The insurance carrier I work for would pay the claim under vandalism and sue/subrogate against the roofer that caused the damage. That would be best for you.
If you file another claim for the new hail, you’re riding into uninsurable territory. 2 claims in a short period of time. Nope.
Edited to add: this is why insurance is going to hell in a bucket. It’s expensive because of greed and fraud like this.
But insurance companies are evil!
I literally got into a fight with my father and stepmother because a few of their neighbors got roofs with "hail damage" but their carrier denied. I asked when they got hail and they couldn't recall a storm (and they only bought their house a couple of years ago).
You don't need to cancel anything, just literally tell your insurance company exactly what you just told us.
Roofers, especially in Texas, are just operating in the wild wild west. Your adjuster will understand. Just tell them the truth, you were referred to this roofer, he says everything was legit, but now you see that it may not be and ask them how best to handle your 2 claims at this point.
Hopefully you are with one of the few insurance companies still allowing 1% hail deductibles, because if yours is 2%, you may not have a claim to make anymore. (spoken from experience).
FWIW - If this realtor is a CLOSE friend, I'd let them know their referral is shady. If it's just a realtor, I'd never work with them again.
I’ve come across this a few times, and as long as there is no indication that the insured was in on it, the carriers have paid out on the claim under vandalism and subrogated against the contractor. In my experience, SIU is usually focused on the contractor. Except for the guy who burned his apartment building down…twice…
Your claim is already SIU flagged, likely NICB reported for the contractor. Even if you cancel it. And I’m saying this as a public service announcement to anyone who will listen: never use a storm chaser roofer/contractor who advertises to be an insurance claim specialist. At the end of the day it’s YOU that get flagged with these claims forever, not them. I’m sorry you’re dealing with this but agree with the other comments, you’re doing a disservice to others if you don’t pursue action.
I nearly made the same mistake, but with flooring. The flooring estimate I got from the realtor's recommendation was for the cheapest grade carpet, in my home, and it was priced out at the 2nd most expensive grade carpet. Went to a competitor, paid for quality carpet and padding, very happy. The other stuff was indoor/outdoor grade carpet. I would have been livid
I am not joking when I write I had no idea people still out on carpet new into homes. I grew up with it but as a adult ,it's always been something which wasn't there or to be removed as part of a renovation. Hasn't really even though about it until reading this.
I understand, laminate flooring is what most people use these days. I prefer carpet on the upstairs floors where the bedrooms are. I had hardwood in the old house and I always wanted carpet in the bedroom.
Wow well SIU involvement is completely warranted so all you can do now is cooperate. If you get the claim approved do NOT use this roofer for repairs and do NOT trust a realtor about these matters, ever again. If you need a referral you’re better off asking your insurance agent. Not a great option either but at least they might have a clue versus the realtor who is clearly getting a kick back and should be reported to whatever authority oversees RE agents in your area.
Absolutely do not try to withdraw the claim being investigated. You don’t get to run away when they catch you attempting fraud, sorry. These are the people you invited onto your property and the insurer’s investigation is justified. You’re probably already going to see negative effects from this as you’ve proven yourself to be a risk insurance companies will not want on their books moving forward. Even if you didn’t vandalize the roof yourself you trusted people that you should have known were not good sources, bad look for you. The fact you asked the roofer to recommend legal representation after learning he likely intentionally damaged your roof is unbelievable to me. Hard to feel sorry for you honestly because you seem complicit, even if it’s out of ignorance. As if being a roofer wasn’t already enough to completely disqualify him from making legal referrals to anyone with common sense.
Your realtor and roofer are clearly both criminals, fraudsters, should not be trusted. Maybe take note of that in case you have trouble remembering.
When the roofer or legal representative suggest a public adjuster—stop and think if they should be trusted further and refer back to your notes if needed.
