If you have homeowners insurance and have questions about roof damage from hail and storms, deductibles, and more, you need to watch this video!
Roof Lady and her ally Elizabeth cover important topics such as:
- How insurance deductibles work when your roof is damaged
- Insurance mistakes to avoid when replacing your roof
- Questions to ask your homeowner’s insurance agent
- How to lower your deductible when possible
- Cash vs recoverable value after roof damage
- Upgrading your roof from asphalt to stone-coated steel metal
- Choosing a roofer
- Much more!
Hi, I’m Llana Tolbert with Lianro Metal Roofs, also known as Roof Lady. In this episode we’re going to discover what homeowners insurance really does and how to best use it when you have a hailstorm. And we have the lovely Elizabeth Bryson of Bryson’s Insurance Agency here today to answer questions. Do you want to say more about you and your agency?
Elizabeth Bryson:
Sure. I’m an independent broker. I’ve been in the insurance business for 35 years, and my number one priority in my office is to help consumers when they have a hailstorm, or any kind of claim, because it’s challenging for them. They don’t know what to do or what to expect.
Llana Tolbert:
So yeah, that’s what we find in the roofing side of it, is people just don’t know what to expect. And so one of the things that comes up is the deductible issue. So can you explain to us how deductibles are determined and what people should know about deductibles?
Elizabeth Bryson:
Sure. So there’s two aspects to that. In a lot of cases, the insurance company does determine the deductible because a lot of them require a separate deductible for all perils except for wind and hail and then that’s a higher deductible. It could be a percentage deductible. And what a lot of people aren’t aware of is that percentage deductible is a percentage of the value of their home, not a percentage of the value of the claim. So if they have a $500,000 home and they have a 1% deductible, that’s 5,000. Some companies have a 2% deductible, so that’s $10,000 out of their pocket, and they aren’t aware of that.
Llana Tolbert:
Well, and that’s something too. And since you’re my agent, we talk about this all the time, is to know the value of your home before you sign up for one of those deductibles.
Elizabeth Bryson:
Absolutely.
Llana Tolbert:
Because now a $600,000 home is almost a million dollars in this new market.
Elizabeth Bryson:
True, yes. And I’ve seen those homes and they have a 2% deductible, so that’s over $10,000 out of their pocket.
Llana Tolbert:
Right. So that kind of brings us to, we were talking before about mistakes that homeowners make when they’re purchasing insurance. What would you say the biggest mistake is they make?
Elizabeth Bryson:
And especially as a new homeowner, they’ve never had a home or a policy before, and they don’t understand their coverages. They’re just looking for the cheapest coverage, and at the time of a claim, they’re not going to be happy with that. They don’t understand what their coverage needs to be for their home, or for their deductible.
Llana Tolbert:
So you just need homeowners to ask more questions.
Elizabeth Bryson:
Yes. Not just to match the number that the mortgage company wants them to be at to qualify.
Llana Tolbert:
Right. Oh, yeah, that’s really good. So just to recap just real quick. So ask a lot of questions. Know the value of your home and understand that there might be two levels of deductibles, a wind and hail peril, and then a total loss type of deductible.
Elizabeth Bryson:
Well, for all other perils.
Llana Tolbert:
Oh, for all.
Elizabeth Bryson:
Fire, water damage, things like that. That would be a separate deductible in a lot of cases.
Llana Tolbert:
Oh, okay. And so then is there an option to lower your deductible if you don’t want to pay the 1%? Or is that just kind of how it goes?
Elizabeth Bryson:
It depends on the company. Some companies, they went to the 1% deductible and you can’t get it any lower than that. So that’s a question to ask your agent for sure and see if that’s available.
Llana Tolbert:
Okay. And a lot people say, “Well, do I have to pay my deductible?” And there are some roofing companies out there that say, “Oh, well, I’ll cover your deductible.” And I always use the example of a doctor. Does the doctor ever say, “I’m going to cover your deductible”?
Elizabeth Bryson:
And it’s insurance fraud.
Llana Tolbert:
Right. Okay. That’s what I thought.
Elizabeth Bryson:
Yeah. It’s insurance fraud. And you pay your deductible directly to the roofer when the work is done. They might want it up front or they might want it when the work is done. Your deductible is paid right to the roofing company.
Llana Tolbert:
Well, a lot of times we’ll see that the deductible’s taken off of the adjustment. And so say the claim is $50,000, the $10,000 deductible’s right off the top, and then their balance is 40,000.
Elizabeth Bryson:
Right.
Llana Tolbert:
Is that kind of what you’re saying?
