
DATE: Friday, July 11, 1997                 TAG: 9707110671

SECTION: BUSINESS                PAGE: D1   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY MEREDITH COHN, STAFF WRITER 

                                            LENGTH:   96 lines

CASHING IN ON STORM'S RUIN

A five-minute barrage of marble-sized hail more than two months ago may be just a distant blip in many locals' memories. But for area homeowners, insurance companies and contractors, the brief act of nature has meant a continuing saga involving big bucks.

Insurance companies report that calls are still trickling in from policyholders. An informal poll of insurance companies by The Virginian-Pilot reveals that the price tag for the May 1 storm is approaching $20 million paid to thousands of car and home owners. That money likely will continue to make its way to auto repair shops and roof and siding companies for months, if not the next year or more, contractors said.

All that money has been a boon to local repair companies, but it has also attracted maybe a dozen or more ``storm chasers.''

Storm chasers follow natural disasters from city to city, grab for all the business they can in the immediate aftermath and then move on to the next hail storm, flood or earthquake. Some are legitimate businesses that provide quality work in an overwhelmed local market. Others may not be licensed in Virginia or hold a city business permit, and they may not be around to follow up on repairs down the road.

Often, they go door to door or put up signs in a neighborhood with a local telephone number.

``Geico in Virginia Beach has no experience with these people because we've never had a hail storm of this magnitude,'' said Rich Polino, Tidewater area manager for the company. ``Some may be reliable and some may leave you high and dry.''

Polino said Geico, which has paid out about $3 million, has been paying customers' auto claims based on what repairs would cost at a conventional body shop.

Allstate, which is receiving 20 to 50 calls a day, refers its customers to a list of body shops and contractors that it has worked with before and has investigated, according to spokesman Bill Ballinger.

Most home repair contractors contacted said they've noticed unfamiliar crews around but that there is enough work for everyone. Tidewater Builders Association and the Peninsula Housing and Builders Association reported no complaints from their contractors or homeowners about storm chasers.

For any work, they recommend:

Ask the contractor for a Virginia business license, city business permit or local contractors' association membership.

Check the telephone book to see if the company is listed.

Don't pay for the whole job upfront.

Get more than one estimate for work.

Include a completion date in your contract.

Ask for references from the companies and ask your neighbors who they hired.

``They may give you a seven- to 10-year warranty, but they won't be around in seven to 10 weeks,'' said Mike Bice, a sales representative for McDaniel's Roofing in Chesapeake. ``People should use their common sense, and I think they do.''

Paul Marthaller, a sales representative for Virginia Beach-based Castorani Roofing, said he believes some homeowners have turned to out-of-state contractors because local ones have long waiting lists. He estimated there were 15,000 to 20,000 houses needing repairs around Hampton Roads. Portsmouth, the Western Branch area of Chesapeake and Norfolk appear to have been the hardest hit.

Marthaller said his company mailed brochures to homeowners urging them to look for signs of damage to their shingles like missing granules, but said he expects the work to continue pouring in for months as they find problems.

The increased competition from storm chasers is hurting smaller contractors, said Scott Pease, owner of Portsmouth-based S.E.P.'s Home Improvement.

``I get a lot of repeat business ordinarily,'' he said. ``But everyone is a couple of weeks behind and so we're losing regular business to work crews who are combing the neighborhoods. And the sad part is that the homeowners may end up calling me anyway down the road when they have problems and can't find the guy who did work on their houses.''

Colleen Carnes, a Newport News resident whose home was pummeled by the storm, said contractors routinely knock on her door pitching work.

``Ten minutes before the storm was over I knew who I was going to call,'' said Carnes, a bookkeeper for the Peninsula Housing and Builders Association. ``If they aren't a member of the association, I throw their fliers away.'' ILLUSTRATION: REBUILDING AFTER THE SPRING HAIL

[Color Photo]

MARK MITCHELL/The Virginian-Pilot

A salesman from Castorani Roofing estimates some 15,000 to 20,000

houses need repairs, including this one in Chesapeake where company

roofers tossed old shingles onto a pile.

Finding a reliable contractor

Ask the contractor for a Virginia business license, city business

permit or local contractors' association membership.

Check the telephone book to see if the company is listed.

Don't pay for the whole job upfront.

Get more than one estimate for work.

Include a completion date in your contract.