into this. I am in Omaha working a hail storm that hit about 6 weeks ago. Today, I had a claim near where I'm staying, so I know that it was spared from the hail damage. The house has a wood shake roof.

As I was driving into the neighborhood, I noticed that there weren't any roofing company signs displayed, which is always a sign that hail hit the area. When I got there, the roofing contractor was there. Two young guys were also there, one of them had convinced the home owner to call in the claim.

I commented on the lack of roofing signs in the area, and they said that another insurance carrier had paid to replace the expensive roof just two doors down. I asked about the damage and they said that almost all the exterior damage was on the back of the house, and a little on the left side.

We started inspecting from the ground, looking for damage to gutters and windows. Nothing until we got the back side. Then window frames, gutters and downspouts were beat to pieces. I immediately knew what it was and I told them that it wasn't hail damage. They were incredulous that I would deny the very obvious hail damage.

We walked up on the back deck where there was patio door with several large dings on it. I shined my flashlight on the damage and could see what caused it. I turned around and pointed to the golf course behind the house. The contractor came over and I showed him the dimpled imprint from the golf balls that had been striking the house. There were several dents with the same imprint. He shook his head and started laughing.

The home owner didn't believe what I was saying when I explained what the damage was from. To his credit, the contractor asked her to walk around back so he could show her. He told her that he thought I was crazy when I first said what it was, until he saw the dimples.

We finished the inspection and observed that there was no hail damage to the house - but there was damage from golf balls the size of hail.
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Re: That's not hail damage. [rick_pcfl] [ In reply to ]
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Glad you made this post. I just called my insurance company today about hail damage to our roof here in Davidson, NC. Over the past few years, there have been a few minor hail storms and a number of houses got new roofs. We have a pretty steeply pitched roof and were spared. However, on 3/21, we had a REAL hailstorm here. I even have pics and video of it. We also live on a golf course, but rarely get hit by golf balls due to a stand of trees between our house and the tee boxes. The hail stones were marble sized and they rained down for about 10 minutes. Is that typically big enough to do significant damage to shingles? The roofing guys that have come to inspect it say we do have damage, but who knows if they are right. They both showed me pics of the pretty clear hail stone impressions, but I am not a roofer.

Greg

If you are a Canuck that engages in gratuitous bashing of the US, you are probably on my Iggy List. So, save your self a bunch of typing a response unless you also feel the need to gratuitously bash me. If so, have fun.
"Don't underestimate Joe's ability to f___ things up" - Barack Obama, 2020
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Re: That's not hail damage. [rick_pcfl] [ In reply to ]
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Lest I make myself out to be more impressive than I am - I had a claim last week on another golf course and dug four golf balls out of the gutters for the home owner. He talked about repairing siding and other things - so I had this in my mind when I saw the golf course driving in.

I just wanted to use the line - "golf balls the size of hail".
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Re: That's not hail damage. [gregtryin] [ In reply to ]
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From what I've seen, marble size hail really only affects old roofs that are deteriorated. Now, if it is accompanied by 70 mph winds it can do some damage.

If your roof is fairly new, the marble sized hail probably didn't do anything to it.

I haven't found too many roofing contractors (especially the ones that knock on your door) who won't tell you that the roof isn't damaged. For them, it is a numbers game. They hope to find an independent adjuster who gets paid based on the size of the claim and isn't too picky about what he sees. If they get 10 homeowners in an undamaged area to file a claim, they might get lucky and get a new roof paid for.

I was on a claim last week and the guy kept repeating "This place is hammered. These gutters are trashed". Yet he couldn't show me one damaged gutter. There are some really nice roofers, but like all professions - there are some sleazebags too.

Edit to add - I was called and asked if I wanted to go work that storm in your area - but I was already here in Omaha.
Last edited by: rick_pcfl: Aug 8, 17 18:56
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Re: That's not hail damage. [rick_pcfl] [ In reply to ]
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I once had a leased car with hail damage that had to be repaired. I didn't know that I had hail damage until the inspector found it when I was returning the car.

So I called insurance. They asked: "when was the hail?"

"I have no idea I didn't know that I had hail damage."

"We need a date for the hail"

"I don't know what to tell you, I have no idea when it was"

"There was hail in your area two months ago"

"Um ok..."

"Was April 25th the date of your hail damage?"

*am I really having this conversation?* "um yes. That must have been the date"

And they fixed it.

