It is about time these storm chasers are being exposed. They may not all cause damage like this Guy. They are telling homeowners to file claims when most of the homeowners do not even have hail damage. All this does is upsets the homeowner. The stormchasers are running out of homes that had real damage and are now going into areas that were not effected. Then you have adjusters with no experience that pay for claims that have no damage.

Its sad that one door to door company in which most adjusters know they are criminals can make so many other innocent compaies look bad. I am a adjuster and believe me if someone is knocking on your door its ok just check the bbb and ask for references, Not all door to door restoration companies are bad

it’s about time these out of state storm chasers are exposed, as to the fruad they commet on homeowners. But the most fraud committed to homeowners in Illinois is by the insurance carriers. They have poorly trained adjusters, every company has different repair guidelines, so one insurance company will say yes you have true damage while another carrier says no.
The state needs to punish the local roofing contractors who allow out ot stste roofers to use their licence but they also need to punish the carriers as well for the fraud they commit on homeowners–under their so called repair guidelines.
homeowners in doubt use local roofing contractors who are licensed and HAAG certified..

Adjusters are not lawyers or used car salesmen. Insurance policies are not maintnence plans. It takes hailstones larger than 1″ to damage shingles. That kind of hail is rare, but not always damaging. Your home is made to withstand weather. Why would pea-size hail be so catastrophic that you would allow a stranger, most times without a license, to access your roof and make you file a claim? Want to kno why your premiums go up and you never filed a claim in 30 years? Because moron ‘contractors’ either create damage or make you file a claim for damage that is minimal or not there. Then they pit the homeowner against the insurance company. If you have legitimate damage, and it is affecting your home, file a claim FIRST if you must, then let the insurance company do their inspection. If the damage is covered they will provide credible contractors to repair the affected areas. ‘Local’ doesn’t always mean good. American Dream is local to the Joliet-area and they advertise on the radio and The Weather Channel. They are STORM-CHASERS!!!!! They are NOT roofers. They sub out the roofing work if approved, which is why people think they are good. The person at your door following a storm is NOT a roofer, but a mere salesman. They can create damage and wreak havoc on you as they try to inflate damages. They have also been known to prey on female adjusters!!!! They will always ask what insurance company you have first, then once they get the adjusters info. If they do not like the adjusters because that adjuster knows what real damage is, they will leave you high and dry!!!!!

sorry Peter for the typo error, I forgot how tempered All state adjusters-claim reps. are

I think it is completely ridiculous that “Chris” claims that being able to properly identify damages is not properly trained and again just proves why you do not want one of these storm chasers to inspect your property. Insurance companies do not send out just any person they can get to work for them out to adjust claims as these businesses do. Adjusters must have a college degree and go through training on a monthly basis to stay atop of the industry repair methods. I would like to know what kid of traingn you as a storm chaser go through since you are the first to throw out the term poorly trainied. Wouldn’t that be the pot calling the kettle black. Your trainng consists of memorizing a sales script about “catastrophic” damages and waiving a deductible to lock these homeowners in. Then when you realize there isn’t enough damage you “enhance” it. Obvoiusly storm chasers such as yourself can not bank off a home that is not damaged and if this isn’t truthful, please explain how entire neighborhoods where there was no hail storm are getting a new roof and siding…..

Mrs. Schroeder wrote please explain how entire neighborhoods where there was no hail storm are getting a new roof and siding…..I guess you didn’t read the comments, poorly trained adjusters. then again you use the word you..if you only knew how many poorly trained adjusters i asked not to approve non storm damage you will use the word “them”. ask yourself this question, would you rather have a adjuster who never worked on roofs or siding handle your claim? or an honorable certified Haag contractor work with your adjuster? many adjusters who become seasoned over time and gain experience are sent packing by some carriers as they cover the loss completely..I am not a fan of bad carriers and poorly trained adjusters nor am I a fan of so called window and siding company’s that now advertise as insurance experts,,,i

Mrs. Schroeder, now can you tell me how a home gets new siding all around when the hail storm only came from one side? HINT its not the insurance carrier guideleines as Illinois is not a matching state, must be those highly trained college adjusters you mentioned doing their job >>> improperly

@Chris – Can you honestly say that as a someone who works on commission that you “asked not to approve non storm damage?”

@cechini – “I don’t think it’s wrong to damage 2 sides of siding if the other sides are damaged.” Dumbest thing I’ve ever heard.

@Chris – Explain very short time to file a claim? One year is a short time to inspect your home after a storm?

