There is No Insurance Conspiracy… It is simple; insurance companies are not your friends. A large amount of property owners are grossly underpaid by insurance companies every year.

After the recent storms earlier this year many commercial property owners filed claims for roof damage. Unfortunately, much of the roof damages are not repaired due to underpaid claims. Large amounts of property owners are grossly underpaid by their insurance company on their claims when they do have property damage… sometimes even by 150%-200% (If even paid at all).

There is a basic insurance principle and that every property owner should remember: The insurance company is in business to make money and there is nothing wrong with that. But, commercial property owners have to understand, insurance is like a bet; the insurance company is playing the odds.

“Insurance companies are betting that there will be more people paying in, then claims being paid out. Don’t get me wrong, there are some great insurance companies that charge a premium and when you have a claim they are Johnny-on-the-spot, their higher costs are well worth the added expense, especially for commercial property owners. But in general, when they pay a claim they lose their bet.” Says Nicholas Bryditzki a HAAG Engineering Certified roof inspector and roof restoration expert.

This is not a conspiracy theory. Rather, it is a reasonable explanation of how insurance companies make money, and how their adjusters earn raises and keep their jobs for saving the company money. Remember these individual adjusters are simply trying to look out for themselves, especially in this economy.

Bryditzki states, “I have been on many commercial roofs, providing adjusters information, industry standards and pricing, only to have them come back with an insulting underpaid claim offer to the insured.”

Nicholas Bryditzki suggests that every commercial property owner have their roof inspected and have a documented roof report done every year. After a major storm, especially hail, have their roof inspected and damaged documented immediately. File the claim quickly and by no means have an insurance adjuster on their roof without their roofing contractor present.

What is Ponding Water: Ponding water is defined as the water which remains on a roof 48 hours or more.

Most flat roofs require some sort of pitch or slope to avoid ponding water. But unfortunately, ponding water occurs on most flat roofs. Ponding water can seriously increase the load on a roof assembly. As water accumulates, deck deflections (sags) can increase, resulting in more ponding water which could compromise the structural integrity of the deck.

Ponded water creates hydrostatic pressure that forces water into even the tiniest pinhole imperfections. This is why most roof warranties are voided in areas that pond water for more than 48 hours. Additionally, ponding areas rot roofing membranes, attract dirt/mud and algae, and quickly destroy any reflectivity of reflective coatings.

By far the biggest risk associated with ponding water is weight and the potential for damage to the roof deck or collapse of the decking system.

Ponding water weighs approximately 5 lbs. per inch, per each square foot of roof surface. A ponded area 20'x20' at 1" deep would equal 400 total square feet at 5 lbs per foot or a roof live weight of 2,000 pounds!

That can be an additional ONE TON of live roof load of stress on your building's roof!

Ponding Water Can Become a Serious Health Issue: If water stays on your roof several health issues can arise. Warming water facilitates the growth of algae, mixed with pigeon feces can create harmful fungal material that could effect the air quality in your building.

Have your roof inspected frequently, especially after a good rain to avoid future problems or worst premature roof replacement.

With all the promises of government bailouts and free services, cash strapped and over-taxed commercial property owners won't be getting help for their leaky roofs any time soon by the government.

President Obama may gloat about the recent Health Care Reform Bill that narrowly passed the democratic controlled congress on Sunday and was signed into law yesterday. Unfortunately, the new bill does not address the aging population of America’s commercial roofs.  The financial responsibility still remains with the over taxed commercial property owner.

As commercial roofs age and deteriorate commercial property owners are faced with the overwhelming and expensive task of roof  replacement. With occupancy down, tax hikes just around the corner, most commercial property owners are seeking alternatives to expensive roof replacement.

They shouldn’t look to Congress or their roofing contractor for relief, says Nicholas Bryditzki  , The Roof Medic and roof restoration expert. “Most contractors love the idea of removing your existing roof and installing a expensive new one! Unfortunately, most property owners are never given the option of a economical roof restoration”.

The Roof Medics’ Triple Crown Roof Restoration System can save most worn-out roofs other roofing contractors must tear off. It saves property owners money   and saves America’s landfills. Plus, in most cases, can have major tax advantages for the property owner.

The Roof Medics’ roof restoration option is a seamless monolithic roof complete with asphalt and felt (glass fiber reinforcement), except that the finish product is much more versatile and durable than that of a standard built-up roof. “This forgotten roof restoration process has a successful 60-year track record and it’s inexpensive compared to re-roofing,” states Bryditzki.

Contractorphobia- The fear of being ripped off, spending too much money or worst, being talked into replacing a perfectly good roof prematurely by an unscrupulous roofing contractor
It finally rained in Arizona and everybody is celebrating the rain.  We all love the sound of rain on our roofs, the fresh smell and the rolling thunder.  Or so we say.  In fact, we all the love rain until we have a roof leak. When it comes to choosing a roofing contractor homeowners get cold feet and start looking for excuses to avoid calling a roofing contractor. They either see if they can fix the roof leak themselves or worst, ignore the roof leak and hope it goes away.

“I listen to lots of homeowners who are afraid of calling roofing contractors. No matter who I talk to, we have all heard those horror stories about being ripped-off by an unscrupulous roofing contractor,” says Nicholas Bryditzki, The Roof Medic and owner of The Roof Medics Consumer Roof Consultants,  “But I also see huge numbers of them do nothing because some greedy roofing contractor gave them an expensive bid to replace their roof. Frankly, with property values down, unemployment up, they have a good reason to be afraid of spending money, especially if they don’t have to.  They suffer from what I call “Contractorphobia” a fear of being ripped off by an unscrupulous roofing contractor.”
 
