What can be done if our homeowner’s insurer is not honoring an insurance claim on our house’s roof?
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What can be done if our homeowner’s insurer is not honoring an insurance claim on our house’s roof?
Our house roof needs work. Our insurer is claiming that their adjuster is right and that everyone else 5 roofers that I have spoken with are wrong in saying that we need replacement. Therefore, it will not honor our policy, however I have written emails from their adjuster saying that there are bad shingles on the roof. Their estimate is that it can be fixed under $500, whereas the roofers are saying its around $20,000-25,000.
Asked on September 1, 2016 under Real Estate Law, Georgia
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 7 years ago | Contributor
If you feel that under the terms of the policy (e.g. when they are supposed to pay) and the facts of the situation they should pay the claim, then your option is to sue the insurer for "breach of contract": for not honoring their contractual obligation (an insurance policy is a contract). To win, you would need to prove in court, by the language of the policy and expert testimony (e.g. you'd have to put some of the roofers on the witness stand) that this is a covered loss and the extent/cost of it.
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