In short, an insurance supplement is an an estimate requesting more money from the insurance company. While a common occurrence in the claims process, many policy holders are unaware of their right to supplement the claim for additional funds. When the claim is underpaid, it needs to be corrected, There can be several reasons for this, however the most common is the adjuster not having enough construction knowledge or code knowledge resulting in an underestimated and underpaid repair estimate.
In many cases, insurance adjusters write minimal estimates, meaning a variety of items required to bring your property back to it’s pre-loss condition are left off. These items may include code upgrades or simply just things that can not be physically seen at the time of the inspection. For example; Ice & water shield under the shingles on your roof, or house wrap behind the siding – While these items are required, they can not be seen on initial inspection.
Another scenario where supplement estimates may be required is when something unexpected comes up during the repairs. For example, during shingle tear off, it is found the roof decking is damaged or no longer meets current code requirements.
To ensure all the required items are listed on your adjusters estimate, let a contractor review the insurance loss statement to verify. Maven has a dedicated claims team working to ensure every claim is written correctly in accordance with both building and local code requirements.