The 4 Signs of “Contractorphobia” Are:

1.        Nervous when rain is in the forecast.
2.        Knowing they have a leak and ignoring it, hoping it won’t rain again.
3.        Getting bid after bid and not knowing who to trust.
4.        Trying to fix their roof themselves.
 
“Contractorphobia” isn’t the same as not wanting to fix your roof.  It’s having the desire to do something about your roof leak but allowing the fear of getting ripped off, spending too much money or worst, being talked into replacing a perfectly good roof prematurely by an unscrupulous roofing contractor.
“Everyone gets butterflies in their stomach when something goes wrong in their home,” says Bryditzki.  “For those who let fear stop them from getting their roofs fixed before it turns into a major roofing disaster, we can recommend some tips that will help put those contractor fears behind them.”

7 out of 10 ROOFS CAN BE REPAIRED!
Don’t Be Robbed Blind By A Roofing Contractor

That’s right! 7 out of 10 Roofs Can Be Repaired… Most property owners trust roofing contractors to look after their roofs, which protect their largest asset. Instead of guiding property owners towards the best roofing solution and ensuring them to get the best value for their money, most roofing contractors recommend removing the existing roof and installing a expensive new one. Roofing contractors are grabbing giant profits by replacing roofs before their time.
 
Fighting talk???  Perhaps, but absolutely true, says- Nicholas Bryditzki, The Roof Medic. “There has been many times I have witnessed roofing contractors, even reputable ones with inexperienced estimators or “slick” sales people sell a new roof to an unsuspecting property owner”.  
 
Here’s the number reason why… MONEY!  Most roofing companies employ commissioned sales people, why would they sell a $600 repair and earn $42 to $60 commission (depending on their commission structure), when they can sell a $8,000 new roof and be paid $560-$800 for the sale?  Using this same scenario, take the smaller contractor- why have a sale of $600 when you can have an $8,000 sale on your books.  
 
Now, to be fair to reputable roofing contractors (who are out there) they have to weigh the liability of repair verses replacement.  If the roof is beyond repair or border line, a good contractor will inform you why it might be wise to throw in the towel and have a new roof installed instead of spending the money for the repair.
 
The Roof Medic’s advise to property owners; see if your roof can be repaired first before you spend your hard-earned money on a complete new roof.  Locate a certified roofing inspector, one who will provide a written report. If you can get two, three or even more years of protection from your roof wouldn’t you want to know.  Know your options, with a full written roof report, if you want or need a new roof you can keep your roofing contractor honest, which can take all the anxiety and intimidation out of the roofing process.

The Roof Medics Offers Program to Protect Homeowners

“Warranties are cheap! - It cost the contractor nothing to add on another 3, 5, or even 10 more warranty years to his proposal. The Registrar of Contractors only requires 2 years, anything after that is up to the contractor. If they go out of business so does your warranty.” In this down economy mixed with months of no rain, contractors are offering extra long warranties to entice property owners to purchase new roofs.
 
The Roof Medics, LLC a Cert-A-Roof® authorized contractor has developed a Double Warranty Protection Program for homeowners, through a Cert-A-Roof® Alliance. This coalition of roofing contractors in the Phoenix market work together on projects offering the property owner double protection. Each authorized contractor must carry all required insurances, which protects the property owner during the project. Each contractor inspects the workmanship of the other limiting the chances of poor quality.  Both contractors carry the responsibility of the warranty. If one does go out of business the other is there to honor the warranty.

Property owners should at least get a full roof inspection report prior to hiring any roofing contractor to make sure contractors are bidding apples to apples.  Cert-A-Roof authorized contractors offer Visual ROOF® inspection reports. This written inspection report along with color photographs, provides the actual condition of the roof, whether the roof can be repaired or if it actually does need to be replaced. This added step could protect a property owner from being taken advantage of by an unscrupulous contractor. It also can help when collecting bids (making sure all contractors are bidding on the same scope of work), and choosing the best contractor for their particular roofing project.

This is one of the scariest times for property owners in the history of our country.  Property values are down, contractors are laying off and according the Arizona Registrar of Contractors- they receive between 11,000 and 13,000 complaints annually, more than 700 claims filed against the Recovery Fund, complaints against unlicensed contractors are up 47% and countless contractors have gone out of business.
 
Contractors across the state are trying to keep their crews busy and stay in business. This is a great opportunity to hire a contractor at huge savings. BUT, there are some pit falls.  With lower prices, quality may be compromised. If a contractor is providing a low price to “get the job” he will have to cut somewhere to make up the difference, talent, material or quality.  We have all heard the nightmare stories of contractors accepting up front deposits and never showing up again.
 
Nicholas Bryditzki, The Roof Medic suggests the following 3 steps:
 
1. Check their license with the Registrar of Contractors, and ask for current proof of liability and workmen’s compensation insurance. Ask about their standing with suppliers, you don’t want the supplier to lien your property because a contractor did not pay their bill.
 
2. Do not provide any large amount of up front money – let your contractor know you will provide a deposit when the materials are delivered and they start the project.
 
3. Ask about their warranty. Bryditzki states, “Warranties are cheap, contractors are offering extra long warranties to get your business. The ROC only requires 2 years, anything after that is up to the contractor. If they go out of business so does your warranty.”
 
Bryditzki suggests that property owners get a full roof inspection and report prior to hiring a contractor to make sure contractors are bidding apples to apples. The Roof Medics LLC Consumer Roof Consultants offers a Double Warranty Protection Option, where several contractors work together on projects offering the property owner double protection.  Both contractors warranty each other’s work; if one goes out of business the other will still be there to warranty the work. For more info on choosing a contractor visit www.theroofmedics.com

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