From Catastrophe to Claim – Part Two: Choosing a Good Contractor

In our push to educate you about what we do, we wanted to talk about one of the biggest questions and most often mishandled issues we encounter:

A storm damaged my home…what in the world do I do now?

Storms can cause a lot of confusion and stress, and we want to make the process easier for you! We are publishing a 3-part series called, “From Catastrophe to Claim.” We will walk you through filing an insurance claim, with each post focusing on a different aspect of the process.

Part One: After the Storm

Part Three: How does the insurance process work?

How to Choose a Good Contractor for Storm Damage

Once you’ve filed a claim, your next logical step is to find a good contractor.

If we could only give you one piece of advice for this step it would be:

stay local .

Right after an area is hit by a storm, contractors with out-of-state businesses will suddenly appear. They’ll get city licenses to do business and they may even go door-to-door to try to find clients, maybe even offering to waive the insurance deductible. We really encourage our clients to avoid these contractors, and here’s why:

These companies are not in it for the long haul .

If you choose one of these fly-by-night companies, there is a good chance that when you have issues with the project they completed, they will suddenly become unreachable. They may have left the state, gone off the grid, or moved on to the next weather-affected town leaving you behind with a messed up project that you will have to call a local business to fix.

It is important to remember that insurance does not cover a bad installation —more than likely, you will have to pay out of pocket. After that sketchy company left you with a mess, you will have to somehow find the money to fix what they’ve ruined.

Additionally, we want homeowners to know that if you hire a company that does things the right way, you will have to pay your deductible.

There is no way around paying an insurance deductible .

You are in a contract with your insurance company and if you do not pay your deductible, you will be committing insurance fraud and could possibly be convicted of a Class C Felony.

If a company tells you that you do not have to pay your deductible, you should be suspicious. Somebody is paying that deductible, and if the company is covering the cost of it, they must be saving money elsewhere, which will affect the quality of work you receive.

You can recognize these out-of-state companies in a few ways. First, make sure the scope of work they’ve offered is apples to apples with other contractors. Another tell may be their willingness to only perform one specific project (most likely a roof). Typically, storm damage isn’t going to affect just one part of your home. If your roof is damaged, you may experience window and light damage as well.

A crew that only performs a specific job is a red flag.

Even if you feel the contractor and crew seem legitimate, proceed with caution. Make sure their business address is genuinely local and not just a front. If you decide not to hire them, it’s always safe to hire a well-known local professional.

Hiring local will get you the best service as quickly as possible. There may be a wait to hire local and it can be tempting to hire a traveling company, but peace of mind is worth a short waiting period.

If you are ever the victim of storm damage, you can call TrueSon Exteriors for a free estimate at 573.442.7292

Rest assured that we aren’t going anywhere. We will be right here to guide you through the process and make sure you’re getting satisfactory work done on your home.