Roof insurance claim advice

[Anita Ainsworth]

Hi, apologises if this is the wrong forum to request advice on insurance claims. Following the recent storms in the US my Davenport property sustained roof, window and interior water damage.  I contacted the insurance company and was sent a cheque for a 1/3rd of the repair estimate . I believed I paid for the best premium available on offer, nearly $4000 per annum so was extremely disappointed by the offer. My question,  if I don’t pay in the cheque but pay for the work to be done privately would this still be classed as an insurance claim? Sorry may seem an oblivious question to most but due to being based in UK and having communication probs with insurance co. I thought I would seek independent advice. 
Also advice would be welcomed on the cost of replacing a shingle roof measuring 53ft x 58ft completed by  a reliable trustworthy roofer permitted to carry out work in Florida. 
thank you very much. 

[Jerry V.]

(from a Roofer!)  Ok, MOST of your initial concerns, can be answered by ... KNOWING how your policy is structured and set up.  We (as Roofers, contractors) can only "guess" what is happening and all.  Many times, especially since you are not local, you tell an agent or broker (go through a Broker!) that, "I want full coverage, but low payments"  sooo... they set you up with with full payout, but a high delectable!  Or, you get very low payments over time, then find out that you only have a Cash Value policy, and will only get the 1st check/payment of the full sum.  SOOoooo many things are dependent on how it is setup.

Commonly, if the Ins Co is giving you $20K for the loss (IF they approve the payout, then you must do the repairs! (more options to this, but we'll keep it simple)) So $20K, minus $5K deductible = $15K towards the Loss.  They'll usually send you the paperwork and around $7,500.  Once the work is completed, submit the Invoices and they'll release the other $7.500 (or whatever is approved) to you.  That last portion is the Recoverable Depreciation which is normally given.  IF you have a Cash only policy, then you won't get that 2nd check!

You can of course, get a PA (public adjuster) to inflate the $ you get from the Ins company.  If your not local, or don't know the processes.. this may be a good option.  (I/we don't like them, but they serve a purpose)  Get bids from ESTABLISHED Roofers, carpenters, etc... and get the work done!  If you don't have a prop mgr here to do this for you, unfortunately you may have to get a GC to do all the different fields of work for you. (since you can't manage it yourself).

There's a LOT more to all this of course, but so I don't wear out the keyboard, I'll stop for now.  If you have specific questions that I can help with, let me know!

Jerry w/ J's Roofing   Richardson, Texas