Ask Rich

THI President Rich Ryan has over 18 years of experience and expertise in the industry. THI is a Better Business Bureau A+ rated company. Here are some representative questions customers have most often for Rich:

Q. My home has been flooded. What do I do to make
my home livable?
Rich Ryan – I'm very sorry to hear about your problems. We have our Mobile Command Center in the Southern Tier of New York right now, along with additional manpower to help local flood victims, so we are very well aware of the extent of the flood damage.

Here's some quick advice on what you need to do right away. First, call your insurance carrier. Ask if you are covered in the event of a flood. If you have trouble with your carrier or their adjuster not being helpful, call my office and we can help you.

When you are allowed back into your home please understand that flood water can contain a variety of toxins and bacteria that can cause you significant health issues. If you are going to do any work yourself, please wear long pants — wear heavy duty tall rubber boots (it's important they are rubber so water/mud cannot seep through), and heavy duty gloves. Also please use a surgical face mask as it may help keep airborne toxins out of your lungs. Eye protection is also recommended.

Remove what items you can from your home. Washing mud off any possession you may want to keep won't be enough to actually clean it. After you remove the mud you will have to thoroughly clean your items thoroughly with a bleach solution — a spray solution works best. Don't fill a large tub or container with your bleach solution and dip items into it — you run the risk of cross contaminating your items by doing so.

You will have to most likely remove any affected dry wall, even the supporting wood and studs may have to be replaced.

If you do any work yourself, see your physician as soon as possible. Your doctor may want to give you and your family members an immunization to help protect you from any bacteria or toxins you may have been exposed to during the clean up.

Above all, please be safe. THI is here to help you should you need our services. As always, you can receive a free no obligation estimate by calling 1-800-CALL-THI.

Q. What do you mean you can negotiate with the
insurance company for me?
Rich Ryan – we have on-staff insurance negotiation experts and we have long standing relationships with many insurance adjusters and carriers. They know our company and they know our reputation. We have excellent relationships with many insurance companies and we carefully mark all damage we find. We try to make the insurance adjusters job as easy as possible.

Q. How do I know if I have roof damage following a storm?
Rich Ryan – The only way to truly know is to have a qualified THI inspector actually go up on the roof to do a professional inspection.

Q. What if there’s some small damage like dimples in the shingles
or curling of shingles? That’s not a big deal, right?
Rich Ryan – Actually dimpling can significantly reduce the expected lifespan of your roof. For example, depending on the quality of the shingle, dimpling can take years off the expected life of your roof – forcing you to put a new roof on years before you had planned. The same goes for curling. We often find dimpling and curling after a bad storm. The time to take care of that damage is immediately following a storm when the repair will most likely be covered by your homeowners insurance.

Q. What about my deductible?
Rich Ryan – most homeowners insurance does in fact call for a deductible to be paid by the homeowner. At THI we can help with our THI Pride Program. We’ll ask for your permission to place a small THI sign on your lawn while we are working on your property. We’ll offer a cash rebate for the right to place the sign on your lawn – money you can spend as you wish or apply toward your insurance deductible.

Q. Can you really replace my roof in a day?
Rich Ryan – in most cases yes. THI is a large operation.
We have the experienced crews on staff ready to take on your project. Most roofs take a day. Some very large homes may take a little longer.

Q. What about clean-up?
Rich Ryan – It’s our goal to leave your property pristine. During and after your project, we inspect for excess roofing materials, nails and other construction debris. We take great pride in cleaning up after ourselves.

Q. I’ve seen your Customer Testimonial Video.
Are they real customers or did you hire actors?
Rich Ryan – They are in fact real customers. We asked the questions and they gave honest answers. We are fortunate in that the majority of our work comes from customer referrals.
We work very hard to earn those referrals.

Do you have a question for Rich Ryan?
Click here to send us your question and you will receive a personal response from Rich.

Insurance Links

AAA - Allentown 610-434-5141

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Alternative Claims 1-800-354-5732

California Casualty 1-800-800-9410

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Hartford 1-800-243-5860

Harleysville 1-800-892-8877

Homesite 1-800-466-3748

Liberty Mutual 1-800-2Claims

MetLife 1-800-854-6011 (#2)

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Nationwide 1-866-688-9143

N.J. Manufacturers 1-800-232-6600

Ohio Casualty 1-866-255-5530

Penn National 1-800-766-2245

Safe Co. 1-800-332-3226

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State Farm 1-888-620-2650 (2#)

21st Century 1-610-966-4598

Travelers 1-800-252-4633

USAA 1-800-365-8722

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