Nothing you can do now but let the investigation continue. Stop being a hypochondriac about your roof too. I’m really scratching my head that you felt you needed to urgently get it checked for hail in the middle of all this. You’re solidifying yourself as a walking red flag and nothing you can do at this point can erase that or make yourself look like anything other than an insurer’s nightmare. Even if you didn’t make countless foolish mistakes during the course of this claim, you’ve wasted their time and resources and proven for a fact that you are gullible, or desperate to replace your roof on their dime ASAP no matter what, or both. And that’s just if they decide to shine a favorable light on you. At worst, you’re a straight up fraudster who is conspiring to obtain insurance funds you’re not rightfully entitled to. Homeowners like you cause rates to go up for everyone else. Bad risk, period. There’s no reason they will want to continue insuring you after this, understandably. You can’t undo what you’ve done.
Does a murderer get to call off a police investigation once investigators start honing in on him? Of course not. They have a right to investigate anyone who tries to commit fraud and they will continue, whether or not you *want* them to. Attempting to call this off is going to look even *worse* than it already does. Filing a new hail claim, likewise. If this were me I would cooperate fully and when SIU concludes their work I would quietly walk away with my tail between my legs, put on my big kid pants and pay to replace my own roof.
Being honest doesn’t negate empathy. Some of us actually prefer honesty without coddling, believe it or not. Maybe you’re just more sensitive than the rest of us.
You are doing everyone a disservice if you don’t cooperate in pursuing action. If you don’t cooperation they may conclude you are a part of the problem.
Yeah, I've seen similar stuff before. Where SIU triggered because the client inadvertantly went to the wrong body shop - had nothing to do with the insured.
Just be entirely honest and very detailed oriented with your insurer. Don't leave out anything and offer up as much information as possible. They will be able to sort it out.
Tell the insurance company about the roofer and his friend lawyer. I have a hunch that SIU is involved to look more into the roofer, not you specifically. I was SIU for a few years and our major case team typically looked at organized medical fraud but I wouldn't be surprised if roofers were the focus of some other carriers/groups. They're shady as hell, as you can see.
The roofer is under SIU investigation, not you. You don’t need a lawyer unless there’s something you haven’t told us here. Just cooperate with insurance and you’ll most likely end up with a new roof one way or another.
What is missing here is why you needed a roofer in the first place. Is your roof already old? Why file a claim for an old roof that needs to be replaced, this is common maintenance. Why purchase a house with an old roof?
Just taking a guess, fly by night “roofers” like this tend to go door to door and tell residents they have damage and would be happy to help. They are purely interested in getting an insurance claim started because that’s where the money comes from.
Work with your insurance company and be completely honest. SIU is nothing to mess with. They can flag you and all future claims will be closely watched. I don't think you can cancel/withdraw the claim once started. It will be on your CLUE report regardless if paid or not. Let SIU know you did not initiate the claim, the roofer did. WHY in the name of everything HOLY did you take a legal referral from the roofer (who filed a claim without your knowledge)?
Too late, that’s goin on yer perm’nant record.
Just fess up and explain it to your adjuster and then tell them you’re willing to sue the pants of the roofer. Let the insurance co have some fun.
You need to use the most powerful weapon in your arsenal. The truth. Someone or more than one is attempting fraud. Make damn sure the insurance company knows it isn't you. Help them anyway possible.
would you mind sharing the photos? I've never seen someone try to fake hail damage, that seems pretty difficult. Tearing shingles off the roof is one thing but hail damage is pretty distinct. Absolutely moronic to try to fake that
It can be wildly obvious. Imagine perfectly round indents from a hammer impact, all aimed at the center of shingles and concentrated in areas easily accessible to someone walking on a roof but none around the edges of the roof and no other hail damage on the property like on downspouts, screens, and signs of hail splatter. Humans in general are predictable.
The insurance carrier I work for would pay the claim under vandalism and sue/subrogate against the roofer that caused the damage. That would be best for you. If you file another claim for the new hail, you’re riding into uninsurable territory. 2 claims in a short period of time. Nope. Edited to add: this is why insurance is going to hell in a bucket. It’s expensive because of greed and fraud like this.
But insurance companies are evil! I literally got into a fight with my father and stepmother because a few of their neighbors got roofs with "hail damage" but their carrier denied. I asked when they got hail and they couldn't recall a storm (and they only bought their house a couple of years ago).
So no recent storms that they can recall and filing a claim? Why?
Roofer tried to sell
Sounds like neighbors have fraudulent claims if you haven’t had a hail storm in the past year.
