A timely topic, Steve, as I went out yesterday here in Indianapolis with two layers of coats and had to wait for the frost to burn off the roof on my first inspection to fully inspect it!

With regard to ice dam damage, and depending on the location of the cat event, the cat adjuster will regularly be presented with estimates for roof replacement.  In most cases the roof does not need to be replaced.  But, explaining to the insured that there is likely to be nothing wrong with their roof when water is running down their interior walls can be tricky.  In many cases they will simply not believe that the ice dam did not damage their roof.  After all, how did all the water get into their ceilings and walls if the roof is not damaged?   As a matter of fact, I believe I have seen more roof damage caused by the insured or an ice removal contractor trying to chip ice off the roof than ever caused by the ice itself.  Rotted roof decking due to water under the shingles can be a major concern as well.  This will be handled in various ways, depending on the carrier and the local conditions.  I would advise studying up on how ice dams form and what they do before hitting the ground at a winter storm site.  If memory serves, somewhere in the archives, Dave Hood had an excellent explanation of this a couple years back. 

Dave, if you're reading, maybe you can share with us again or tell us where in the archive we can find this.

It is also important to remember that most policies do not cover damage to contents caused by water unless there is an opening in the structure caused by a covered loss through which the water entered.  It would be a good idea to brush up on how to explain this to the policyholder when grandma's antique table is ruined by water dripping through the ceiling.

Along with proper insulation...correct ventilation is key.

The usual method is to install a turtle type roof vent, or maybe turbines to accompany each soffit vent on the opposing sides of the house.  This allows for lower to upper breathing by the attic. 

I learned this when I had a couple claims about 3 years ago, where snow entered the attics of 2 newly built  and recently purchased/occupied homes.  The snow piles were perfect 3-4 foot high hills below each turtle vent, but began to melt & then of course damaged all the ceilings and any contents that were directly beneath.

I should add that each of these claims were tendered as liability losses against the same builder.  What we learned-- with the help of one of the building material suppliers--is that the builder failed to properly coordinate the "draft" of the attic ventilation.  When the homes were built, the builder used a "continuous vent" soffit system.  It was permanently finished 24" wide cement board perferated with 1/8" holes in a 6" wide pattern from the outer edge, around the entire perimeter of the house.  Kind of like pegboard on the outer edge, to give you a better picture.  

The builder failed to recognize or follow the manufacturer's directions regarding ventilation & attic air draft.  The builder installed the usual amount of turtle vents on the roof that he normally would have, but the additional air holes around the soffits caused a reversal of draft.  Therefore, the blowing snow all got sucked into the attic thru the roof's top vents.  The mfr rep met with us at each loss, calculated the attic air space & concluded that if 6 additional turtle vents had been installed it would have equalized the pressure and the losses never would have occurred.  It was all in their literature, but the builder just failed to recognize the loss potential.

The claims were paid for the most part by the builder since he carried a fairly high Liability PD deductible.  He still continues to use that product to this day, as it is a very nice product & maintenance free....but now he puts in the extra roof top vents. 

If you run into one of these on a 1st party loss, successful subrogation can be pursued.   The carrier you are working for will owe you a big kiss, even though you may never get it. 

Jim,

That's exactly what we are giving you here (experiences)....nobody is talking about specializing.  Take it for what it's worth and keep it in the memory bank for the day that comes that you are out there working a winter loss. 

Jim,

Check with the vendors you have worked for and see what areas of the country they work. Some are almost the south alone and others are nationwide in being able to handle multi-types of losses.

Just like any other type of diasater stuation, we have to have one first. Freeze losses are unique. Some areas of the country are so prepared for them that with heavy snow and cold for a long period of time no cat will exist. Other areas that are along the Mason-Dixon line are more likely to have the potential for cat losses if a prolonged freeze hits there. Up here in Mich, we have to have a number of days below freezing before the losses occur. Never know when.

I remember the '83 & '89 freeze losses in Houston. Both times the storms happened when there was a long Christmas weekend and many people went out of town. The weather was great and the cold front came thru like a freight train. At the time, many houses in Houston had their plumbing lines running thru the ceiling on top of the insulation. Those that stayed home during this time found the damage quickly. Those that had gone out of town found a note on their door when they returned saying the water has been turned off after one of the neighbors saw water pouring out the front door.

I just don't get it, after seeing a lot of last year's hurricane losses...why is such a high percentage of the water heaters & plumbing in the attics down South?

OK, not a lot of freeze losses and not a lot of basements in the low lying areas to afford the basement option...but why put all that potential water damage loss into play?  Couldn't there be a small main floor area to accomodate them, or is it just the added ecomonic cost?

Here in the midwest, it sure is different...lots of cold weather, but generally little flooding.  If the pipes freeze or break, or the water heater decides to rust out & leak without warning, less damage potential.  

This is a coverage topic for new and old adjusters in regards the Houston freeze , Christmas 89.