Elizabeth Bryson:
Yes.
Llana Tolbert:
Okay. And then the other thing that we get a question about all the time is the actual cash values and the recoverable value. Do you want to explain that a little bit?
Elizabeth Bryson:
Sure, sure. And that’s one thing to watch out for now, too. A lot of companies, if your roof is a certain age, they will only pay you actual cash value. So let’s say you have a 30-year roof and it’s 15-years-old. So about 50% of the life of the roof is gone. You’re only going to get paid 50%, that 50% value of the roof. So that’s very important to look at your homeowner’s policy every year at renewal to be sure it hasn’t changed actual cash value, because a lot of agents won’t inform you of that. They just expect you to read your policy.
Llana Tolbert:
Well, the other thing, not to interrupt you, the other thing we’ve noticed is also the code coverage.
Elizabeth Bryson:
Yes.
Llana Tolbert:
Because codes are constantly changing and we’re being more and more regulated. So that would be a good time to ask for that too?
Elizabeth Bryson:
Absolutely. Code code coverage is very important to have. I mean, a perfect example is the roof. They have that new code, well, it’s probably three- or four-years-old now. What’s it called for the roofs that they have to have in El Paso County if they’re up so high in elevation?
Llana Tolbert:
Oh yeah. The ice and water.
Elizabeth Bryson:
Ice and water. So it’s not going to be covered on a typical policy unless you have code coverage. But back to what you asked about replacement cost and actual cash value. So if you do have replacement cost on your roof, and hopefully you do, again, let’s say your roof is 30-years-old and it costs $20,000 to replace it. They will give you typically about half of the $20,000 upfront minus your deductible, and then once the work is completed, they’ll give you the balance.
Llana Tolbert:
So now another question we get is, do they have to use an insurance-approved contractor or are homeowner’s free to choose who they want to use for their vote?
Elizabeth Bryson:
And that can vary from company to company. I think most companies now will let you choose who you want to use. A lot of them though, if you use their company, they’re going to stand behind it and warranty that work.
Llana Tolbert:
Okay.
Elizabeth Bryson:
So that is one benefit to use their company, but you don’t have to usually.
Llana Tolbert:
And the other question we get a lot is, well, can I change what I have on my roof? And so my answer usually is, yes, the insurance will pay you for what you have, but if you want to upgrade, then that’s a cost out of pocket.
Elizabeth Bryson:
Yes, exactly.
Llana Tolbert:
Okay. All right. Does it make sense to combine your homeowners and your auto owners insurance together? Is there any benefit to that?
Elizabeth Bryson:
There is a discount for combining. I would say probably 90 to 95% of the time it makes sense to do that because of the savings. Very rarely does it make sense to not put them together, but if it makes sense to keep them separate, I definitely advise people of that.
Llana Tolbert:
I bet some homeowners worry that, “Oh, I’ve had hail and so now I have one insurance company and I have hail on my house and hail on my cars.” Does that really make a difference whether it’s one company or two?
Elizabeth Bryson:
No, but there are several companies out there, which is a pretty new feature that if you have your auto and home with them and they’re both damaged by hail, you only pay one deductible.
Llana Tolbert:
Oh, wow. That’s good to know.
Elizabeth Bryson:
Yeah.
Llana Tolbert:
Yeah. That’s really good to know, especially with rising deductibles.
Elizabeth Bryson:
I know for sure.
Llana Tolbert:
Is there anything else that I should have asked you about insurance claims and homeowner insurance that I didn’t?
Elizabeth Bryson:
I can’t think of anything right now. But I mean, I’m just going to put a plug for myself.
Llana Tolbert:
Yes.
Elizabeth Bryson:
I work with my customers. I was thinking about this this morning. I’ve had several claims for hail, home and auto. Unless the customer goes to the carrier prior to speaking to me, when they call me about a claim, I file their claims for them. I stay in touch with them. I follow up with them. I want them to reach out to me if they have any questions. That’s what you pay for insurance for.
Llana Tolbert:
Absolutely. I am a big proponent of an agent that is involved.
Elizabeth Bryson:
Yeah.
Llana Tolbert:
It makes the whole process so much easier.
Elizabeth Bryson:
Yeah, I’m sure it does for you.
Llana Tolbert:
Yeah. Well, thank you so much for your time. I can say from personal experience, she’s an awesome agent. She’s located in Monument, Colorado. So if you have any insurance needs in the area, be sure to give Elizabeth Bryson a call. And thank you for joining us for this episode. So be sure to Metal Up with a Lianro roof.
Elizabeth Bryson:
Woo!
