Hail Damage Question

[hikers44]

We have a 2 month old Keystone Cougar 5th Wheel. Saturday, we had several inches of quarter to golfball size hail that lasted long enough to pile a foot deep against doors, etc. and is still there in places today.

It broke the bathroom vent cover and bent the vent, as well as allowing rain in through the vent into the bathroom. The bathroom floor was wet and it ran under the wall and into the bedroom, wetting the carpet for about 2 feet into the bedroom. It does not seem to have run through the floor underneath, as we got it mopped up within an hour or two and have run fans on it since to dry it out. Sunday, my husband swept piles of hail and leaves off the roof and checked it over, and it does not appear that there is any more damage, but we're not sure.

We also have an 08 Wildcat that we have had for sale, and it is mostly destroyed, but was more out in the open. The difference in damage is incredible.

We are concerned that even though there is no visible roof damage, it may have damaged the roof framing, etc., with the force that it appears to have been coming down (we were gone at the time). Has anyone had experience with hail damage that can assist with what to look for and ask?

The insurance company wants an adjuster to come to our home and inspect it, in place of our taking it to a repair shop for an estimate, but we aren't sure if that is the best route.

Any advice is greatly appreciated!

Thanks!

[sourdough]

On my last trailer repair with insurance I took it to the dealer and the insurance agent (Geico) went there to see it and they went over it together. Got an exceptional estimate for repairs. In other instances the adjuster came to the house to do his assessment then I went to repair shops to get estimates/repairs. I will say that in the past (not on a TT) I have had the insurance adjustor make a poor estimate and the shop, and I, had to work with them to readjust the estimate.

My thought is that you really want someone familiar with RVs doing the estimate - I would question a regular insurance adjuster's expertise on an RV. If you could do as I did and have the adjuster work with the RV shop it might work out better. They may not do it....just a thought.

[14george]

Had hail damage to mine insurance found damage I did not see

[ctbruce]

I have to agree with Sourdough. If you can get the dealer and adjustor together it should be a better experience and more thorough. Sorry for your troubles and glad you were able to minimize the effects.

Welcome to the forum from Kansas City, MO also.

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[dcg9381]

I had a claim on a Holiday Rambler years ago - all the vents, a few other things I didn't see. No interior water damage. They did replace the awnings, due to impact points on them (no actual holes) - so watch that too.

[flybouy]

Great advice, it's more effective and efficient to have the shop and the adjuster on the same page.

[BuxCamper]

Adjuster will want to low ball since he/she represents the insurance company. Having the repair person looking too and taking his own notes would keep things more honest. Plus two pairs of eyes never hurt.

-- Mark

[theeyres]

If you have a good insurance company the adjuster will inspect it, recommend some shops and you take it there and they will work together. That is what happened when I had $10,000 in damage. There was never an argument or question because the shop did what they had to do and the insurance company paid it. You can't just expect the insurance adjuster to accept anything the shop says because the shop will want to charge high, the adjuster pay low. Let them work together to get it fixed. You won't make money on the deal but you should be made whole. Too many people want to make a bonanza on the deal...and the insurance adjusters job is to make sure that doesn't happen.

[sourdough]

If you have a good insurance company the adjuster will inspect it, recommend some shops and you take it there and they will work together. That is what happened when I had $10,000 in damage. There was never an argument or question because the shop did what they had to do and the insurance company paid it. You can't just expect the insurance adjuster to accept anything the shop says because the shop will want to charge high, the adjuster pay low. Let them work together to get it fixed. You won't make money on the deal but you should be made whole. Too many people want to make a bonanza on the deal...and the insurance adjusters job is to make sure that doesn't happen.


I think the ultimate goal for the insured and the insurer is to meet at a point that meets both their goals. I've not had an insurance company "knowingly" try to screw me. I have had them send dips for adjusters that I had to walk through the basics of basically everything.

A "company" adjuster...you need to be aware of. They are "company" folks and their job is to pad the company line. Any more I've found that they are sending contracted adjusters....which so far have been fair as far as I've experienced. YOU have to know what's going on and be the one that pushes the direction of what happens.

