Navigating Your Insurance Roof Claim: Five Tips to Make it Easier
There will probably come a time in the life of your home that the roof becomes damaged. When that happens, are you going to ready to file a claim with your insurance company for your roof — or will all the paperwork of your utterly stump you? There are a few things you can do to make claims faster and easier.
Here are five tips for navigating a roof insurance claim.
- First, read over all paperwork backward and forward.
Don’t make the mistake of shoving important paperwork into a drawer and only looking at it when there’s an emergency. It’s a good idea for homeowners to examine roof warranty paperwork and insurance paperwork at the purchase of a home. Read the paperwork thoroughly and make a note of questions. You must understand how particular warranties for your roof play into the cost of your homeowner's insurance.
- Know the difference between a warranty and how it affects your insurance.
This is an important matter that trips up more than a few homeowners. Your roof materials have a separate warranty than the manual labor on your roof performed by the contractor. What does this mean? It means that while the materials of your roof might have a lifetime warranty, a labor warranty might only be a few years. If bad weather damages the roof, you may not have a warranty with the contractor any longer, and repairing the roof might be more expensive for you. It pays to have a long-lasting warranty on labor.
- Carefully document the issue with the roof.
If something happens to the roof and you need to make an insurance claim, it’s always important to have clear photographs on hand. Take plenty of photos of any damage right away. Keep digital files and print copies and prepare to share them with your insurance company.
- Know how to handle the adjuster.
It’s common for homeowners to feel intimidated by a visit from an adjuster, but it does not have to be that way. Remember that the adjuster is likely dealing with several claims at once while you are only dealing with your own and you know all the important details. Carefully review any paperwork before signing and ask for clarification if a payout for roof damage seems too low.
- Work with a roofing contractor you trust and understand.
For peace of mind, knowing you can trust your roofing contractor is paramount in roof claims. A great roofing contractor will work to get the repairs done in a timely fashion. In fact, the experts at Total Roofing suggest having a free inspection done of the roof damage BEFORE you call your insurance company. They can walk you through the steps to ensure an efficient claims process.