I want to thank CBS, and especially this photographer, for bringing to light a very important issue to homeowners in the Chicagoland area. As a local contractor, we unfortunately hear stories like this frequently from homeowners who come to us after bad experiences with storm chasers. If you’d like more information about how to avoid storm chasers, and the proper steps to take if you think that you may have hail damage, please feel free to visit http://www.BewareStormChasers.com. We developed the site after last April’s storm as a way of helping homeowners in the area make decisions about possible storm damage. It also includes information about other dishonest tactics that companies like this may use, and links to the IL Attorney General’s warnings about storm chasers.

I am an adjuster working the April 5th hail storm. The carrier for whom I work DOES pay for the undamaged siding, assuming a match cannot be found. BUT, the homeowner has to either incur the cost, or at least present a contract indicating they will incur the cost, to replace the undamaged siding.
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And yes, there is one YEAR to file a claim following the date of the storm. That isn’t a short time. I find it amazing that people are STILL filing claims from the April 5th hail storm, and then are SHOCKED when their claim is denied…never bothering to think that if they had damage, it wouldn’t have taken them 7 months to notice.
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As for the contractors, this entire event is a contractor driven event. The carrier for whom I work has handled over 50,000 claims in homeowner’s alone. We should’ve been out of here and done with this storm in June or July. Anywhere else in the country, and we would have been. But here, thanks to contractors taking advantage of the situation, we’ll be here thru the winter and into next year. In Oklahoma, there wouldn’t have been a single claim filed for this hail. The hail did do damage in some areas, particularly Park Ridge/Niles/Des Plaines. But the damage is not critical, and most other areas in the country wouldn’t have even filed claims. (If you had aluminum siding damaged, this does not apply…I would’ve filed that claim too due to appearence)
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Point is, these stormchasers are now starting to file out of here, heading to Arizona…where they will probably still be when your new roof starts leaking, and you’re trying to get in touch with them to fix it for you. HIRE LOCAL CONTRACTORS AND USE YOUR HEAD, POLICYHOLDER! If your fence blew down and you have a $1,000 deductible, DON’T FILE A CLAIM! I’ve written quite a few $100 checks lately for just that, based on the October 26-27 windstorm. Is it really worth it to file a claim to get $100 for the 30 feet of fence you lost? THINK!!

I want to add that there ARE some legitimate contractors out there. I understand that it is difficult, as most homeowner’s don’t know what hail damage looks like. I also understand there are “cheap” carriers out there that try to pay as little as possible.
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With that said, the bottom line is this. Never have I worked where I met a contractor on nearly every claim. Literally 95% of them. It’s silly. The contractor does NOT “represent” the homeowner. The contractor represents his company. His concern is not you getting a new roof. His concern is you paying him for putting a new roof on your house. There’s nothing wrong with that, but think about it…his interest isn’t your well being…it’s HIS well being. If the contractor wanted to be helpful to the whole process, he would have his own estimate already drawwn up…PRICE INCLUDED…as though it isn’t an insurance claim. So far, I personally have handled over 500 claims. I have encountered 4…yes…4 contractors that had an estimate prepared before I got there. And by the way, an estimate isn’t “Per Insurance Proceeds”. Like I said, treat it like it’s a JOB…not an insurance claim. If the estimate was already prepared, and was in line with insurance proceeds, the carrier wouldn’t hold any depreciation! We could just tell the homeowner the estimate is in line, and it’s OK to sign a contract. This would ensure FULL payment up front, less deductible, AND…think about this, contractors…it would then assure you get the job…and you won’t have to wait for the second check.
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Homeowners, think about that. Why would you EVER sign something without knowing if your claim was even going to be covered?? Ask them to give you an estimate, since they all claim to give free estimates. An estimate should include what the scope of work is, and how much it costs. It would if it wasn’t an insurance claim, and it should be no different. Contractors play no role….NO role…in the insurance claims process. Insurance adjusters are trained in hail damage identification, wind damage identification, AND…the policy, which is the CONTRACT you have with your insurance carrier. In other words, we know what is covered and what is not. A squirrel eating thru your roof and causing damage is not covered, no matter how much the contractor wants it to be. Your old worn out organic shingles are not covered, unless damaged by wind/hail, no matter how much the contractor wants them to be. There presence at the inspection does not change the policy, and SHOULDN’T change the process at all. It doesn’t with me.
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We are taught as adjusters to look for a way to provide coverage. “If there’s a grey area, err on the side of the policyholder”. I’ve been taught that for YEARS…and that is the criteria I hold myself to as an adjuster. And yes…I am an independent adjuster, which means I actually get paid MORE if I pay more. That said, we still have to operate within the confines of the policy, which again, is the CONTRACT you have with your carrier.

