Your roof has wind damage. Now what?

Your roof has wind damage. Now what?

  1. Have a professional roofer inspect the roof for wind damage
  2. File a claim with your insurance company
  3. Advise your roofer of the adjuster appointment
  4. Understand that you are in control of the situation
  5. You will receive a Loss Summary, and typically, a partial payment of the claim
  6. Send an unaltered copy of the Loss Summary to your roofer
  7. Understand that you will have to pay your deductible
  8. Install your roof

1. Have a professional roofer inspect the roof.

A quality roofer will give you an honest assessment of whether you have a reasonable claim to file. Most of the time, wind damage is not enough damage to warrant a full replacement of the roof. If the wind damage is minimal, you should NOT file a claim, keeping a claim off your record. Most insurance companies base your rates off of the number of claims you have filed. Typically, smaller amounts of damage cost less than your deductible to repair. In that case, the insurance would not pay for any of the repair. Click for information on how to hire a professional roofer.

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2. File a wind damage claim with your insurance carrier if it looks like there is enough damage to warrant a claim.

You will need your policy number. They will supply you with a claim number as well as an appointment for the claims adjuster to assess your damage.

3. Advise your roofer of the adjuster appointment.

Your roofer should meet the adjuster at the meeting. The insurance company has a vested interest in minimizing the claim pay-out. The roofer has a vested interest in getting ALL storm damage covered because it allows us the financial resources to install a truly exceptional roof for the home owner.

4. Understand that you are in control of the situation.

Even though the roofer is involved at this stage, all proceeds from the insurance company will flow through your hands, leaving you in charge of the money. If work doesn’t get done, you don’t pay for it.

5. You will receive a Loss Summary detailing the work necessary to repair your wind damage, and typically, a partial payment of the claim. If you have a mortgage on your home, the check should have your name and the mortgage company’s name as Payees.

You need to get this check endorsed by the mortgage company before the work on your home begins. Most major mortgage companies are major banks with branches locally so you don’t have to mail the check. Once the work is complete, the roofer will invoice your insurance carrier for work completed. Once the work is complete and invoiced, the insurance company will issue a check for any supplements and the recoverable accumulated depreciation. Work not completed should be itemized on the invoice.

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6. Once you have the Loss Summary (claim report) from the insurance company, send an unaltered copy to your roofer for review.

In order to avoid insurance fraud, the roofer needs to complete each line item shown for the price shown by the insurance company. Now is the time to discuss whether all repairs will be made and to discuss options like shingle style, shingle color, gutter colors, etc.

7. Understand that you will have to pay your deductible.

This means that you will write a check out of your personal funds to the roofer equal to your deductible. Ninety-eight percent of the time, if this step is skipped, you and your roofer have committed a felony. Click for more information about this.

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8. Install your roof.

This is the point where the work gets done on your home. If there is a lot of work besides the roof, this can require some time to complete, especially after a storm when all of our sub-contractors are busy. Your roofer will coordinate all of this work. It will typically follow the roof replacement.