Sometimes, weather-related events or other accidents lead to roof damage. In these cases, insurance gets involved and decides if they’ll cover the damage for the customer.
If a customer entrusts you with their insurance roof job, you get the big task of assessing their potential roof damage and fixing it. When a homeowner needs help with an insurance roof project, they want to go to the most trusted contractor for help. That’s why you need to understand the roof insurance claims process and learn how roofing companies work with insurance companies.
Here’s a step-by-step walkthrough of the roof insurance claims process.
Roof Insurance Claims Process
While roofing insurance claims likely won’t happen every day, you must be prepared for when the situation arises. Here are the five major steps in the roofing insurance claims process.
1. Contractor Roof Damage Inspection
The process for roofing contractors usually starts with a phone call from a customer needing an inspection. Your job is to inspect the damaged roof, list exactly what is damaged, and offer your expert opinion on what they need to repair.
It’s crucial to keep detailed records and notes about your inspection because you’ll need them later to explain your findings to the insurance adjuster. Roofing software can make storing and organizing detailed notes and records about a job easier.
If the customer’s claim is approved, you’ll want to convince the customer that you’re the roofer for the job.
2. Insurance Adjuster Inspection
It’s important to note that the insurance adjuster is king in this situation. It’s up to them to determine if there’s damage and if the insurance will cover it. It doesn’t matter if an experienced roofer guarantees there is damage with complete certainty—if the insurance adjuster disagrees, that’s the final decision.
During the insurance adjuster inspection, you should be on-site to answer any questions and provide additional insight into your findings. This meeting is your opportunity to advocate for the customer and explain your assessment.
Following this inspection, the insurance adjuster will send their report to the insurance company.
3. Claim Damage Assessment
Once the insurance company gets the report, they then evaluate the damage assessment claim to determine what to give the customer for the repair project.
This process can take several weeks, and the insurance company may reach out to your roofing company for more context. Communication throughout this process is key.
4. Estimate Issuance
After the claim is accepted, the insurance company will decide how much money this job will cost according to the insurance policy. Once that’s determined, the insurance company sends the customer the exact amount for the repairs.
If the customer wants more work done outside of the approved repair, insurance will not cover it. You can still work with them for further repairs by providing them with an estimate.
5. Start of Repair Work
Now that everything has been sorted out with the insurance company, they are no longer involved in the situation. If the homeowner accepts your estimate, go ahead and start on the repair job!
As you go through this process, remind customers that you have no say in any insurance matters whatsoever. Customers must understand the scope of your job is limited to damage assessment and cost estimates. Any coverage questions should be directed to the insurance adjuster.
In your time as a roofer, how many times have you been involved in a roof insurance claims process? Let us know in the comments below.
