A Denver couple says their insurer leaned on a flawed engineering report to lowball hail damage to their tile roof - a familiar storyline in Colorado claims litigation.
Khalil and Nasima Zahedi sued Auto-Owners Insurance Company in the US District Court for the District of Colorado on May 1, 2026, accusing the carrier of underpaying their homeowners claim after a severe hail and wind storm rolled through Denver on May 30, 2025. The lawsuit is at an early stage and contains only allegations, but it lands squarely in territory that claims professionals know well: tile roofs, third-party adjusters, and engineering reports that point to anything other than the storm.
According to the filing, hailstones up to approximately 2 inches or larger battered the couple's home, damaging the tile roof, soft metals, gutters and downspouts, a shed, vinyl siding, windows, and vinyl fencing. The Zahedis say they reported the loss promptly and that Auto-Owners acknowledged coverage and assigned a third-party adjuster from Catastrophe Specialist, Inc. to inspect.
That inspection, conducted on December 2, 2024, produced an estimate the homeowners describe as far too thin. The complaint says the carrier authorized $17,801.94 in replacement cost value under the dwelling coverage and $1,434.78 under other structures, ultimately cutting an actual cash value check of $5,922.70 after depreciation and the deductible. The estimate, the Zahedis allege, missed the tile roof damage almost entirely.
The sharper accusations are aimed at the engineering review that followed. The couple claims Auto-Owners brought in an engineer from Golden Forensics, LLC, who inspected the property on March 27, 2025 and issued a report on April 7, 2025. The filing states the engineer acknowledged hail impacts but blamed most of the tile roof damage on "foot traffic, improper installation, and thermal expansion and contraction" - explanations the Zahedis describe as common ones used to deny or underpay claims, and which the filing labels a "results-driven" inspection.
Their own contractor came back with a very different number: $122,298.92, including a full tile roof replacement. After the homeowners hired lawyers, Auto-Owners issued a supplemental estimate on November 10, 2025 that added vinyl siding, soft metals, and labor adjustments, along with another $12,198.66 in actual cash value - but still no full roof replacement, according to the filing.
The Zahedis are pursuing breach of contract and bad faith claims, along with a statutory claim under Colorado law that allows recovery of attorney fees and "two times the covered benefit" when an insurer unreasonably delays or denies payment.
For carriers, the case is a reminder that vendor choices and the language inside engineering reports often become the main event. The allegations have not been tested in court, Auto-Owners has not yet filed a response, and no ruling has been issued.
