Insurance News: Insurance Damage Claim Tips

From: The Rocky Mountain Insurance Information Association

Contact: Carole Walker, Executive Director, RMIIA | O: (303) 790-0216 / C: (303) 601-8437

Follow RMIIA on Facebook and Twitter for the latest insurance and safety news.

May 9, 2017 – Mother Nature unleashed round-one of severe weather season yesterday pounding parts of Metro-Denver with golf and baseball-sized hail damaging homes, cars and businesses. Storms swept across the Front Range during the late afternoon and early evening hours, but some of the largest hail pelted areas west of Denver, including Golden and Lakewood.

“The insurance industry is still assessing the extent of damage and claims will continue to be filed as homeowners and drivers wake-up and observe damage,” says Carole Walker, Executive Director of the Rocky Mountain Insurance Information Association. “Anytime we use sports terms like golf, tennis and baseballs to describe hailstones that battered densely populated areas of the Front Range it’s early confirmation that yesterday’s severe storms will likely be a significant catastrophic event. As our first major storm of the season it’s also a reminder that Mother Nature can leave her destructive calling card at any time, so we need to be financially prepared for the unexpected—check your insurance to know what it covers, what it doesn’t and how much protection you have when you need it the most.”

Contact your insurance agent or company representative immediately to report damage resulting from the storm. Link to insurance company claim contacts

With another round of severe weather in the forecast RMIIA recommends you document damage to provide to your carriers and do temporary repairs to prevent further storm damage. Hold on to repair receipts as they are likely reimbursable if you file a claim.  CHECK OUT the HAIL PREPAREDNESS TOOLKIT - eZine!

How to file an auto claim: Hail, wind, fire or flood damage to vehicles is covered if you carry comprehensive insurance on your auto policy.

How to file a property claim: Homeowners insurance covers damage from hail, fire and wind. Property damage resulting from rising water is covered by a separate flood insurance policy.

Selecting a Reputable Contractor & No Roof Scams Campaign:

Unfortunately, these storms can bring out the worst in people, especially unscrupulous roofing contractors who scam consumers needing to repair or replace their hail-damaged roofs. These fraudsters will often make false promises, insist on full payment upfront before work is completed, and sometimes even create damage where none occurred.

RMIIA is part of a group of nonprofit, government, and business organizations working together to fight roofing contractor fraud in Colorado with a public education campaign called No Roof Scams. The campaign’s goal is to sound an alarm during severe weather season about the spike in roofing fraud and arm Colorado homeowners with information to protect themselves against being victimized by roofing scams. Help us spread the word by using #NoRoofScams and sharing anti-fraud advice, resources and messages.

Organizations participating in the No Roof Scams campaign include:

• Better Business Bureau - Denver/Boulder
• Colorado Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management
• Colorado Division of Insurance (Department of Regulatory Agencies)
• Colorado Roofing Association
• Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety
• National Insurance Crime Bureau
• Property Casualty Insurance Association of America
• Rocky Mountain Insurance Information Association

 No Roof Scams Resource Link: https://www.bbb.org/denver/hail/

Log on to www.rmiia.org for more information.

###

Rocky Mountain Insurance Information Association is a non-profit consumer information organization. Affiliated with the Insurance Information Institute, RMIIA has been serving consumers and the media since 1952.