When hail season is upon us, there are DIRECT and INDIRECT claims that seem to crop up. A direct claim is hail impacting 1/4 or 1/2 of siding on home; however, not impacting the other 1/2 of home. In other words the hail dings are on 1/2 the house not the other 1/2. I believe there was a time when homeowner companies would re-wrap an entire home today that simply does not happen. Claim costs simply skyrocketed and many homeowner companies now only pay for DIRECT loss(impacted area) and not the INDIRECT(1/2 of home not impacted by the hail). If the roof damage on a steep pitched roof only damages one side, most insurance companies will use a rule called "line of sight" and only replace 1/2 the roof vs entire roof replacement.
This same mentality applies to hail to roof. Anytime a loss damages all sides the direct vs indirect does not come into play. The weather is strange and seems to mainly affect 1/2 a roof/ siding. Suppose another example is hail only affecting trunk of a car(not the rest), insurance companies will not pay to repaint an entire car. Many policyholders are upset from the indirect types of claim and want full new roof, less depreciation and deductible, I'm afraid that is just the way most companies handle the loss. Leave it to USA ingenuity, most homeowner insurance companies have access to siding companies whom can amazing match a siding design or color pattern out of production.
An auto loss, like tires, can involve direct & indirect. One or two tires may be damaged in a loss yet some policyholders want 4 tires while others understand the direct vs indirect dilemma. If you have a question about this please call Flanigan Insurance Agency @ 314-727-6000; although, this agency does not pretend to offer legal advice.
Posted Sunday, December 27 2015 10:42 AM
Tags : direct vs indirect claim, homeowner claim, auto claim
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