How long does allstate take to settle a homeowners claim

The average homeowner makes a claim against their homeowners policy once every nine years, according to Zacks Research. This means most homeowners are not familiar with the steps of filing an insurance claim for damage to their homes. You may have a lot of questions and maybe a little fear. We’re here to help. 

Five Easy Steps

Hard as this may be to believe, most insurance claims for roofing, siding, or gutter jobs need only five steps from start to finish. The steps, after you have contacted your local, helpful roofer and your insurance company, are:

1. One of Allstate Exteriors & Restoration Services project managers makes an on-site visit to your Iowa, Ohio, or Florida home, carefully walking your roof to perform a thorough inspection of the roof. If the issue is siding or gutters, the inspection can be done from the ground or on a ladder.
2. The Project Manager provides video and photographic verification of the problems caused by wind, rain, hail, or other events covered by homeowners insurance; the project manager can even assist the homeowner with the claim.
3. The insurance company sends its adjuster to your home to inspect the damage, with the Project Manager on hand to provide documentation and support the homeowner as needed.
4. After the adjuster approves the Project Manager’s estimate and Scope of Work, a first check is sent out, and the roofer, siding, or gutter contractor begins making necessary repairs.
5. After the job is completed, the contractor sends a certificate of completion to the insurance company, which released the final check to pay the job in full, less any deductible.

Gimme The Deets!

Just about everything can appear easy if you oversimplify it. Want to perform surgery? Simple! Go to medical school. Want to get an insurance claim for roofing, gutter, or siding damage? Simple, follow our five steps. 

We get it. Some of you want a few more details. Who is this Project Manager, what is a Scope of Work, how does the adjuster know when to meet the roofer? 

A Project Manager in a contractor’s office is the one point of contact for a particular job. You, the customer, direct your questions and concerns to your Project Manager. 

The Project Manager does not direct any part of the insurance claim itself; that is for the adjuster and your homeowners insurance company to handle. The Project Manager does not initiate contact with the insurer. That is your job as a homeowner. For an insurance claim, you make the first two calls:

1. Call your insurance company’s 1-800 number any time day or night to start a homeowners insurance claim for damage to siding, gutters, or roof.
2. Call your helpful local residential roofing, siding, or gutter contractor. 

After you call, you more or less sit back and trust the two professionals. The roofer performs an inspection, preparing an estimate for the adjuster. Part of that estimate includes documentation of the damage to your roof, siding, or gutters. The estimate will be as close as reasonable to the final costs, based on the visible evidence at the time of inspection. 

A well-done estimate can stand on its own, but a Project Manager will often work with you, the homeowner, to provide insights into the restoration or repair process. The adjuster has the final word but is influenced by the estimate, the roofer’s documentation of damage, and inspection. 

One advantage to having your roofer perform the initial inspection and photograph the damage is the adjuster can streamline their inspection. The adjuster needs the pictures and video to support the payout on the claim but would probably prefer to avoid climbing your roof. The roofer’s evidence is usually gratefully accepted. 

A Scope of Work details what will be done to make your house right again. It specifies the area of your home, the extent of the damage, type of damage, materials to be used, a general idea of the time needed, and how the job will be performed. 

The adjuster and roofer initially come together at the job site (your home) only when you arrange the appointment. After the first inspection, discussion, paperwork exchange, and review, the two professionals may schedule further meetings without you. 

Please contact us today at Allstate Exteriors & Restoration Services LLC. We are experienced with helping homeowners through the insurance claim process. We make your house whole again.