What Insurance Covers (and Doesn't)
Standard homeowner policies cover sudden, accidental damage from named perils — wind, hail, falling trees. They do not cover wear and tear, rot, fading, pre-existing damage, or maintenance issues. The distinction matters enormously: a windstorm peeling off panels is a claim; twenty years of sun damage discovered after the storm is not, even if you noticed it after the storm.
Know your deductible before anything happens. If your deductible is $2,500 and the repair is $1,800, there is no claim to file. Filing below-deductible claims puts a claim on your record for zero benefit.
The Claim Process, Step by Step
- Mitigate further damage. Tarp exposed areas, secure loose panels. Insurance requires you to prevent additional damage — and it is just common sense. Document everything you do.
- Document the damage. Photos and video, wide shots and close-ups, date-stamped. Capture the damage in context — the whole wall, then the detail. Do this before any cleanup.
- File promptly. Most policies require prompt notification. Call your carrier’s claims line, describe what happened, get a claim number.
- Get a contractor estimate. An independent line-item estimate from a siding specialist gives you and the adjuster a reality baseline. This is where we come in.
- Meet the adjuster. Be present. Walk the damage with them. Having your contractor there helps — we speak the same language as adjusters and can point out damage that is easy to miss.
- Review the settlement. Compare the adjuster’s scope to your contractor’s estimate. Discrepancies get supplemented with documentation, not arguments.
- Get the work done. Choose your contractor (you are not required to use the insurance company’s preferred vendor), complete the work, submit final invoices.
Why Claims Get Denied
- Wear and tear disguised as storm damage. The most common denial. If the "damage" is clearly aged — brittle panels, long-term fading, old cracks — the adjuster will call it maintenance.
- Late reporting. Waiting months to report weakens the connection to the storm event.
- Insufficient documentation. "Some siding blew off" without photos, dates, or specifics is hard to approve.
- Pre-existing issues. If the adjuster finds the same damage in old satellite imagery or prior inspection reports, the claim fails.
Matching and the "Full Slope" Question
A frequent dispute: the storm damaged one wall, but the siding is discontinued and cannot be matched. Most policies include provisions for matching — if a reasonable match is impossible, the carrier may owe for a larger area (the full slope, sometimes the full house). This is fact-dependent and varies by policy and state. We document the matching problem thoroughly — discontinued product evidence, fade comparisons — because that documentation is what triggers the provision.
Our Role (and Its Limits)
We document damage accurately, provide line-item estimates in adjuster format, meet adjusters on site, and supplement when scopes differ. What we do not do: inflate estimates, manufacture damage, or "handle" your claim for a fee. Those practices are unethical and, in some forms, illegal. Honest documentation gets honest settlements — and keeps you out of trouble.
Storm damage? Send the form marked urgent if your wall is open to weather. We will help you through every step.