Dishonest people and businesses like this should pay a VERY BIG FINE to help balance the state’s bugdet.

Gerald….you hit the nail on the head. I, too, have handled thousands of claims. Want to know a good contractor? CBA Construction. Precision Roofing and Siding is the best group I have ever encountered.

An by the way, your turtle vents with those tiny dents? NOT damaged!!! Carriers are forced to pay for them but they are likely not affecting the ventilation of your home. So when you get a check for $100 after your deductible, don’t complain to your carrier!! Those vents have the same consistency as pop cans, and they barely show dents. So why would that same hailstone daage your roof? And explain to me how that hailstone didn’t tear your window screens? Common sense people!!!

Gerald you couldn’t be more right. Chris you must take everyone for fools if you think that for one second we are going to believe that you insist that adjusters not pay for undamaged siding. In fact all you storm chasers do is complain about how you can’t repair this or can’t fix that, “looks like we need to tear off the whole roof” for a few missing shingles, and throw in all new siding while we are at it. They day your company can acutally make a repair without crying about how you have to tear the whole roof off, then MAYBE you can call yourself a roofer because all you are is a glorified salesman. Why don’t you get a real job instead of making a living scamming insurance companies and homeowners out of money, probably can’t because you don’t have one of those college educations you frowned upon.

This is a very big issue that affects many people, I as an insurance agent find it very difficult to tell our clients premium went up due to a claim for which nothing was paid out. It’s even more frustraiting that these roofing companies are badgering our customers to file claims even though there is no damage.
American Dream Home Improvement is another scamming company, one we have been hearing from a Lot, Homeowner’s beware!

@chris – If you are HAAG certified then you know that HAAG says the damage is immediate – as well since I am sure you are an insurance “claims” specialist you also know that just about every policy in the nation regardless of carrier covers “sudden and accidental direct physical loss.” The argument that granules are lost up to a year later point is invalid. As well if you were familiar with HAAG you would also know that they state that granular loss occurs every time YOU get on a roof as well as every time it rains, and is not considered to be functional damage. As far as you complaining about inexperienced adjusters, well when adjusters allow for i.e. buy stuff, that they are not supposed to buy, its not driven by ignorance, but rather greed. I’m sure you know that there are some independent contractor adjusters who get paid based on the amount of damage they allow for not for what they don’t allow for, and yes it does make it tough to work in the same neighborhoods and to have to explain to insured’s why there roof isn’t getting bought because their neighbors roof is getting bought, and explaining to them why a salesperson is telling them that they need a new roof and that they have “got other roofs bought” in the same neighborhood. I know that the intelligent insured’s will recognize salespeople attempting to undermine our process. At the end of the day what you forget is this – as insurance carriers’ and adjusters, we are held responsible by the department of insurance in every single state ( run by the government ) and could be held liable in a court of law for every minute detail we report on. Salespeople might, and I emphasize might be held responsible by the BBB and that’s about it. Accountability it’s the law over here.

My question would be if you did do business with this company and our insurance paid out on it will there be any repercussions for me with my insurance company?? We were told our rates would not go up because it was an act of God. We checked them out on the BBB and they had a good rating. I guess I can’t penalize the company for the wrong doing of one employee.

As an adjuster with 15 years experience, I can tell you that these chasers have no knowledge of roofs whatsoever. If an adjuster speaks intelligently and doesn’t back down, these guys will back off immediately. These guys prey on young adjusters that have no experience or roof knowledge.

those don’t even remotely look like hail damage.

As an adjuster w/6 years experience, I have seen adjusters never leave their car from the Big 3 Insurance Companies. They pull up, hand the camera to the contractor, the contractor hands them a paper. The contractor walks away and comes back a few minutes later. The adjuster then goes and talks to the homeowners. The adjuster is done in ~20 minutes. This is not enough time to properly inspect roof and siding, write the estimate and review with the policy holder. I was raised to be leery of anyone that came to your door trying to peddle something. Insurance is not a maintenance policy. Roofing companies that will argue with you include American Dream (always get a $2000 supplement after work completed), Euclid, Expert Roofing. Their are local roofers out there that are decent. Homeowners, be aware of who you have represent you!!!!

Chris is not a worker or employee of Blue Rose!
He is an independent contractor! His actions are just that HIS ACTIONS!!!
Because he chose to do illegal actions doesn’t mean that it is condoned or even accepted By Blue Rose in any way.

Haha I know skedd!!! he would do something like taht

Blue Rose is not the only storm chaser creating damage. 123 caused damage to my house in Oswego.