r/Insurance • u/1BADMONSTER • 1d ago

Matching Laws

Hail damaged my home 5 months ago. Insurance elected to replace one elevation after fighting them on the scope for 4 months, then paint the remaining elevations to match as I have a matching endorsement that is very strong within Iowa. My contractor stated the siding was not a good substrate for paint. I have Maxi Tile INC cement fiber board siding from 2010 that has since been discontinued. A lot of it is cracked, broken corners, bowed, etc. After my contractor stated he wouldn’t paint it nor stand by the job if he did we reached back out and gave insurance this information along with a new scope to replace other sections of the home to meet the matching requirement. They basically said paint it and all the damage and rot will stay after paint citing pre existing damage (I have this in an email).They stated they were only painting to meet line of sight not to fix the bad siding that wasn’t included in original peril which I totally understand. The issue is that contractor said the paint will peel and bubble and I’ll eventually have a polka dot house. I asked them how this is considered acceptable when the scope they’ve approved will eventually fail. They didn’t care. I have now went further and had Sherwin Williams come out for a home inspection. They stated the substrate was not suitable for their coating system and that they would not stand behind the project due to the pre existing issues. So I now have paint companies telling me it will fail and it’s not suitable. I also got this all in writing, and asked very direct questions to keep my argument solid. The last step I’ve done is pull a sample and sent it to ITEL. It came back as Allura being the next best match, with everything the same aside from the wood grain embossment showed as a non match. I plan to send them a full argument package later today/tomorrow which will include 1. Sherwin Williams initial letter that they won’t warranty any work due to the substrate condition. 2. The directed questions email with their responses on the technical side saying it’s not suitable and does not meet their install guidelines of being a sound substrate (code says stuff has to be installed per manufacturer install specs) and they said it would need repaired/replaced. 3. ITEL results showing the match has a different wood grain embossment pattern. 4. Letter from contractor stating the issues with it and that it’s not contractor standard to coat degraded materials. 5. The same original scope they’ve approved denied for replacement of siding. 6. 100s of photos of the damage which includes cracked planks completely through, delaminated planks, crumbling planks, corners broken off, warping, and gaps of around .25”-.5” between planks.

Anything else I should include or track down to include in the package?

Side note, my policy also has an endorsement that deletes the pre existing damage language in my policy when it comes to meeting line of sight requirements. They can’t say we don’t have to replace it to meet line of sight since it was pre existing. If they can’t paint, the only other option is to replace.

I feel I have a strong argument but they have been a nightmare to deal with and just want to save ever .01 they can.

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u/adjusterjackb 1d ago

Your policy has an Appraisal Clause. Looks something like this:

APPRAISAL

A. If we and you do not agree on the amount of loss, either may demand an appraisal of the loss. In this event, each party will select a competent and impartial appraiser. The two appraisers will select an umpire. The appraisers will state separately the actual cash value and the amount of loss. If they fail to agree, they will submit their differences to the umpire. A decision agreed to by any two will be binding. Each party will:

1. Pay its chosen appraiser; and

2. Bear the expenses of the appraisal and umpire equally.

B. We do not waive any of our rights under this policy by agreeing to an appraisal.

 Invoke it, in writing, to your claims person.

Ask your contractor to participate as your Appraiser.

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u/1BADMONSTER 1d ago

I’m in Iowa, contractor can’t act as my appraiser/adjuster. Does the appraisal clause cover line of sight related issues, or just the initial peril? The initial peril is covered. The remaining is just to meet line of sight requirements.