Before y'all get on me, realize that this is a poll about my Dad, and my hero, so chill with the nonsense at all means. I'm hoping he looks at the results. My Parent's home (which was built in the 50's) received roof damage. Due to the fact that there had been 4 relayerings (all before my folks purchased the house in 1987) IKE had caused enough damage to the roof where another layer was not possible, so my folks had to contract people to strip the roof and redo it at a cost of $30,000. Here's the issue: My Dad doesn't want to place a claim to the insurance co. because it needed it, anyway, and other people need the money more than he does. My opinion is that if you've paid insurance for a home for 30 bloody years you deserve to get a credit when it occurs. I wish I could tell you the stories about my father. ie. how he dove in front fo a snowmobile to save my 2 yr. old sister's life, then tossed the vehicle like it was a rag doll to make sure she was ok, only to be placed in the hospital for 2 months because he punctured his lung and ruptured his spleen by doing so. I recall at the time the Alaskan media being awestruck that he didn't want to sue the snowmobler's because they weren't "trying" to hurt them. There is also a decaying article in an Exxon magazine that shows how he saved a boy's life because he was one of the first people who learned CPR. (and yes, it was the 70's) Then you have what, in my opinion, was his proudest moment, even though the media made sure he would never rise in career status again. March 24, 1989. My dad gets a call at 3:00 a.m. He is on a plane by 5. Exxon Valdez. For those who are not aware, my dad was the environmental supervisor for Exxon Shipping (now SeaRiver) but the big name in it, (Iorossi) took info. from my dad. Either way, there was a BIG storm coming into Prince William Sound when my dad got up there to survey. A navy captain came up to my dad and demanded that they start sending out boats and booms. My dad looked at the navy captain (my dad is 6'3, and apparently the navy captain was substantially smaller) and said "I'm not risking one life for a bunch of fish and otters." Sadly, when we think about the Exxon Valdez disaster, all we think about are the fish and otters. It's sad that the Navy Captain might have been correct, and that a few human lives were worth otters and fish. Luckily, my Dad did not. Regardless, my Dad has always erred towards his own detriment, and I've completely rambled beyond my point, other than I think my dad should file a freaking claim on a hurricane damaged roof!
If he wants to give money to other people who need it, giving money to the insurance company is not the way to do so. Of all the people in the world to give money to, the insurance companies aren't the ones who should get it.
Of course he should get the insurance to compensate him for all the damages. I mean, that's the point of having insurance, right? If he believes other people need money, and he wishes to donate, there's tons of charities.
If your dad is insistent on paying for the roof himself, he should find the cheapest labor possible. I suggest MoBalls. He does quality roof work.
You guys are arseholes......but funny ones. It so happened that I was on my roof this weekend. Anyways.....FFB......I agree with him needing to make an insurance claim. Heck, 30 years of paying for insurance and not using it is just crazy. He sounds like a good man, what happened?....oh never mind.
I second this thought. He should get the roof redone and if he really wants, he can donate the value of the repair to the red cross, or just anonymously pay for repairs on a damaged community center or the house of some poor old widow who couldn't afford insurance or something. Seems like the money will be better spent that way. Besides, I don't really understand how it's an ethics question- from what you've said: 1. he had a perfectly good roof. 2. IKE 3. He had a badly damaged roof in need of repair- specifically due to IKE-related damages. What am I missing here? This seems like it's exactly what you have insurance for in the first place. good luck to him with it.
A few of things. First considering the house had 4 relayerings already by code that is no longer allowed so anytime a roof has to be redone you are supposed to strip it. I did the samething to my house last summer. It had 6 layers going all the way down to the original cedar shakes. Keep in mind I'm not familiar with Houston's building code so it might be different. Second, if the insurance company determines that the situation with his roof was a already on the way out then they might not pay anyway so your dad would've filed for nothing and even if they do pay given the scope of the Ike damages they might fight it for a long time and it might take a long time to get paid, in which time your dad may spend valuable time and money getting the claim. They might also raise his rates for filing a claim. Since the roof was damaged during the hurricane he still might have a very good chance of getting a successful claim. I would suggest he consider how much documentation he has regarding the condition of the roof pre storm so if the insurance company makes an argument that this was a condition not caused by the storm he can address that. I agree with the other posters that this isn't so much of an ethics question as he has paid insurance and this was prompted by storm damage. I think its more of a question regarding how likely he is to collect and what that might do to his rates.
Others have already said as much, but I'll parrot them. Your dad filing a claim isn't going to take money away from anyone else who needs it. If he really feels that strongly about it, he should file a claim, repair the damage himself, then donate the insurance proceeds to an organization that will actually give money to people who really need it.
Huh? I was simply talking about voting in regards towards my father rather than voting towards an opinion of me. Y'all can say whatever you'd like towards me.
Your Dad paid insurance premiums for 30 years so that in the case of a catastrophe the Insurance company would be there to make him whole. The signed a good faith contract and should pay if he files a claim. There is no reason not to file. You better believe if the shoe was on the other foot the Insurance company would be coming after him for money.
You won't change your dad's mind if he already made it. Trust me. Can't teach an old environmental supervisor new tricks. Holy moly. A 30,000 roof? WOW. Mine cost about 6,000 and it will be done tomorrow. I'd say FILE A CLAIM. What is insurance paying for, if you can't file a claim when you need to? His premium will NOT go up, since this is a catastrophe, not an oversight or human error. If you need my roofer's number for a recommendation, send me a message. No, my roofer's name doesn't start with "MoBalls" or end with "MoBalls."
30K for the roof, did he get metal? Your dad is getting ripped off by the insurance company and roof contractor. of course he should file a claim.
The reason it costs so much is because they have to remove the old roofs; all four of them. Otherwise it would be around $5,000, and is why he doesn't feel he should file a claim, because in his opinion, the roof was overdue to be replaced. Hell, he's thrilled that the City is waiving permit fees because of Ike.
