Do You Need an Aluminum Siding Hail Damage Inspection?
Innovative is the Aluminum Siding Insurance Claim Experts
Innovative Home Concepts specializes in hail damage siding insurance claims. In fact, we have helped thousands of homeowners through the frustrating and confusing insurance restoration process over the past decade. We love getting siding replaced by insurance and would love to help you!
There are hundreds of contractors that can give you a price to replace
your siding. Some of them believe they can work with your insurance company to get them to cover your aluminum siding. The truth is most contractors have no idea what they are doing and usually end getting your claim denied or at best get one or two sides paid by insurance.
Innovative has been helping homeowners with siding insurance claims for over a decade. We know the ins and outs of the process. We know what to say and do when your siding is denied. We know what to say and do if your insurer only wants to pay for part of your aluminum exterior cladding.
Let Us Help You with Your Aluminum Siding Hail Damage Insurance Claim!
Call Our Storm Damage Hotline Today at (815)356-9020
FREE Aluminum Siding Inspection
Don’t delay, find out today if you have damage to your siding. Schedule to have one of our professional insurance restoration specialists do a thorough inspection of your property Today. It’s FREE and there is NO Obligation.
Does Homeowners Insurance Cover Siding?
Your insurance policy is a contract between you and an insurance company that in exchange for payment the carrier agrees to pay for damages that occur to your home. The policy outlines what is covered on your home and what perils or causes of damage are covered.
Hail and wind damage to aluminum siding will always be covered unless there is a specific rider or additional clause that specifically says it is not. The question really becomes what will your insurance company cover? Will they only pay to replace the sections of your home that actually have hail dents or will they pay to have your entire home re-sided. This really depends on who you are working with and how competent in the process they are.
Innovative has an track record of extreme success when it comes to insurance claims on aluminum siding. The majority of the time we will get your whole house covered even if only a side or two has actual damage. Of course we can’t guarantee anything because every insurance company is different and every situation is different. But know, we know what we are doing and we are very good at it.
How to Spot Hail Damage on Aluminum Siding?
From the 1950’s to the mid 1980’s aluminum siding was a popular exterior home cladding. Although this type of siding has many 
benefits, one of the major problems is it is prone to dent.
Dents to metal siding can be caused by hailstones or it can be caused by what is called “mechanical” means. Mechanical refers to damaged caused by people. Examples of mechanical damage would be kids playing with balls, rocks kicked up by a lawnmower, and siding hit with a snow shovel.
When hail hits aluminum it make a definitive and specific type of dent. The larger the hail the bigger the dent. Sometimes the dent is visible with the naked eye especially if the metal’s surface is smooth. If there is a wood pattern the dent can be more difficult to see but none the less is there.
As a contractor that specializes in aluminum siding hail damage insurance claims and restoration, we have special techniques that we use to determine if the metal has been dented. Currently there is not a tool available that can determine whether damage is mechanical or hail. Our expertise and experience allows us to recognize whether or not the damage was caused by a hail ball impact.
The bottom line is, the best way to spot hail damage on aluminum siding is to have a trained professional inspect it with the tools of the trade, knowledge, and experience needed to make an educated determination.
May Insurance Company Told Me the Hail Damage to My Aluminum Siding is Cosmetic, What Should I do?
The long and the short of it is, call us. We deal with insurance claims for aluminum siding every day of the week. We have ran into the insurance adjuster who wants to argue that the damage to your siding is only cosmetic and does not effect the functionality of the cladding.
Yes, the damage does not effect how the siding functions, which is to provide the exterior of you home with a protective, waterproof, and weatherproof shield against the elements. But there are other reasons why your insurance carrier should/must cover and replace your hail damaged aluminum siding. Let us help you.
What About Wind Damage to Aluminum Siding?
Wind can definitely cause damage to aluminum siding. In gale force wind pieces and even sections of siding can be blown off of your home. Also wind driven debris can be propelled into the exterior of your home cause denting to the metal.
The question is less of will wind damage your siding but what will your insurance carrier cover. Most times, unless you know what you are talking about and know the arguments that need to be made, adjusters will want to pay for repairs or a single elevation of the siding. This is where working with a professional pays dividends.
We can, more than not, get your insurance carrier to cover all sides of your siding when only a few pieces or one side are damaged.
Matching Siding Insurance Claim
The question of whether an insurance company has to provide replacement siding that will match your existing siding comes up frequently. Unfortunately the answer to this question is it depends.
First let’s talk about why this important and specifically why it is important when you are talking about an aluminum siding insurance claim for hail damage.
Some states are known as matching states which means insurance carriers are required by law to match existing materials when they indemnifying an insured. Other states do not require this. Illinois is one of those states that do not require matching.
Hail storms are directional. In Chicago and the suburbs storms generally come from the West and head to the East. When a hail producing storm blows into Illinois it will generally only do damage on one or two sides of a home. There are exceptions such as swirling storms and storms that reverse direction but for the most part storms head east and damage one or two sides of a home.
When an insurance company adjusts a claim and inspects a property, most times they will only find what they call direct damage
to one or two sides of siding. If a state is a “matching state” or the policy specifies it, the carrier will pay for all four sides of siding. If the state is “not matching” or the policy specifies direct damage only, the insurance company is only required to pay for the sides of siding that are actually damaged.
So what if the siding is no longer made or the siding on the existing sides are faded from sun and weather exposure?
The Bad News: Most homeowners and most contractors helping homeowners have no idea what to do if the insurance company only wants to pay for one or two sides of siding. They except defeat and for the most part just leave the damaged siding as it is or piece work in a repair that looks ridiculous.
The Good News: Innovative Home Concepts is an expert at hail damage aluminum siding insurance claims and have had incredible success with getting insurance companies to pay for 3 and even 4 sides of siding instead of just 1 or 2. Our objective is to make sure that your home gets done right, looks great, and you are happy.
How to Choose an Aluminum Siding Contractor
The real question isn’t who are the best aluminum siding installers near me or who is a competent aluminum siding installation company. The real question is, before anything, who is the best and most competent aluminum siding hail damage inspector in my area.
The truth is much of the metal siding in Chicago has been damaged by hail. It may not look obvious but if it is damaged only a trained, experienced restoration contractor or a professional home inspector will find it.
If an aluminum siding hail claim expert finds it you may be looking at improving your home, increasing your property value, and beautifying your home, all paid by insurance.
If a home inspector finds the hail damaged aluminum siding because you are selling your home and the buyer hired an inspector you may be looking at reducing your selling price by thousands if not tens of thousands of dollars. Which sounds better?
So the criteria you need to look for in aluminum siding contractors in Chicago is:
- Knowledge of hail damage to siding
- Knowledge of the insurance restoration process
- Years of experience helping homeowners with insurance claims
- Years of experience and knowledge on how to get insurance companies to pay for all sides of siding.
- Reputation and expertise in aluminum siding replacement and repair.
So just don’t look for an aluminum siding repair company or contractor. Look for a competent aluminum siding insurance restoration company. Then make them prove they are worthy of your business.
