Question: What does a “close reasonable match” have to do with roof mold?
Last week homeowner’s insurance agent wanted to know just how well roof mold removal products worked and whether my roof cleaning business would be able to able to team up with her agency (one of the big 3 home owner insurance companies). Of course my partner and I said yes, and took her out to see a variety of jobs we had completed ( tile roofs, architectural shingles, and asphalt shingle roofs). When we got back to her office she explained what she was looking for.
Answer: A roof cleaner can save an insurance company thousands.
Of course insurance claims for roof damage (such as hail or falling limbs) require replacement of damaged shingles, but the replacement shingles have to be a close and reasonable match to the entire area. In other words, a green shingle can’t be used as a replacement for a black shingle. I thought that was obvious, but it gets more interesting…
The original color of the shingle is not what the ‘close and reasonable match’ is judged against. The match has to be considered for the roof AS IT IS today. Which means, a roof covered in black mold stains, will never match any shingle, and therefore would require complete replacement.
The insurance agent had figured out that a roof wash (or roof shampoo) could remove roof mold stains from shingles would allow the original shingles to meet the close and reasonable match criteria with only a ‘shingle patch’, provided the remaining shingles were cleaned. We agreed to wash shingles before the shingle replacement assessments (only on hail damage claims; structural damage prevents roof cleaning as an option).
Outcomes: Increased insurance work.
After 6 months of working with the insurance agent, we have seen a huge increase in the volume of work, and they pay well and on time. Results wise, for the insurance company they tell us that 70% of the roof cleaning jobs have given a ‘close reasonable match’ against the original shingles, saving them thousands in partial roof shingle replacements instead of total re-roofing.
The arrangement is win-win for our roof cleaning company and the insurance company.