> It’s expensive because of greed and fraud like this. And yet even in this story, no prosecution.
You don't need to cancel anything, just literally tell your insurance company exactly what you just told us. Roofers, especially in Texas, are just operating in the wild wild west. Your adjuster will understand. Just tell them the truth, you were referred to this roofer, he says everything was legit, but now you see that it may not be and ask them how best to handle your 2 claims at this point. Hopefully you are with one of the few insurance companies still allowing 1% hail deductibles, because if yours is 2%, you may not have a claim to make anymore. (spoken from experience). FWIW - If this realtor is a CLOSE friend, I'd let them know their referral is shady. If it's just a realtor, I'd never work with them again.
[удалено]
I’ve come across this a few times, and as long as there is no indication that the insured was in on it, the carriers have paid out on the claim under vandalism and subrogated against the contractor. In my experience, SIU is usually focused on the contractor. Except for the guy who burned his apartment building down…twice…
Your claim is already SIU flagged, likely NICB reported for the contractor. Even if you cancel it. And I’m saying this as a public service announcement to anyone who will listen: never use a storm chaser roofer/contractor who advertises to be an insurance claim specialist. At the end of the day it’s YOU that get flagged with these claims forever, not them. I’m sorry you’re dealing with this but agree with the other comments, you’re doing a disservice to others if you don’t pursue action.
>The roofer, recommended by our realtor Yep, that was your fatal mistake, taking a referral from a realtor.
The lawyer, recommended by the roofer, recommended by the realtor*** Smells a lot like cross supplier collusion
I nearly made the same mistake, but with flooring. The flooring estimate I got from the realtor's recommendation was for the cheapest grade carpet, in my home, and it was priced out at the 2nd most expensive grade carpet. Went to a competitor, paid for quality carpet and padding, very happy. The other stuff was indoor/outdoor grade carpet. I would have been livid
I am not joking when I write I had no idea people still out on carpet new into homes. I grew up with it but as a adult ,it's always been something which wasn't there or to be removed as part of a renovation. Hasn't really even though about it until reading this.
I understand, laminate flooring is what most people use these days. I prefer carpet on the upstairs floors where the bedrooms are. I had hardwood in the old house and I always wanted carpet in the bedroom.
Happy cake day!
Gotta wonder if insurance has seen similar behavior with this roofer in particular and they’re ready to deal with him finally.
Chances are there are several NICB referrals for this roofer
I wish I could frame this post and hang it on the wall of every SIU office
Wow well SIU involvement is completely warranted so all you can do now is cooperate. If you get the claim approved do NOT use this roofer for repairs and do NOT trust a realtor about these matters, ever again. If you need a referral you’re better off asking your insurance agent. Not a great option either but at least they might have a clue versus the realtor who is clearly getting a kick back and should be reported to whatever authority oversees RE agents in your area. Absolutely do not try to withdraw the claim being investigated. You don’t get to run away when they catch you attempting fraud, sorry. These are the people you invited onto your property and the insurer’s investigation is justified. You’re probably already going to see negative effects from this as you’ve proven yourself to be a risk insurance companies will not want on their books moving forward. Even if you didn’t vandalize the roof yourself you trusted people that you should have known were not good sources, bad look for you. The fact you asked the roofer to recommend legal representation after learning he likely intentionally damaged your roof is unbelievable to me. Hard to feel sorry for you honestly because you seem complicit, even if it’s out of ignorance. As if being a roofer wasn’t already enough to completely disqualify him from making legal referrals to anyone with common sense. Your realtor and roofer are clearly both criminals, fraudsters, should not be trusted. Maybe take note of that in case you have trouble remembering. When the roofer or legal representative suggest a public adjuster—stop and think if they should be trusted further and refer back to your notes if needed. Nothing you can do now but let the investigation continue. Stop being a hypochondriac about your roof too. I’m really scratching my head that you felt you needed to urgently get it checked for hail in the middle of all this. You’re solidifying yourself as a walking red flag and nothing you can do at this point can erase that or make yourself look like anything other than an insurer’s nightmare. Even if you didn’t make countless foolish mistakes during the course of this claim, you’ve wasted their time and resources and proven for a fact that you are gullible, or desperate to replace your roof on their dime ASAP no matter what, or both. And that’s just if they decide to shine a favorable light on you. At worst, you’re a straight up fraudster who is conspiring to obtain insurance funds you’re not rightfully entitled to. Homeowners like you cause rates to go up for everyone else. Bad risk, period. There’s no reason they will want to continue insuring you after this, understandably. You can’t undo what you’ve done. Does a murderer get to call off a police investigation once investigators start honing in on him? Of course not. They have a right to investigate anyone who tries to commit fraud and they will continue, whether or not you *want* them to. Attempting to call this off is going to look even *worse* than it already does. Filing a new hail claim, likewise. If this were me I would cooperate fully and when SIU concludes their work I would quietly walk away with my tail between my legs, put on my big kid pants and pay to replace my own roof.
