04/02/2025
OHIO STORM DAMAGE CLAIMS INFORMATION
So you’ve weathered today's hail storm. You’re concerned there may be storm damage. And in restoring that damage, you’ll likely undergo the stressful process of dealing with your insurance company and restoration professionals. Here are some suggestions in doing that, based on our firm’s experience in handling Ohio storm damage claims:
• CONDUCT AN INITIAL DAMAGE ASSESSMENT – Do a walkaround and document everything you can about the damage to your home or business. Take pictures or videos of the damage if it’s visible. You simply cannot rely on others to have everything documented for you. You will then be able to share this with your insurance adjuster, contractor, or even your policyholder advocate down the road if the claim goes sideways. Remember, it is your responsibility to prove a loss to the insurance company.
• HAVE A PROFESSIONAL INSPECT THE PROPERTY – Not all storm damage will be visible from the ground or to the untrained eye. If you had severe storms in your area, there will likely be many companies offering free inspections. Have a contractor inspect your roof and exterior for storm damage. If they do not find any storm damage, keep their contact info as a trustworthy source and contact them down the road if another severe storm hits or if you’d like to purchase a new roof or siding. If they do indicate there’s storm damage, ask them to see pictures of it. If they are unable or unwilling to show you any photos of the storm damage, thank them for their time and contact someone else. If there’s documented storm damage and the contractor believes fixing it will exceed your deductible, the next step is getting your insurance company involved. You do not want to file a claim if there’s no damage or the damage won’t exceed your deductible, because it will likely affect your premium.
• BE SURE THE CLAIM IS FILED – It is imperative that you give your insurance company prompt notice of the loss. You can do this through your agent or contact your insurance carrier directly. Insurance companies will often be overwhelmed with claims and typically the sooner you file it, the sooner the insurance company will have an adjuster come out to assess the damage. Most standard insurance policies cover damage caused by hail or wind.
• SELECT THE RIGHT CONTRACTOR FOR THE JOB – Do your research on restoration professionals ahead of time. You may already have a relationship based on having an inspection done. Ask questions and check online reviews. Your warranty is only as good as the company offering it. Local contractors will be inundated with work and often booked up beyond their capacity. Non-local contractors will come in and attempt to fill that void. No matter who you use, ask for references and read everything carefully before signing. Your contractor plays a most important role and should be right there by your side throughout the entire process. So, be sure to get the right company for the job.
• PROTECT YOUR PROPERTY FROM FURTHER DAMAGE – It is your responsibility to protect your home after damage has occurred. This would include boarding up windows and doors and placing a tarp on the roof, among other things. In insurance lingo, this is called fulfilling your duty to mitigate the damages. However, do not make permanent repairs until the insurance company has told you to do so.
• SAVE EVERY RECEIPT FROM STORM RELATED EXPENSES – Your insurance policy may cover reimbursements of post storm related expenses. For example, policies often have provisions covering additional living expenses. With that, if you had to stay in a hotel and eat out, this is something that may be covered. If you pay for debris removal or tarping, keep the receipt. If it’s a receipt that’s even arguably related to the storm, keep it. It’s better to have it and it not be covered than not to have it at all. Your insurance agent and adjuster will ultimately tell you if the item is covered.
• DOCUMENT DAMAGED ITEMS – It is important to document the damaged items in your home or business and report them to the insurance company. It helps to keep record of everything damaged in and on your home as a safety net for future reference if it is needed. You simply cannot completely rely on your insurance company or contractor to have adequately documented the loss. Claims can take months and even years to be fully resolved. Memories fade. Photographs don’t.
• DO NOT GO IT ALONE AT THE ADJUSTMENT – Your contractor should be present when the insurance adjuster comes out to estimate the damages. The contractor, not your insurance company, is the expert on what needs done to rebuild the property and the cost to do it. All too often, adjusters leave reasonable and necessary items off their insurance scopes, resulting in severely underpaid claims. A contractor can help point out damaged items, discuss building codes and construction standards, and the actual cost to repair the property. The right contractor can be a tremendous ally. A public adjuster can also be helpful. Public adjusters assist policyholders with their claims for a fee, which is usually based on a percentage of your claim. They will discuss many of the same things contractors do, along with having the added ability to get into policy issues and negotiate the claim on your behalf.
• COMMUNICATION WITH THE INSURANCE COMPANY – Take notes of every time you talk with the insurance company. An even better course would be to communicate by email. If your adjuster will not provide a claims email address, this is a problem. If you have a phone call with the insurer, send a follow up email recapping your understanding of the conversation. We routinely see claims where the field adjuster states he or she will recommend one thing (like replacing the entire roof) and the result winds up being the opposite (like only paying for ugly, patchwork repairs). Often, you’re dealing with independent adjusters who contract with your actual insurer to adjust the claims. The independent adjuster and the staff adjuster sometimes disagree. It’s important to have a record of their recommendations in case that happens.
• UNDERSTAND THE INVESTIGATION AND SETTLEMENT PROCESS – After you’ve called in the claim, an adjuster will usually contact you to set up their inspection. This is something your contractor should attend. At the adjustment, the adjuster will inspect the damages and document the claim. Unless there are coverage issues, the insurance company will then prepare an estimate based on that evaluation. You should review this estimate with your contractor. A check will then be issued reimbursing you for the actual cash value of your loss. This will only represent a portion of the overall settlement. To fully recover, you will have to complete the work and submit for any recoverable depreciation. Also keep in mind that your mortgage company may be involved in the rebuilding process, as they have an interest in the property and their name is often also on the check. Under ideal circumstances, it is a two-check process from the insurer: the ACV check up front, and the depreciation check after the work is complete. However, items are often left off the insurance estimate or are not discovered until the work is underway. If that happens, you or your contractor will have to go through what’s called the supplement process. That entails pointing out missing items, building code issues, or scope of repair problems with the insurance company. If supplements are necessary and get resolved, you may get a supplemental check prior to doing the work. In the perfect claim scenario, all issues will be resolved between you, the insurance company, and your contractor without you being forced to hire an additional claims professional.