How does Danny Hart sit down with balls that big?
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Re: That's not hail damage. [rick_pcfl] [ In reply to ]
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Thank goodness. I'm viewing at work and I was cautious that I might open up a thread with a full screen picture of cellulite.
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Re: That's not hail damage. [rick_pcfl] [ In reply to ]
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rick_pcfl wrote:
There was a recent thread that ties into this. I am in Omaha working a hail storm that hit about 6 weeks ago. Today, I had a claim near where I'm staying, so I know that it was spared from the hail damage. The house has a wood shake roof.

As I was driving into the neighborhood, I noticed that there weren't any roofing company signs displayed, which is always a sign that hail hit the area. When I got there, the roofing contractor was there. Two young guys were also there, one of them had convinced the home owner to call in the claim.

I commented on the lack of roofing signs in the area, and they said that another insurance carrier had paid to replace the expensive roof just two doors down. I asked about the damage and they said that almost all the exterior damage was on the back of the house, and a little on the left side.

We started inspecting from the ground, looking for damage to gutters and windows. Nothing until we got the back side. Then window frames, gutters and downspouts were beat to pieces. I immediately knew what it was and I told them that it wasn't hail damage. They were incredulous that I would deny the very obvious hail damage.

We walked up on the back deck where there was patio door with several large dings on it. I shined my flashlight on the damage and could see what caused it. I turned around and pointed to the golf course behind the house. The contractor came over and I showed him the dimpled imprint from the golf balls that had been striking the house. There were several dents with the same imprint. He shook his head and started laughing.

The home owner didn't believe what I was saying when I explained what the damage was from. To his credit, the contractor asked her to walk around back so he could show her. He told her that he thought I was crazy when I first said what it was, until he saw the dimples.

We finished the inspection and observed that there was no hail damage to the house - but there was damage from golf balls the size of hail.


Wow,

"Sleezeball" owner.

I guess she collected the balls and then sold them back to Golfers for a buck a piece.

I would get drunk every night if I had your job.
Last edited by: windschatten: Aug 9, 17 0:05
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Re: That's not hail damage. [windschatten] [ In reply to ]
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windschatten wrote:
Wow,

"Sleezeball" owner.

I guess she collected the balls and then sold them back to Golfers for a buck a piece.

I would get drunk every night if I had your job.

Funny. I didn't read "sleezeball" actions anywhere in the OP. In fact, he mentioned they laughed. So I'd say clueless, more than likely.

Rick simply spread some wisdom.
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Re: That's not hail damage. [rick_pcfl] [ In reply to ]
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is the house near a golf course or driving range or did they do it themselves to file a claim ?

"I think I've cracked the code. double letters are cheaters except for perfect squares (a, d, i, p and y). So Leddy isn't a cheater... "
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Re: That's not hail damage. [BLeP] [ In reply to ]
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BLeP wrote:
I once had a leased car with hail damage that had to be repaired. I didn't know that I had hail damage until the inspector found it when I was returning the car.

So I called insurance. They asked: "when was the hail?"

"I have no idea I didn't know that I had hail damage."

"We need a date for the hail"

"I don't know what to tell you, I have no idea when it was"

"There was hail in your area two months ago"

"Um ok..."

"Was April 25th the date of your hail damage?"

*am I really having this conversation?* "um yes. That must have been the date"

And they fixed it.

Yeah, I've gone through that same drill a couple times getting my insurance to pay for a cracked windshield from an old rock chip months after it spread from the original impact. One of those even went back to sometime before I bought the car (wasn't that bad when I got it, cheap).
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Re: That's not hail damage. [Old Hickory] [ In reply to ]
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I don't see how they could have been clueless unless every golf ball miraculously bounced off the property.
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Re: That's not hail damage. [Leddy] [ In reply to ]
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Leddy wrote:
is the house near a golf course or driving range or did they do it themselves to file a claim ?
]
It is right on the golf course. It was an honest mistake for the contractor and the homeowner. She said that "we only have 2 or 3 balls a year that hit the house". Of course, the house is 17 years old - so the house has been hit about 41 times that she knows of. Once she saw the dimples she realized she was mistaken.

Omaha was pounded by hail in June, she was just not near any of it.
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Re: That's not hail damage. [rick_pcfl] [ In reply to ]
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How timely is this thread......had a roofer come to the house offering a free inspection. He said he was doing 2 other roofs in the areas damaged by hail or wind. Initially I was skeptical but he was a good salesman. Hubby put the hammer down and said no inspection.
My question is-is any of this legit? We do not have any leaks, or obvious damage at all. Our roof is 23 years old and we are budgeting to get it replaced in 1-2 years anyway.
Is this an insurance scam or is it a real "thing"?
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Re: That's not hail damage. [torrey] [ In reply to ]
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torrey wrote:
I don't see how they could have been clueless unless every golf ball miraculously bounced off the property.

