While it may sound comforting that forecasters are predicting a 40 percent chance of a normal hurricane season, don’t relax too much. Experts from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) say that we will likely see 10 – 16 named storms, 5 – 9 hurricanes and 1 – 4 major hurricanes.

We live in a part of the state that doesn’t sustain direct hits like the coastal areas do, but we can be affected by the tremendous amounts of rain and the high winds from storms that strike the Gulf coast, as we saw last year when Harvey made landfall and stalled. Hurricanes can also generate tornados. The National Weather Service reports tornadoes associated with Hurricane Allen, 1980, caused $100 million dollars in damages to the Austin, Texas area.
PropertyCasualty360, an insurance industry website provided the following tips to prepare your property for potential flooding:

• Review your property insurance policy, especially the “declarations” page, and check whether your policy pays replacement costs or actual cash value for a covered loss.
• Inventory your household items, and photograph or videotape them for further documentation. Keep this information and your insurance policies in a safe place.
• Keep the name, address and claims-reporting telephone number of your insurer and agent in a safe and easily accessible place.
• Protect your property by covering all windows with plywood or shutters, moving vehicles into the garage when possible and placing grills and patio furniture indoors.
• Keep all receipts for any repairs so your insurance company can reimburse you.
• Check with your insurance adjuster for referrals to professional restoration, cleaning and salvage companies if additional assistance is needed.

Lastly and most importantly is to do your research now, before the storm hits, to identify a trusted, licensed contractor now. Once a storm has moved through, time is of the essence in repairing damage to your home.
We’re ready to provide you with a free inspection and repair or replacement recommendations. Request your free inspection today.

If your home or property is in the path of a hail storm, be sure to do these three things immediately afterwards.

Spring is here and that means so is storm season. Many of those storms will contain hail. If you’ve just experienced a spring storm that dropped potentially property damaging hail stones, it’s important that you know what to do next.

1 – Exterior inspection
Once the storm has passed, go outside and look for hailstones in your yard, take a photo of the hail and put the biggest one you see in your freezer. Next, look around your home for granules that may have been knocked off the shingles by the hail.
Check your gutters for granules as well. Putting your cell phone on a selfie stick is a great idea to extend your reach and allow you to see what is going on with your gutters without having to leave the ground.
While looking for granules, see if the gutters sustained any dents from the hail. Continue your property inspection and note if there is any damage to your siding, your window screens or the fins on your air conditioner unit.
While staying safely on the ground, try see if there is obvious damage to your roof. Here is where you could put that drone that you got for Christmas to use – just fly on up and take a few pictures of different parts of your roof.
2 – Call a professional, licensed roofing contractor
After your inspection, if you think that your roof may have sustained damage call a professional roofing contractor who is licensed by the Roofing Contractors Association of Texas AND is Haag certified to detect storm damage. Many times, damage can be hidden and is not always visible to the untrained eye. At Texas Traditions Roofing, we are RCAT licensed, Haag certified and happy to perform a free storm damage assessment.
3 – Contact your insurance company
Contact your insurance carrier and let them know that you experienced damage following a hail storm. It’s important that you know your rights as the policyholder. With all the storms in the past year, we are hearing more and more from homeowners who are telling us that some insurance companies are no longer sending adjusters to estimate the cost of repairs. Rather, they instruct the homeowner to obtain and submit three bids. Be aware that the lowest bid may not be the best one for a complete roof system for your home and may not deliver the best workmanship.
Do your homework, get references and don’t be afraid to ask the insurance company to work with the contractor that is the best fit for you. Contact us today for a free post-storm damage inspection.

The rash of storms and hurricanes has left many insurance companies overloaded and some are placing the burden of estimating repair costs back on the policyholder.

We saw a lot of severe weather throughout 2017 and because of the volume of damage, we’ve noticed a shift in the way some insurance companies are working with their policyholders.  When a claim is submitted to the insurance company, an adjuster typically would visit the property and prepare an estimate for what the repair or replacement will cost.
This is starting to shift. Many homeowners have told us that their insurance company directs them to get three bids and send them in for review. In these cases, the insurance company could choose the lowest bid. The danger with this is that just because a contractor came in with the lowest bid, doesn’t mean that they are the right contractor for the job. The homeowner should ask themselves how they would know if the lowest bidder would put a quality roof on their home.  Just as important, the homeowner may not know if the full scope of damage is being addressed by the contractor or the insurance company if they do not receive a full adjuster’s report outlining the scope of the damage in detail.
The insurance company doesn’t know anything about the contractor, outside of the dollar amount on a piece of paper. It’s important that as the homeowner and policyholder to remember that you are the customer and you have the right to talk to your insurance company about which contractor to select. If you have done your due diligence, you will have gotten references and have a good feel for which contractor is going to be the right one for the job.
Don’t be afraid to ask. Insurance companies put a lot of weight into their customer satisfaction (C-SAT) scores. Resolving claims quickly and easily is important to them so they are likely going to be willing to work with you to find the right contractor to repair your roof.
Always choose a contractor that is licensed through the Roofing Contractor’s Association of Texas, and is certified by the manufacturers to install their specific products. Texas Traditions Roofing meets these criteria and we are happy to provide a free inspection and evaluation for your roof repair.  Request your today.