Frequent Asked Questions
But insurance says i should just paint my siding and that is sufficient and all they will pay for?
Answer – it is common for insurance p&c on their initial evaluation to attempt to move you towards settling for less than what you are technically owed. siding replacement is a scope of replacement that is most often mis-scoped on the front end because of the potential cost to your insurers bottom line financials. it is however, also one of the largest areas of concern in keeping the value in your house. BSC has worked with most insurance carriers in the Montana marketplace and is able to guide you in your negotiations with insurance with expertise and proven success in siding replacement claims.
Weather conditions for construction
Answer – roofing in Montana is typical limited to spring -fall conditions when daily temperature highs reach a minimum of 40 deg f. newer synthetic roofing materials allow for installation in even cooler temperatures. siding, windows, garage doors and gutters are installed year round, pending sub zero deg weather. Paint is either applied in house for new installation of siding and trim or spring – fall conditions are required for any exterior paint.
Whats behind the estimating software document sent to me with the first insurance check after the initial insurance adjuster’s home inspection
Answer – insurance companies use industry adapted software to scope (line item detail of work they agree to cover and maximum price they are willing to pay before supplement) your restoration project. xactware by xactimate corporation is the most widely used insurance software today. these software are not proprietary to any specific carrier. for example state farm, allstate, usaa, farmers & farmers foremost insurance all use the same xactware software scoping tool for their initial scope and payment. please understand:
Retail pricing for insurance repair work is based on real true and accurate (rta) price that a fully legal, licensed as required by the state, and insured professional contractor would charge to complete the work. xactware and other insurance estimating programs, which insurance has implied are “retail pricing” are not in fact in most cases representative of real true and accurate pricing but rather are often times well below rta market price.
BSC is also licensed and uses xactware as a basic pricing and project scope tool when appropriate, and we will typically present our supplements for restoration work and sub-contractor estimates we gather on your behalf, to insurance as this tends to be a system that leads to a faster and less resistant agreement on scope from your insurance claims provider.
What are my out of pocket cost?
Answer – insurance related projects a home owner can expect to budget out of pocket what they have agreed to pay as their deductible part of their home owners policy contract. it is considered insurance fraud for BSC to cover home owner agreed out of pocket deductibles. once a deductible has been met, any added supplements to a storm related project are paid in full by the insurance carrier, including any work needed to complete damaged areas of the house (for example if siding replacement has been supplemented and added to an updated insurance detailed scope document, and we realized after construction had begun that the siding had been originally installed under the soffit and the soffit could not be detached but would require replacement… insurance would be required to pay rta price (realo true &b accurate market price) for this in addition to the siding as it would be directly tied to and it replacement would be reasonably un-avoidable to the replacement of the approved siding trade.
Work outside of the storm restoration scope would need to be addressed separately as a bid item from BSC and agreed on in writing.
So are you saying that even if i had my roof replaced a year ago and i am now concerned my siding was not adjusted correctly that if it has storm damage that requires replacement outside of just paint that i can get free siding?
Answer… if your siding has storm damage where paint is not an rcv or sustainable option then replacement before paint would be appropriate. your siding is not free, any more than your roof was free of cost. insurance has contracted with you to pay for appropriate damages and you have agreed that your part in this would be your out of pocket deductible. your out of pocket is typically deducted from your first insurance check. any additional checks from insurance to cover supplements including payments associated with any siding replacement would be paid ny insurance in full with no additional out of pocket required.