You should get out of the house more often. The world is being taken over by the clueless. :-)
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Re: That's not hail damage. [windschatten] [ In reply to ]
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windschatten wrote:

I guess she collected the balls and then sold them back to Golfers for a buck a piece.

I would get drunk every night if I had your job.

My grandfather lived on a golf course but hated golf and golfers. The balls hit his trees and house all day long bc he lived on a dogleg hole. He would scamper out with his Pearl in a can in one hand, a Pall Mall in his lips and grab every ball. When he died he had 10 5-gallon pickle buckets full of golf balls. It was a sight.
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Re: That's not hail damage. [cayenne] [ In reply to ]
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cayenne wrote:
How timely is this thread......had a roofer come to the house offering a free inspection. He said he was doing 2 other roofs in the areas damaged by hail or wind. Initially I was skeptical but he was a good salesman. Hubby put the hammer down and said no inspection.
My question is-is any of this legit? We do not have any leaks, or obvious damage at all. Our roof is 23 years old and we are budgeting to get it replaced in 1-2 years anyway.
Is this an insurance scam or is it a real "thing"?

Scam? Yes and no...

Used to be that if a roof got old and past its useful life and then had issues the insurance company could say, sorry, your 23 year old roof that was rated for 20 years is just old, has wear and tear and is a maintenance issue.

But then some enterprising roofers figured out that if a roof had ever seen any hail at all they could attempt to get the insurance company to buy a new roof even if the roof was old and likely only needed replaced because it was old. At first insurance companies said no, the roof is just old. But then one company would cave and buy a new roof. Well, once your neighbor had their roof replaced for free it got difficult for your insurance company to say no. Roofers are now door to door salesman after a hail storm. They go through and try to get a new roof on every house because they know insurance will likely cover it.

Fine and dandy for the homeowner, not so great for insurance loss ratios. Loss ratios go up and thus everyone gets a rate increase to cover those losses. People always complain about rate increases but then if a roofer comes and offers a free roof they jump at the chance. Can't really blame the homeowner, but there is a reason rates are getting higher and higher.
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Re: That's not hail damage. [aarondb4] [ In reply to ]
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aarondb4 wrote:
cayenne wrote:
How timely is this thread......had a roofer come to the house offering a free inspection. He said he was doing 2 other roofs in the areas damaged by hail or wind. Initially I was skeptical but he was a good salesman. Hubby put the hammer down and said no inspection.
My question is-is any of this legit? We do not have any leaks, or obvious damage at all. Our roof is 23 years old and we are budgeting to get it replaced in 1-2 years anyway.
Is this an insurance scam or is it a real "thing"?


Scam? Yes and no...

Used to be that if a roof got old and past its useful life and then had issues the insurance company could say, sorry, your 23 year old roof that was rated for 20 years is just old, has wear and tear and is a maintenance issue.

But then some enterprising roofers figured out that if a roof had ever seen any hail at all they could attempt to get the insurance company to buy a new roof even if the roof was old and likely only needed replaced because it was old. At first insurance companies said no, the roof is just old. But then one company would cave and buy a new roof. Well, once your neighbor had their roof replaced for free it got difficult for your insurance company to say no. Roofers are now door to door salesman after a hail storm. They go through and try to get a new roof on every house because they know insurance will likely cover it.

Fine and dandy for the homeowner, not so great for insurance loss ratios. Loss ratios go up and thus everyone gets a rate increase to cover those losses. People always complain about rate increases but then if a roofer comes and offers a free roof they jump at the chance. Can't really blame the homeowner, but there is a reason rates are getting higher and higher.

Well put! This was a perfect example. An adjuster (wrongfully in my opinion) paid for a new roof two houses down that likely had zero hail damage. The roofers are knocking on the doors telling the home owners that so-and-so had hail damage and is getting a new roof.

I saw this in northern Virginia last year. The insurance companies don't want to be the only one not paying for roofs in a neighborhood, so they relax their standards on what is hail damage.

I had a claim in Virginia last year that was a re-inspection because the roofer assured the homeowner there was hail damage to his roof. A couple of neighbors were getting their roofs replaced, so surely there was hail damage on his. He hired a public adjuster who met with me. There wasn't hail damage on the roof and we told the guy.

He wouldn't stop believing his roofer (who probably planted some seed of doubt about how the insurance companies don't want to pay when they should) and so they ended up hiring Haag - a roofing engineering firm to inspect the roof. They are the top people in the industry. I read the report - no hail damage, but there were 2 shingles that had damage consistent with wind damage.
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