[bsmith0404]

It doesn't matter how it's done if you get repairs done at a shop. The insurance will give an estimate based on what they can see. The repair shop will file a supplemental claim if more damage is found and the insurance will approve it and pay them. If you do repairs yourself, you will not be able to file a supplemental claim so making sure they find everything initially is important.

As for damage to the framing under the roof membrane, it's probably not that likely if the membrane itself isn't damaged. The sheathing under the membrane will actually absorb a lot of hits, almost like a sponge.

[Desert185]

All good advice.

Probably a good time to install vent covers in anticipation of the next event. I would think the vent covers (like MaxxAir) are more robust than the flimsy, crank open vents, themselves.

[Richard Noble]

Three years ago we got hit by hail. We had four MaxxAir covers. All four where destroyed. Also got all four of the slide-out covers and the hood of our truck. Insurance took care of it (less $1,000 deductibles). Replaced the hood with an after-market heat extracting one. Keeps the engine cooler.

[hikers44]

Thank you to all who have replied and sorry for the delay. We've been busy with 4 different adjusters for damage to our jeep, both campers and house. Anyway, on the new Cougar, the adjuster came out, got up on the roof and crawled around, examined the vent cover and vent and said he thinks we dodged a bullet.

Our deductible is $1,000, so they said the vent and fan are less than that of course. Our concern is that the camper was parked on the west side of the house, and that side of the house is what has all the damage. Everything on that side has damage-garage doors, metal roof, vinyl, gutters, all metal trim, etc. In addition, it tore up the rag top on our jeep and it looks like it was hit all over with a hammer. On the older 5th wheel it got the awning, every plastic piece on the west side and back, both skylights, a broken window, etc.

There is no visible damage to the front or sides of the Cougar and we have found no broken trim etc. Is it really possible that this much hail did not damage the roof of the Cougar? We're paranoid that the insurance has closed the claim and 6 months down the line, we have a leak they did not find. My husband has also looked, and can't find anything, but isn't really sure what to look for.

Not looking for trouble, but just want to be sure we are not overlooking something. I read that hail will "dent" the TPO roof and that within each dent might be a slit, but it does not look dented to us. Are the new TPO roofs designed to take that much hail and not be damaged?

Thanks!

[sourdough]

I would be just as concerned as you and it's the reason I made my previous comments about having someone knowledgeable about RVs looking at it.

It sounds as if the items they counted didn't amount to your deductible so you therefore don't have a "claim' per se (payable), they close it, you go down the road and the next big storm you have a roof leak and they say...."not covered, lack of roof maintenance".

I would tell the insurance company you don't want the claim closed until it is looked at by an RV repair shop. TPO is tough but I can't imagine that it remained unscathed based on your description of the hail damage you received.

I had the roof on our house replaced 2 months ago. We had a fairly severe hail storm though not as bad as yours it sounds and I thought about the roof - and it was only 5 years old. Looked it over and could see spots where it hit but no tears, the roof vents and skylights were OK so figured it was good but called a roofing company to come look at it anyway. He said all those impact points I saw actually damaged the roof although they looked fine. It wouldn't leak right now but he said it WOULD leak at some point - might be 6 months, might be 2 years. Called the insurance company, they sent their adjuster out and he agreed it was totaled.....and the roof looked good. It was replaced.

I'm afraid you're being left in the same boat I would have been in if I hadn't called the roofing company - just go down the road because it "looks" OK and then have an unfortunate incident somewhere in the future that won't be covered by anything. Wishing you the best of luck.

[BuxCamper]

Does your state allow independent public adjusters? That may be an option?

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[bsmith0404]

I understand your concern and it doesn't hurt to get a second opinion. RV repair shops will take a look, all you need to do is tow it to them. Personal opinion, you probably dodged a bullet. When our 5er got hit by hail, it busted every external light lens and even knocked off the tail lights. The AC looked like someone took a hammer and beat it into pieces and a few windows were busted out. That was golf ball size hail. If everything else has as much damage as you're saying, but your 5er only has one roof vent busted, maybe somehow there was something that was shielding your 5er or causing the majority of the hail to miss it.