A two story house had an entry and den that had 18 foot ceilings, with block paneling on the den walls.On the exterior of the exposed den wall the material was {Masonite type}. The studs and wall cavity was normal. The 9 degree temp caused the 1x4 horizontal lath the paneling was glued to to move horizontally and split/break the vertical 4x10 sheets from top to bottom on the North wall on 2 foot centers 4 inch's high or the size of the lath.

My answer later after the input. A Texas HOB.

Texas still has a few HOB's around. Most of the Homeowners in Texas now are the A which is 16 named peril with RCC coverage on the building and optional on UPP.

You hit it on the head Steve, this resulting damage was excluded under the extreme temp and the settlement, movement exclusion.

We still have accidental water breakage of pipes and appliances, but the owners do not turn them in unless the loss runs up into the thousands. The local HO claims have been cut by about 75% since you worked in Texas.

All the seacoast counties are being dropped by the carriers and going into the TWIA (wind pool). and the non standard underwriters. The single adjuster program will be almost non existent.

The TWIA spent their reserve fund on Rita and will watch the claim payments close if Texas gets hit, but Texas is a good political state and we have buds in high places.... maybe some Katrina/NOLA type help...

Harking back to Steve's original query about who has worked winter storms and what interest there is in working them, I can only say that they have been my bread and butter during some of the slower years (and even one of the not-so-slow years).  Mike makes a good point about no one necessarily wanting to specialize in them.  If given the choice of working in Florida, Cleveland, or Watertown in January, few would choose either of the latter two options. 

But, there are some considerations for choosing to work a winter storm that anyone who has not experienced it should consider.  These include the facts that much of the work resulting from a winter storm may not be cat work and much of it may not be a claim for winter storm damage or even be a claim filed in winter.  This probably sounds confusing.  Therefore, let me clarify a little.  Three of the major winter storm assignments I have worked have extended far beyond the winter.  In January 2000 I went to Fairfax, VA, to work winter storm damage and finally left the DC/Baltimore area in March 2001.  In April 2001, I was sent to Kalamazoo, MI (where I settled for a couple years for personal reasons) to work winter storm claims for a storm that happened in February.  I left at the end of June.  In January 2004 I missed the hurricane season completely because I was in New York/Boston as a result of winter storms from January 14 through December 18. 

What happens frequently in a winter storm situation is different from what happens with a hurricane.  Before the hurricane hits, carriers are on the phone to vendors and vendors are on the phone to catadjusters making sure they have an army of adjusters ready to handle the storm when it hits.  In a winter storm situation, carriers and national vendors with many local offices will often attempt to handle the cat with existing staff.  Often they do not initially realize the magnitude of this task.  By the time they call in a few catadjusters the staff people are dealing with a mess that is totally out of control.  This is why I got called to go to Michigan more than two months after the storm.  This is also why I had such extended assignments in New England and DC/Baltimore.  In all three of these assignments I encountered both carrier and vendor staff who were overloaded with impossible claim counts and getting further behind every day.  So, while I was deployed ostensibly to handle a freeze event, the reality was that I was being deployed to help everyone get caught up - a monumental task indeed in a profession where there is no "caught up", only acceptable and unacceptable levels of "behind".  (Huskercat, I can tell that a derrière comment is forming in your mind as you read this.)The claim volume that had begun with an overload of claims as a result of winter storms had snowballed into a general backup of every type of claim imaginable.  The carriers were assigning more claims to independents than they would normally.  The vendors were then assigning me every claim that came into the office so their staff adjusters could get caught up. 

The best adjusters to send into this situation are going to be those who can handle fires, floods, toilet backups, roof leaks, mold claims, vehicles running into trees, large loss commercial, and just about any other claim that might be filed.  The most prolific vendors during these periods will be those with permanent local offices in the storm area.  Bear in mind that these are not cookie cutter claims like a wind or hail catastrophe might produce, and in many cases the insured must be present to give us access to the damaged property, so production numbers will not likely be as high as on a hurricane or hailstorm.

To exacerbate the log jam of claims, there are aspects of a winter storm that only become apparent when the temperatures rise to the point that mold and bacteria flourish.  So, several months after the storm, a moldy smell begins to fill the house and the roof decking has a noticeable sag.  Neighbors talk to neighbors and the storm claims revive with supplement requests attached.  Among my advice to those who would wish to work winter storms would be the following:

1.) Don't consider specializing.  If anything consider generalizing.  You may be called on to work any kind of claim imaginable.  Learn as much as you can about as many types of claims as you can.

2.)  Keep the policies open, and don't hesitate to ask for the applicable policy form.  No one has these memorized, but someone who can read a policy and is quick to do so is invaluable.

and 3.)  Don't go out with the intention of making a quick buck and heading home.  This is a "tortoise and the hare" sort of situation.  Most of the money to be made is likely to be waiting on the table for the few who stay when everyone else has gone home.