Material price increases causing a stir among Homeowners and Insurance Companies

A national announcement from the two largest roofing material manufacturers to all large scale roofing companies states the price increases from month to month are to be expected. All large scale suppliers who sell roofing products have been raising their material prices almost every month by five, ten, or even up to fifteen percent. This increase causes all roofing companies to in turn raise their current prices of the roofs they are selling. The next price increase for our region is scheduled for March 2, 2009. This price increase on the 2nd will take effect with all shipments regardless of order entry date. We actively monitor costs and may have to implement additional increases in the future. As we approach March 2nd we will communicate specific price increases by product. Now, what does this mean for the Homeowner? With price increases coming straight from the manufacturer to the supply houses and the down to the roofers, these increases are then passed directly onto the homeowners. These increases can directly effect your settlement with you insurance provider. The insurance companies are not usually current with all price increases going on in the market and more often are about a month or even up to 3 months behind in the market. What does this mean? Well, your insurance settlement may be under valued and you may not have enough insurance settlement funds to do the work at the current market price. How do you combat against this? You should always hire an experienced roofing contractor who knows how to deal with the insurance companies and always is current on the market prices. We help people everyday who have come across this problem and are always successful in resettling their claim. The best way to make sure you are going to get a proper settlement is to not wait on making the claim. Due to constant price changes in the market and different rules and mandates from The Texas Department of Insurance, this can greatly effect your settlement. The key factors are to not wait and work with your contractor and the insurance company to make sure you get the proper settlement.

One Hail of a Storm Rolled Through Texas

Eclat Roofing has many roof replacement jobs located West and South of Ft. Worth, TX where very destructive storm cells passed through on April 17, 2008. The damage was devastating.


When I first made a call on a client in the Azle, TX area I noticed something very odd. Being that it was spring and everything was in bloom, I noticed no vegetation whatsoever. For a few minutes I thought that I was dreaming, but at second glance I realized what had happened. The hail was so severe in this area that there was no vegetation left.


As I approched my clients home I noticed an interesting pattern in their brickwork, one that I had never seen before. Upon closer inspection I found that the pattern was actually chips off of the bricks caused by heavy hail.

Today I stumbled across a YouTube video from www.tornadovideos.net showing the strength of the storm

Repair Delays Could Stretch Out

So far this year, storm disasters similar to the one you experienced have occurred in more than 20 states. This has put a strain on the entire roofing industry. Both roofing materials and skilled labor are in very short supply, prices of this oil based product are at an all-time high and manufacturers are already putting suppliers on strict allocation of roofing supplies. Delaying the replacement of your roof may prevent you from protecting your home from water damage for some time.

Current Roofing Market Conditions

We have experienced an extraordinarily widespread storm year in 2008 that has affected areas of the States of CA, WI, IA, NB, KS, MO, OH, IL, IN, OK, TX, AR, MS, GA and CO. Due to the severity of the storms, the demand for roofing materials and the labor available to install it has far outstripped the supply available.

Roofing wholesalers are just now being put on material allocations due to the finite roofing manufacturing capacity and the huge demand for these materials. This huge supply / demand differential coupled with the escalation in the price of oil has caused the price of composition roofing to skyrocket. Qualified labor and crew leaders are now spread thin across the entire country. The price of roofing removal and installation has also escalated due to the increased demand for this type of skilled labor.

The price of a typical tear-off and replacement is nothing like it was just one month ago. Due to the volatile market conditions at this moment, inherent delays in the insurance adjustment process, the delay in receiving roofing supplies and the availability of roofing crews, the price given by insurers for a roof replacement is in no way realistic in this market. These settlement statements will need to be supplemented at the time of installation by additional funds from the insurers. It is in everyone’s best interest to complete the repairs necessary at the earliest possible time.

Hail Damage - Knowing What to Look For

You may have watched hail fall on your home during a serious storm, but how can you tell if it has damaged your property? Knowing what to look for, and understanding how hail damages your property will help you to take the next right action towards preventing further damage from occurring.

At left you see the result of a golf ball sized chunk of ice crashing into a brand new section of a 30 year composition shingle. During recent storms in the Dallas and Ft. Worth areas, hail strikes such as this one have revenged tens of thousands of homes and businesses.

Roof Damage Insurance Claim Tip #1

If your roof has suffered damage due to wind or hail you will need to contact your insurance company and report a claim as soon as possible. What you say to them during the initial call may have a major impact on the amount of repair money that comes out of your pocket. During a storm a number of factors may have contributed to the damage. The majors are wind, hail and air borne debris. Depending upon who your insurance carrier is and the mood of the claims adjuster with whom you are speaking you may inadvertently misstate the the source of the damage and have to pay your deductable twice for two separate claims.

For instance, the morning after a storm you walk outside and notice a shingle or two on the ground and speculate that the wind from the storm has damaged your roof. You might call the insurance company and make a claim for "Wind Damage". Say the insurance company adjuster inspects the roof for wind damage and issues the determination that the damage caused by wind was not substantial enough to meet your deductable. You then hire a roofing contractor to repair the roof damage and they find that the roof has also sustained major hail damage as well. What do you do? File another claim. Pay close attention to the words you use when speaking with your insurer. You might have been stuck with having filed two separate claims, each with a 1% property value deductable associated with each claim.

Leave the determination of cause to the professionals. You should have a roofing contractor to act as your spokesman when dealing with the insurance company and their agents. This is a clear case of using the words "I Don't Know" when you really don't know! I confess, I'm guilty of thinking I know the truth and speaking about it as if it were the gospel truth! Many times I have later found that I was wrong.

The old adage that someone who represents themselves in court has a fool for an attorney holds true when dealing with insured losses. Basically, the insurance company is obligated to perform upon a contract executed between you and the company. Do you recall all of the details of that agreement? I certainly don't! We at Eclat Roofing have a great working relationship with both insurance companies and adjustors. We strongly recommend to our clients that you have us involved in all discussions with your adjuster. We work on our client's behalf to insure that they receive what they are due from the insurer. With a good, reputable contractor at your side you are assured to get the maximum that the laws allow from your insurer.

Eclat Roofing Blog Developed to Assist Clients

Eclat Roofing of Dallas, Texas begins publishing it's blog today as a service to it's roofing customers to provide them with the latest information affecting them and their roofs. Located in North Texas, our structures are exposed to climatic conditions that can be catastrophic. In the month of April, 2008 alone, storms utterly destroyed hundreds of millions of dollars worth of roofs on residential and commercial structures.

The aim of this blog site is to inform literally thousands of homeowners in the DFW area what to expect from their insurance companies as this year's damages are assessed. Higher deductibles have crept into local policies causing economic hardships among thousands of these affected homeowners. We will examine what you can do after a catastrophe and what you should do to protect yourself in the future. Our experienced team of roofing professionals have assisted thousands in working through the whole re-roofing and repair process with minimal pain.

Please come back, read and contribute to this site.

Best regards,

Eclat Roofing Inc.
www.eclatroofing.com