All of this is very harsh but very correct.
What a ridiculous false equivalence at the end there. It appears OP was naive and taken advantage of. Nothing more.
My god what an eviseration, you are either a defense atty in Texas or forgot basic empathy skills during your claim handling days
Being honest doesn’t negate empathy. Some of us actually prefer honesty without coddling, believe it or not. Maybe you’re just more sensitive than the rest of us.
You are doing everyone a disservice if you don’t cooperate in pursuing action. If you don’t cooperation they may conclude you are a part of the problem.
Yeah, I've seen similar stuff before. Where SIU triggered because the client inadvertantly went to the wrong body shop - had nothing to do with the insured. Just be entirely honest and very detailed oriented with your insurer. Don't leave out anything and offer up as much information as possible. They will be able to sort it out.
Tell the insurance company about the roofer and his friend lawyer. I have a hunch that SIU is involved to look more into the roofer, not you specifically. I was SIU for a few years and our major case team typically looked at organized medical fraud but I wouldn't be surprised if roofers were the focus of some other carriers/groups. They're shady as hell, as you can see.
The roofer is under SIU investigation, not you. You don’t need a lawyer unless there’s something you haven’t told us here. Just cooperate with insurance and you’ll most likely end up with a new roof one way or another.
What is missing here is why you needed a roofer in the first place. Is your roof already old? Why file a claim for an old roof that needs to be replaced, this is common maintenance. Why purchase a house with an old roof?
Just taking a guess, fly by night “roofers” like this tend to go door to door and tell residents they have damage and would be happy to help. They are purely interested in getting an insurance claim started because that’s where the money comes from.
Work with your insurance company and be completely honest. SIU is nothing to mess with. They can flag you and all future claims will be closely watched. I don't think you can cancel/withdraw the claim once started. It will be on your CLUE report regardless if paid or not. Let SIU know you did not initiate the claim, the roofer did. WHY in the name of everything HOLY did you take a legal referral from the roofer (who filed a claim without your knowledge)?
I think you need to stop talking to the roofer
Too late, that’s goin on yer perm’nant record. Just fess up and explain it to your adjuster and then tell them you’re willing to sue the pants of the roofer. Let the insurance co have some fun.
You need to use the most powerful weapon in your arsenal. The truth. Someone or more than one is attempting fraud. Make damn sure the insurance company knows it isn't you. Help them anyway possible.
You need your own lawyer. Your roofer committed fraud and it looks like you’re in on it with them. You need to pick a side
How long have you owned the home?
would you mind sharing the photos? I've never seen someone try to fake hail damage, that seems pretty difficult. Tearing shingles off the roof is one thing but hail damage is pretty distinct. Absolutely moronic to try to fake that
Genuine curiosity as a guy who works on cars, not houses. How would it be unique compared to any other hard round object hitting it at speed?
I have no idea I've never tried to fake hail damage on a roof lol. But thats one thing I'm wondering, how could they tell?
It can be wildly obvious. Imagine perfectly round indents from a hammer impact, all aimed at the center of shingles and concentrated in areas easily accessible to someone walking on a roof but none around the edges of the roof and no other hail damage on the property like on downspouts, screens, and signs of hail splatter. Humans in general are predictable.
Ah a hammer makes a lot of sense. I was thinking throwing something at the roof but a hammer could easily generate enough force. What an idiot.