Some local roofing companies have seen their business triple in the months since the storm, with no sign of slowing down.
“It’s overwhelming,” said PWI Construction owner Paul Wourms. “It’s probably going to be a couple of years to get everyone done.”
The May 25 storms that left a swath of hail and wind damage across Southwest Ohio are estimated to be the third most costly natural disaster in state history by the Ohio Insurance Institute.
The more than $322.1 million in losses reported by insurance companies puts the series of storms from May 20-26 behind only the 1974 Xenia tornado and the 2008 Hurricane Ike windstorm in terms of cost. In June, the OII estimated as many as 77,000 claims had been filed statewide, with more coming in daily.
“Hail especially is kind of tricky,” said OII spokeswoman Mary Bonelli. “In some cases (homeowners) may not be aware that they have damage right away.” She said it may be months before winter freezing and thawing reveal roof damage caused by the hail and wind.
It will be at least that long before local roofing contractors and auto body repair shops see their hail damage business subside.
Mike Gallimore, owner of Buckeye Home Services in Dayton, said his company has already done hail repair on about 100 homes. They are doing 10 roofs a week compared to about three per week this time last year.
They are scheduling homes two weeks out, with between 18 and 24 calls coming in per day. He anticipates they’ll still be getting hail calls next spring.
Steve Chi said his company, YK Construction, is replacing roofs, siding or gutters on about two homes per week, more than the small company ever handled before the May storms.
Wourms said his Beavercreek company has done about 20 roofs so far. He said it took about a month for the calls to start while insurance adjusters did their work.
“Once the checks started coming in, business took off,” he said. PWI is already scheduling repairs for next year when the weather breaks.
“The hail just devastated everything,” Wourms said, noting that the wind storm of 2008 didn’t damage siding, gutters or vehicles the way this storm did. “We just hope the customers understand and can be patient.”
Jay Moran with A Abel said that, luckily for homeowners, the hail didn’t cause actual leaks in many cases, so customers can take their time and shop around.
“You have 180 days or more in most cases to make an insurance claim,” he said.
He said some of their bigger projects like apartment complexes will stretch into next year.
Some auto body shops are scheduling repairs nearly into next year as well.
Body Werkes Body Shop in Beavercreek is scheduling for October and November with 10 to 15 cars coming in per week.
Employee Joe James said one issue facing body shops is a shortage of good parts because of the volume of damaged cars in need of repairs.
“Getting used parts is nearly impossible,” he said, because recent increases in scrap metal prices have caused most parts to be scrapped.
The Wayside Collision Center in Miami Township is currently scheduling hail damage repairs into December.
OII findings reveal that approximately 57 percent of claims so far have been from homeowners or renters, while 40 percent have been automobile damage claims totaling about $80 million in estimated auto losses.
John North, president and CEO of the Dayton Better Business Bureau, said the volume of needed repairs has attracted many out-of-town companies to the market.
“Our roofing category has grown immensely,” he said of the BBB’s business listings. He said more companies from across the Midwest are popping up than did in the aftermath of the wind storm.
North said many of these companies are legitimate and do good work, but customers need to have a plan if future issues arise.
“Are they committed to coming back? They’ve moved to the next storm region and they are going to sub-contract that work out,” North said.
He said customers need to have a contract and should make sure they have a say in who the company sub-contracts with in the future.
North said the BBB is also reminding auto buyers to be aware of what they may be getting into if they buy storm-repaired vehicles sold as new.
“There might be some deals to be had,” he said, but encourages buyers to check with their insurance company about coverage for damages done before purchase.
Wourms said people in the Dayton area seem to be storm savvy after repeated pounding from Mother Nature.
“Most of the homeowners in this area have been through this before in 2001,” he said, referring to an April hailstorm that year that did extensive damage in Dayton and Kettering.
“I’m still getting calls from people just starting to do their research. They are willing to wait and get higher-quality work,” Wourms said.
Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2124 or kwedell@coxohio.com.
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