I received a comment to my post, Cosmetic Damage is "Physical Damage" and Recoverable Under a Property Insurance Policy, asking the following:

What about matching of the roof tiles or shingles?

The new ones are always going to be different. But, the insurance companies are not paying for the entire roof.

In this case the purpose of insurance of "to put the insured in the same position they were before the loss" is not true as long as the insurance companies continue to pay part of the roof.

Your opinion, please.

Thank you.

Another comment also finished with a question for me:

If the argument is that aesthetics is part of the function of the item then it would be just as true for composition shingle roofs as for the copper roof panel example. The base color of shingles is always the same, black asphalt, the color comes from the granules; therefore granule loss is equal to color loss.

If color loss is equal to aesthetic loss then granule loss and the resulting color loss is a loss of function.

Or, am I reading this all wrong?

First, I applaud everybody that sends in a comment or asks a question. I encourage it. Sometimes, I respond privately and nothing gets posted. Still, it is important that comments to what we post are made so we can reflect and have dialogue.

Second, I want to encourage everybody to use the “SEARCH” function of our Blog. You will find it very useful to all kinds of coverage or insurance questions. Let me show you an example from the two questions above.

“Matching” is the topic of both questions. If I were to put the word “match” into our search function, the following 10 Posts would be the result:

  1. Matching Coverage Disputes and Disagreements are Routine and Not Going Away–Don’t Miss Our September 11 Seminar in Houston Which Covers This Topic
  2. Provide the Right Proof so Your Insurer Will Pay Costs to Repair or Replace to Match Texture, Color and Likeness
  3. Matching of Property Damage is Statutory in Florida
  4. Causation Issues to Note in Texas Property Insurance Coverage Disputes-Part II
  5. The Proposed Federal Charter Legislation Should be Named: "The Anti-Consumer Insurance Act of 2009"
  6. "It’s an Ill Wind that Blows No Good"
  7. The TWIA Roof Damage Memo: Checking Basic References to Resolve Adjustment Questions
  8. "Texas Hold ‘Em": Merlin Law Group’s Seminar for Texas Public Insurance Adjusters
  9. Is The Saffir-Simpson Scale Still Relevant
  10. New Insurance Companies Founded in Florida

Of those results, five posts seem to provide most of the answers to the two questions. Indeed, I invite anybody to ask me questions about roofs, matching, and indemnity in Texas after they have read the following posts:

I want readers to benefit from the work I have already done for them by using the search function and reading what I have previously written, so I don’t have to do all the work twice. This seems fair.

I also need to warn to everybody. Unless you are an attorney, you are breaking a number of laws by advocating legal positions of coverage in letters or phone conversations with insurance adjusters or claims managers. You are practicing law. Do not do it. If you get turned into the Bar or the Department of Insurance, you are warned. And, insurance adjusters and insurance companies have an ethical obligation to turn you in if you practice law without a license. BEWARE.

I get questions all day long from people, public adjusters, contractors, and potential clients regarding insurance coverage questions that pertain to actual controversies. I can understand the need to ask me questions and obtain a better understanding of coverage issues. If you attend my seminars or others where I speak, I will teach you how to use what I write without practicing law. Go to our seminars.

If you are an adjuster, independent adjuster, or insurance claims managers, you do not have to put up with public adjusters, and especially contractors, practicing law. I have no patience with unlicensed people practicing law and acting as legal advocates. All professional public adjusters agree. I cannot speak for many of the insurance contractors and insurance restoration contractors because many seem to violate many laws regarding public adjusting and practicing law without regard to anything because nobody does anything about it.

If you are a policyholder trying to do this yourself, I remind you of the old saying that “he who represents himself has a fool for a client.”

And please understand that my advice as to what to advocate applies only when I get retained. If you attempt to do anything as a legal advocate or by giving advice of a legal nature with an insurer, you may be violating the law and harming the public, your client, or yourself. I am providing general legal principals so readers and others do not get harmed by insurance companies and so policyholders can get paid in full.