If you have further questions, please give us a call at 512-354-8658.
What should I do if my home was hit by a storm?
Call Lone Star Catastrophe Services, Inc. for a complementary inspection. Protect your home from further damage by covering exposed areas. If you make temporary repairs, save your receipts. Make a list of personal property damaged and detail each item. Call your insurance company to file a claim. Lone Star Cat can assist you every step of the way.
If I file a claim, will my rates increase?
Contrary to popular belief, rates do not increase when you file an insurance claim for hail or wind damage. The vast majority of our clients have not experienced a rate increase for “Act of God” claims.
Is there a time limit to file my claim?
Yes, most insurance companies have a limited time from the date of loss to file a hail/wind claim.
I heard my neighbors are getting new roofs without paying their deductible. Is that against the law?
Yes, in most states a contractor cannot pay or rebate a deductible in order to get your business.
In Illinois: Governor Quinn signed into law Public Act 97-235, effective January 1, 2012. As it states:
"...Prohibits a contractor from accepting to pay or rebate all or any portion of any insurance deductible. Contractor may not advertise or promise to pay or rebate all or any portion of an Insurance Deductible as an inducement to get the work.
A contractor offering home repair or remodeling shall not advertise or promise to pay or rebate all or any portion of any Insurance Deductible as an inducement to the sale of goods or services. As used in this Section, a promise to pay or rebate includes granting any allowance or offering any discount against the fees to be charged or paying the insured or any person directly or indirectly associated with the property any form of compensation.”
Can I have my roofing system built during the colder months?
The NRCA mandates that a roofing system should not be installed when the weather is 40 degrees or less. The most common issue people think about concerning a colder weather install is that the roofing won't seal or will have adhesion problems. This is not the case. The adhesion has little to do with the colder weather as mother nature will eventually do its job. Temperatures less than 40 degrees often times may cause shingles to become brittle and they will crack or break when shooting a nail through the nail strip resulting in a faulty roofing system.
What is Ice and Water Shield?
Water and Ice-dam protection is commonly known as Ice and Water Shield. The NRCA provides the following steep-slope roof system explanation: “A water and ice-dam protection membrane is a distinctive type of under-layment. This type of under-layment provides additional protection from moisture intrusion along the eaves at penetrations, at elevation changes, and in valleys where excessive water runoff or ice damns can occur.” In addition, the NRCA recommends installation of ice and water-dam protection in areas where the average January temperature is 30 F or less. For 2010 in Edwardsville, the median January temperature was 28.7 F (Farmer’s Almanac). Lone Star Catastrophe Services, Inc. provides Ice and Water Shield with all of our roofing projects as a complementary upgrade.
Can I just do the work myself?
Roofing work should not be a do-it-yourself project. Lone Star Catastrophe Services, Inc. install teams are trained to safely and efficiently repair or replace a roof. Do-it yourself-ers can compromise a roof with improper roofing techniques and can harm themselves by falling through a roof even falling off a roof.
How long should my roof last?
The life of your roof depends on a few factors... roof types, pitch/slope of the roof, ventilation, installation, maintenance, and weather. As a general rule of thumb, basic three tab fiberglass shingles last 15 to 25 years. Flat roofs generally last 5 to 15 years. Roofing product manufacturers offer a variety of warranties on their products. Take a close look at those warranties to see what responsibilities and financial obligations they will assume if their products fail to reach their expected lifetimes.