Steve: The  NY standard fire policy is the the most flawless contract ever written. The edition  I read were revised thru 1942.

When you understand the basic fire & extended coverage contract (165 line policy) on all types of buildings and contents within them, the co insurance clause on commercial property and all the old endorsements the HO, DP, (dwelling) and the CP, BOP (commercial) is easy to understand.

On another subject the insurance commish of each state, especially the windstorm states will began to back off these heavy handed rulings that only benefit contractors and some homeowners.

I have an old Texas 163 line policy for policy scholars only*** email only.

Here is a new suit filed in TX due to siding match issues:

http://www.setexasrecord.com/news/198141-unpaid-hurricane-claim-leads-to-suit-against-allstate

I'm curious if any adjusters would have handled this differently based on carrier instructions during this storm?

My own opinion would be to allow siding for the house. The garage is a separate outbuilding and to allow new siding for it seems to me to be above and beyond what is reasonable. Unfortunately, the question of reasonable will boil down to a question of fact for a jury or arbitrator. Bottom line, we as independent's are working under the decisions and guidelines of the carrier we are working for and some are much more lienient than others. I have worked for carriers that replaced the entire roof on a victorian with numerous slopes when only 2 were damaged. I have worked for a carrier that would only allow for the three bottom rows of ceramic tile in a bath surround due to a pan and tub that needed to be torn out even though no matching tile could be found. We can only make recommendations and education of the laws and unfair claim practices of the state we are working in should dictate those recommendations. Our documentation should provide enough information to the carrier to make an educated decision. Examples of that sould include pictures of all four corners of the house and samples or photos of the closest match available. We are paid to do the best job we can and document each step, beyond that it is out of our control. If I were a homeowner that had 15 year old dark blue siding that had faded by half due to the sun, I certainly would not want half dark blue and half faded to light blue siding on my house. To me, that is reasonable.

Thats the risk the homeowner takes if they have vinyl installed. It fades over time. What if a hail storm came through and only damaged one piece of siding. What would you expect the insurance company to do then? What would the homeowner do if they did not have insurance coverage?

It seems this topic is always discussed by adjusters from the catastrophe side more than adjusters from the regular daily claims side. The catstrophe adjusters seem to have the opine this question has not been answered before this particular hail/wind storm and it had been probably litigated in ever state in the USA.

My opine is most building materials can be replicated or found if enough time to find them is expended. Several roofing contractors in the US have mineral fibre shingles, slate, tile in the  warehouse and can ship. Several companys make vinyl siding to match old vinyl. About 2-3 companys re skin alum clad Anderson or Pela windows. Many mills can cut any plank siding made in the last 150 years. The same for DH- SH wood sash windows. Seals for double pane patio doors. Custom trim, base etc.

Just turn these type losses back and let the supervisors close them and move on to the easy one's.  Also sometime the photo's will loose you arguments for you. Differant mis match  on old work. Exposed romex or EMT electrical on the exterior od a building. Non matching moulding, windows, doors, carpet, floors, plumbing exposed etc.

Tom mentions the "one piece of vinly siding that is damaged".  There are repair methods for those, same as leather/vinyl upholstery repair in an auto.   The one I saw that was very good at it was called Dr Vinyl.  As long as the cracks or holes in the vinyl siding were of a limited size, they could mix a composite of matching color and patch the damages just like a drywall patch.  They had sponge-like molds to apply to the exterior surface that would match the grain of the siding perfect.   The other option available was to move vinyl siding from a small detached garage to match the dwelling, and then repair only on the garage.  Less mess, less fuss and everybody was happy. 

The lawsuit mentioned damage to siding on a chimney, but it didn't say if it was just siding panels on the top of the chimney.  Nor does it specify if the chimney was from ground up, or if it was a mid-dwelling chimney with siding exposed only above the roof line.  If that were to be the case, there would be no "real" matching issue.  The problem with vinyl siding is generally with the width & lip matching up to the adjacent panels.  It seems like the mfrs change those every few years, and you cannot get them to line up and lock in properly even though the color and grain may match.