• YOU MAY DISAGREE WITH YOUR INSURANCE COMPANY – Disputes regularly arise on storm damage claims. The most common disagreement we see on these claims revolves around repair versus replace. For example, insurance companies will often only offer to pay for spot repairs on roofs or siding. Similarly, sometimes they will only want to replace the damaged roof slope or elevation of siding. This often leaves property owners dissatisfied and the property with a patchwork look. This is not the result consumers expect when they purchase a replacement cost policy—which most property owners have. Under those policies, the insurance company must help bring your home back to its pre-loss condition. If you didn’t have a mismatched exterior before the storm, you shouldn’t have it after the storm, considering that you paid for a replacement cost policy. If you point that out and the insurance company doesn’t change its stance, you should contact an insurance claims professional. This is just one of many typical disputes. Others include complete denials (your insurer says there’s no hail or wind damage when you believe there is), pricing differences (they’re offering to pay less than your contractor will accept), and supplementing issues (see above), among other things. The point is this: don’t feel like a bad guy if you don’t agree with your insurer—it happens daily.
• COOPERATE WITH YOUR INSURANCE COMPANY – Even if you disagree with your insurer, you must still be responsive to their requests. That’s so because standard insurance policies contain provisions that require policyholders to cooperate with the investigation. This is known as the duty to cooperate. Otherwise valid claims can be denied if a property owner breaches this duty. This requires you to comply with reasonable requests from your insurer, regardless of whether you’re happy with them at the time. If you feel like they are overstepping, contact an insurance professional for guidance. However, never simply ignore their requests.
• REQUEST A CERTIFIED COPY OF YOUR POLICY AND REVIEW IT – There are many things within your policy that you may not know about. Having a policy in hand will help you understand what is covered. If you have questions about what is in the policy, call an experienced property insurance attorney or other claims professional who can answer your questions.
• DON’T BE AFRAID TO DEPOSIT THE CHECK – Many Ohio consumers with disputed claims worry that depositing the insurance check will bar any additional recovery. That is not the case. Depositing or cashing a check does not mean acceptance of a settlement offer. You can pursue further payments even if you deposit the check.
• YOUR MORTGAGE COMPANY MAY BE ON THE CHECK – More often than not, mortgage companies are included on large checks from the insurance company. This is because the mortgage company has an interest in protecting their collateral on the loan. While mortgage companies can be extremely cumbersome to deal with, their primary concern is seeing that you rebuild the home. They will often require inspections and various documents submitted prior to releasing the funds. Be sure the contractor you select is familiar with this process.
• BE AWARE OF YOUR KEY DEADLINES – Here in Ohio, property owners often have as little as one year from the date of the storm to resolve the claim or be barred from suit. This deadline will usually be set out in the conditions sections of your policy and is enforceable under Ohio law. And if your insurer requests a Sworn Proof of Loss, there is a strict deadline in the policy for when you must fill it out and send it back to the insurer. This is usually 60 days. In addition, if your contractor hasn’t been paid in full for the work in a timely manner, they may also be forced to lien your property to protect their interests. Generally, contractors’ lien deadlines in Ohio are 60 days from the last day they did work on residential projects and 75 days from the last day they did work on commercial projects. Keep these deadlines in mind when various players in the process are dragging their feet.
• THERE ARE MINIMUM STANDARDS THAT REGULATE YOUR INSURER – Ohio insurers must abide by the provisions laid out in the Ohio Administrative Code, Section 3901-1-54. It can be found with a simple online search and is titled “Unfair property/casualty claims settlement practices.” These provisions lay out minimum standards and requirements for adjusting property claims. Refer to these guidelines if something is out of place. You may also file a consumer complaint with the Ohio Department of Insurance if your insurer is not compliant.
• KNOW WHO TO HIRE IF THERE IS A PROBLEM – Insurance companies are generally in business to make a profit. That often results in severely underpaid claims and even full denials on legitimate claims. When the insurance company sends out “independent experts,” those experts are usually being paid directly by the insurance company and they are quite often reliant on routine business from those same insurance companies. With claims handling problems occurring daily, it is important to understand where the alignment of interests rest that often lead to them. The policyholders’ interests are aligned with policyholder attorneys, public adjusters, and the contractor who will be restoring the property. All four desire a fair and prompt settlement. The insurance companies’ interests are aligned with the adjusters and their hired guns, such as forensic engineers, building consultants, and preferred vendors. Those individuals and companies often have the insurance companies’ best interests in mind (which is their profit margin). If you feel like you’re being treated unfairly, contact an Ohio wind and hail damage claim attorney or a licensed public adjuster to review your claim. Most will offer a free initial consultation.
The author of this post routinely handles disputed storm damage claims. Ohio Attorney Steve Whetstone heavily focuses on helping consumers with problematic claims and is known within the industry as The Roof Lawyer™. For more information, visit us a www.whetstonelegal.com or call us at 740-785-7730.
This post, created April 2, 2025, is for informational purposes only. It should not be construed as creating an attorney/client relationship.
Attorney Steve Whetstone, owner of Whetstone Legal, LLC, 2 N. Main St., Unit 2, Thornville, Ohio is responsible for this post.
©Whetstone Legal, LLC, 2025
