Saturday, October 19, 2013

Helped by God

Pam Padgett ... teacher

In late August a severe hail storm came over the area where I live.  Because of a communications mix up, two roofing companies inspected my roof after the storm.  Each representative said a new roof was needed.  One of the roofers, Pete, owns the company that originally put the roof on my house.  When the insurance company sent an adjuster to look at the roof, questions about the current roof shingles came up.  Since Pete could best answer these questions, taking his time, I decided to have Pete do the roofing work.  However, I began to noticed that each time Pete spoke with someone associated with the insurance company, a verbal confrontation resulted. 

Rather than replacing the roof, the insurance company adjuster said the roof needed only some shingles to be replaced.  When Pete said the price they paid was unrealistically low, the insurance company told him to submit a supplement request, but Pete didn't want to do this.  From what Pete said, it was obvious he wasn't as interested in a small job of replacing shingles as he would be with replacing the entire roof.  I told him I would be glad to find another roofer, that he needn't feel obligated to do the job, but he insisted he would do it. 

While this was unfolding at my house, several of my neighbors (including the neighbor right next door to my house) have also been dealing with their insurance companies.  The insurance company of each neighbor I have talked to has said they needed a new roof.  Of course, this made me question why my insurance company wasn't doing the same. 

I prayed about what to do regarding the insurance company's decision, as well as praying about how Pete was handling things with the insurance company and him obviously not really wanting to do the job.  What was the best way to handle the various problems that were surfacing?  Should I try to push the insurance company to replace the roof?  I called and talked to someone at the insurance company and was told the roofer could submit a supplement request to cover the cost of replacing the roof, and the insurance company would take that under consideration.  When I told this to Pete, however, he said only that he would consider this.  Another thing that came forth during the call with the insurance company was their frustration with Pete's unwillingness to follow their processes. 

The night after talking with the insurance company, I woke in the night with the thought to send a letter to the insurance company reviewing the situation, including that other insurance companies were replacing roofs in this area because of hail damage, and to let them know I was asking the roofer to submit a supplement to cover the cost of replacing the entire roof.  I prayed and believed this counsel was from God.  When morning came, I left a message for Pete to submit a supplement for replacing the roof, and also sent the letter via email to the insurance company.  I expected Pete to be glad to have the chance of replacing the entire roof.  But when he returned my call, he said it would be better for me to find another roofer. I told him this was no problem and that I would reimburse him for time he's spent (which I have done). 

Although I was surprised at his reaction, as soon as Pete said this I saw that taking this action had freed me from Pete!  I thought this course of action would bring everyone in line with each other ... but it actually removed Pete from the entire situation.  Wonderful!  I am so thankful to God for guiding me in this way. 

The manager of the other roofing company is scheduled to come here next Monday.  I told him what my insurance company has said before asking him to come.  He said if he agrees with what the sales rep of his company found previously (that the roof needs to be replaced) he would be glad to work with my insurance company.