Roofing Company's Tacitcs In Question

Lois Allen says she's had no problems with her roof.  So she was a bit surprised when a company told her she likely has hail damage.

"When he examined it, he didn’t even go on the roof," said Allen.

"He just took a visual look and said it looks like you may have some damage," said Allen.

It all began when she got a call from a roofing company that said it would do a free inspection on her house for hail damage from a July storm.

     The next day she says they had her signing an exclusivity agreement and even called her insurance company for her to file a claim.

On Your Side asked her Allstate agent, Drew Scott, to see if there was a July hail storm, and there was.

But he says the way the company is pushing for claim is walking a fine line. 

"That may be taking it a step too far," said Scott

Allstate isn't claiming the roofing company has done anything illegal, but they say the ethics are in question because they're not informing clients that they could have to pay not only a deductible, but increase rates if they lose a 10 percent discount.

In fact, people like Allen could stand to lose that discount just by filing a claim, something she was never told.

On your side contacted American Shingle who gave us this response: 

"ASSI (American Shingle) has never in its over 12,000 filings ever heard a single complaint from a single homeowner about their rates going up for filing a claim for wind and hail.  In fact this is the first time assi has ever been brought to the media forefront for any reason."

Scott says premiums may not go up, but by losing the discount that can cost homeowners an average of 60 dollars a year for as long as they own the house.

And after the visit, Allen felt uneasy.  These instructions from the roofing company on just what to say to the insurance company -- didn't sit well with her.

"That's a flat out lie, it's not true.  It's very untruthful to tell me what to say… and that's when I canceled it,” said Allen.

Because of that Allstate inspectors never made it out to Allen's house to see if she does have damage.  But Allstate says another Greenville client ran into the same situation with the same company and an inspection found he had no damage.

American shingle told us "ASSI currently has a 65% rate of finding damage with insurance adjusters on the first visit...if it weren't for ASSI a great deal of homeowners would never have known they had damage and would subsequently not file a claim until it was too late."

"To me it just felt like, you know, I was being violated," said Allen.

She is just hoping it's not too late to convince Allstate not to drop her discount. 

If you think you may have had the same experience as Miss Allen and would like to file a complaint -- contact the South Carolina Department of Insurance and ask for Consumer Services at 800-768-3467.

According to the Better Business Bureau in Greenville, American Shingle has an "F" rating locally because they are not properly licensed and also because of concerns about the company's marketing techniques.

Here is the full response from American Shingle to our questions/concerns (in bold) that stem from the Homeowner/Insurance Issues:

American Shingle calls clients in areas where there was hail/wind storms and come to homes even when the homeowner does not see any problems with the roof and has no leaks.

American Shingle (ASSI) has many marketing programs from phone calls to homeowners, to direct mail pieces, to door to door sales and even has many affinity marketing partners such as Papa Johns, Six Flags, Midas, local high schools and even a Semi- Pro Football team.

Hail-damaged roofs are for the most part NOT visible from the ground which is why Insurance adjusters MUST go on the roof to determine if they see any damage.  This is why most home owners we speak to are inclined to tell us they have no damage because even if they went up on the roof they would not be trained to know what to look for.

Hail damage varies greatly from home to home.  One home might have severe hail damage and the home across the street may have none. Leaking based on the severity of the damage may not occur for 12 to 24 months.  It takes time for the hail damage to go through seasons of intense sunshine in order to erode the integrity of the shingle. 

American Shingle inspectors come to the house but did not go on the roof.  They lead the homeowner to believe there is hail damage, when according to an insurance inspector, “most of the time there is no damage”

ASSI does not employ "inspectors". ASSI does have over 250 sales people in over 7 States and none of them are allowed to go on homeowners’ roofs.  If we did and came down and gave a homeowner an "opinion" as to whether there was damage or not, then we would be considered to be performing "public adjusting" which is illegal.

The Free inspection comes from the insurance company when we file a claim, not from ASSI.  

We say they likely have hail damage because we only market in areas where we know hail has fallen based on data we get from several sources.

ASSI does employ about 60 "Ladder Assists".  The Ladder Assist’s job is to meet the insurance adjuster at the home and help in measuring the roof, taking pictures of the property and discussing any of the damage found with the insurance adjuster.

At this time ASSI currently has a 65% rate of finding damage with Insurance Adjusters on the first visit.  Roughly 25% of re-filed claims result in an approved claim and when a homeowner decides to re-file for a 3^rd time those result in roughly 20% approved claims.  This seems to indicate that identifying damage is a very subjective process and varies GREATLY from insurance adjuster to insurance adjustor.

Perhaps the most concerning to the insurance agent we spoke with and the homeowner was the fact that the American Shingle Inspector actually called the homeowner’s insurance company for them at their home and spoke for them. 

ASSI does on behalf of and in the presence of the homeowner call in the claim for wind and hail.  At NO time does ASSI ever do anything without the express written consent of the Homeowner.

The documents American Shingle gave the homeowner included specific instructions on what to say to the Insurance company if they call back.

ASSI does leave an instruction sheet for the homeowner.  It clearly outlines what to do after the Insurance Adjuster calls with a date and time.  Basically it lets the homeowner know that they are the customer and they pay the premium, so they should be in control of when the Insurance Adjuster comes on their property.  They then notify our offices so we can meet the Insurance Adjuster at their home.

American Shingle insists on the homeowner signing a contract without giving the homeowner an estimate on the cost or a chance to shop around.

ASSI between the initial sale, the meeting with the insurance adjuster and the time spent processing their claim internally, incurs a moderate amount of expense.  We ask the homeowners to sign a contract that simply states IF the insurance company agrees to replace the roof then they will allow ASSI to do the roof for whatever the Insurance company is willing to pay.  After all if it weren't for ASSI a great deal of homeowners would never have known they had damage and would subsequently not file a claim until it was too late.

Each state regulates the insurance practices and sets "Time of Loss" dates in order to file a claim with one’s insurance company.  Go past that time and the homeowners risks replacing the roof out of their own pocket along with any interior damage sustained from the leaking roof.

American Shingle never informs the homeowner that by filing a claim (even when an insurance inspector finds no damage) they will likely lose any discounts they have on their premium rate.

ASSI does not discuss at anytime the Homeowner’s insurance policy. That is private information and frankly none of our business. ASSI has never in its over 12,000 filings ever heard a single complaint from a single homeowner about their rates going up for filing a claim for wind and hail. In fact this is the first time ASSI has ever been brought to the media forefront for any reason.