Sometimes. Most people carry a deductible of $1,000 or more, so one bent panel rarely clears it, while a whole door lost to a tornado usually does. Wind, flying debris and lightning damage to an opener are covered under typical policies; flood usually isn’t, but floods rarely hurt the door itself. We give you a free estimate for repair versus replacement to send your adjuster, and you pay us at the time of service and claim the paid invoice back.
Nashville had its biggest snow storm in years in February 2021; the National Weather Service called it the most widespread, heavy snowfall Middle Tennessee had seen in five years, on top of an ice storm a few days before. Just when we thought the pandemic had shut us in long enough, the weather iced up all the roads. But what if you couldn’t even get your car to the road, because ice froze your garage door to the concrete?
This actually happened to a friend of mine last week. His garage door froze to the ground and he couldn’t get his car out. What’s worse is his garage door opener bent up the garage door by pulling and tugging even though the door was frozen in place. Result: a bent garage door bottom panel and a burnt out garage door opener. A garage door bottom panel doesn’t sound like an expensive repair, but it can be costly if trying to match a specific brand and color of your existing garage door. In fact, if your garage door is old enough, you may not even be able to match up the old panels with the new one. And when your garage door opener uses too much force it will burn the motor up. Who knew a little snow storm could be so expensive?
When homes get damaged by weather events, everyone wants to know if their homeowner’s insurance will cover the damage. The short answer is maybe! Here are the three big things to consider.
What is my deductible?
Typically people today carry $1,000 plus deductibles before their homeowner’s insurance kicks in. Damage like the tornado that hit Nashville in March 2020 could mean replacing the entire garage door. That would exceed your deductible enough to be worth filing a claim. But if you can just replace the panel for less, your insurance won’t kick in.
Call your agent and get an adjuster out to determine if your insurance will cover replacing your entire garage door. It may be less expensive to replace the whole garage door than the cost of replacing just one panel if your door is difficult to match.
Does my insurance exclude the specific type of weather event?
Flood insurance is not very common in Tennessee, so if you are flooded, that may not be covered by general insurance policies; the state’s Department of Commerce & Insurance says flood damage is not typically covered by most homeowners policies. But floods rarely damage the garage door itself, so wind damage, flying debris and even lightning damage to your garage door opener should be covered under typical policies.
How do I work with my garage door repair person if the damage is covered?
Kingdom Doors will be happy to provide a free estimate to you for the cost of replacing your garage door or garage door opener versus repairing a panel or other part. You can then submit these estimates to your adjuster for approval. You can then call us to do the work and submit your receipts to your insurance company for reimbursement.
We are too small to have a collections department, so we do require payment directly from you at the time of service. But your insurance company can let you know in advance how long it should take to get your reimbursement. We have had several customers get promptly reimbursed with our professional quality work and paid invoice proof. We never overcharge or sell you (or your insurance company) anything you do not need.
For the repairs themselves, see panel replacement and opener repair.
Written after the February 2021 winter storm; the date is the one the old site showed.
Sources
- National Weather Service Nashville, “Mid-February 2021 Winter Storm” (snow, February 17–18, 2021)
- National Weather Service Nashville, ice storm of February 14–15, 2021
- National Weather Service Nashville, “March 2-3, 2020 Tornadoes and Severe Weather”
- Tennessee Department of Commerce & Insurance, “TDCI Urges Consumers to Familiarize Themselves with Flood Insurance Coverage” (February 7, 2019)