Know Your Rights: Recent Law Amendment Protects Homeowners
At Turnkey Engineering, Construction and Roofing (Turnkey), we are always looking out for our customers and their rights. As a company that always practices fairly and in the best interests of our customers, we learn things from time to time that we think homeowners should know. Recently, an amendment to a Georgia law was passed that protects homeowners with roof repairs who are filing claims with their insurance companies.
“We see ourselves in a position to provide the highest quality of roofing services to our customers but also to protect them from the roofing scams and poor quality service providers out there,” said David Lewgood, vice president, Turnkey. “This is unfortunately something we see all too often and have to fix for our customers as a result,” he explained.
So what does the amendment say?
Basically, the Senate Insurance and Labor Committee recently offered amendments to the Fair Business Practices Act of 1975 that protect homeowners from unfair trade practices in regards to insurance claims on roofing repairs. Part 2 of Article 15 of Chapter 1 of Title 10 of the Official Code of Georgia has been annotated “so as to provide that certain acts by residential roofing contractors as they relate to insurance claims shall be considered violations of unfair trade practice.”
And how does that new amendment affect Georgia homeowners?
Well it means that they now have extra protection in cases where they discover that their insurance will not cover their roof damage. Specifically, the new amendment calls for the following:
- Homeowners may cancel a contract signed with a residential roofing contractor at any time before midnight on the fifth business day after receiving written notification from their insurance company that all or any part of the claim or contract is not a covered loss under the insurance policy. This right to cancel is in addition to any other rights of cancellation which may be found in state or federal law or regulation.
- In circumstances in which payment may be made from the proceeds of a property and casualty insurance policy, a residential roofing contractor shall not require any payments from an insured until the five-day cancellation period has expired. If, however, the residential roofing contractor has performed any emergency services, acknowledged by the insured in writing to be necessary to prevent damage to the premises, the residential roofing contractor shall be entitled to collect the amount due for the emergency services at the time they are rendered.
- A residential roofing contractor shall not represent or negotiate, or offer or advertise to represent or negotiate, on behalf of an owner or possessor of residential real estate on any insurance claim in connection with the repair or replacement of roof systems. This subsection shall not apply to a public adjuster licensed under Chapter 23 of Title 33.
“While we oftentimes explain damages to adjustors at the request of our customers, we never claim to represent them with their insurance companies, which is something no contractor should do,” David added. “Again, we want homeowners to be able to represent themselves, which starts with knowing their rights and being armed with the knowledge to protect themselves.”
If you would like a copy of the amendment, contact us at customerinfo@turnkeyga.com. You can also look up HB 423 (Part 2 of Article 15 of Chapter 1 of Title 10 of the Official Code of Georgia, annotated, the “Fair Business Practices Act of 1975.”).
About Turnkey
Turnkey Engineering, Construction and Roofing is a woman owned business headquartered in Atlanta that provides engineering, construction and roofing services throughout the greater Atlanta area. The team consists of professionals have more than 50 years of experience in residential and commercial construction. Turnkey offers a comprehensive list of services from the simplest to the most complex of general contracting services within the residential and commercial markets. One of Turnkey’s specialties is the insurance claim process. The team has installed more than $20 million in roofing components. Trained forensic cost estimators ensure that clients’ claims are filed promptly and properly. More information can be found at http://turnkeyga.com.