Got Your Insurance Check?
Here's Exactly What to Do Next.

The process starts with a roofing contractor inspecting your property and confirming there's damage worth claiming. From there, you file a claim with your insurance carrier, who assigns an adjuster to inspect the damage and produce a written estimate.

Once you receive that estimate, your contractor reviews it, signs an agreement with you to complete the work, and begins negotiating with your insurance company to recover any missing line items through a process called supplementing. Materials are ordered, the roof is built, inspections are completed, and a Certificate of Completion is submitted to trigger your final payment. Start to finish, most projects run 4 to 8 weeks from claim to completion.

Almost every first estimate is low. Industry data shows that initial insurance estimates underfund roofing claims by an average of 30% — on a $20,000 claim, that's as much as $6,000 missing before a single nail is driven.

Adjusters routinely leave out required line items like starter shingles, step flashing, drip edge, and ice and water shield. These aren't optional — they're required by building code. But leaving them off lowers the payout. The right contractor reviews that estimate and negotiates directly with your insurance company through a supplement to recover what's owed.

Short answer: Acts of God (storms, hail, wind) shouldn't raise YOUR individual rates. But here's the reality most people don't understand.

Insurance companies cannot single you out for rate increases based on weather-related claims. However, what they DO do is raise rates for entire geographic areas affected by major storms. If your neighborhood gets hammered by hail and 100 homeowners file claims, the insurance company will raise rates for everyone in that zip code — even if you didn't file a claim. They do this to cover the claims and stay financially compliant. Essentially, you end up helping pay for your neighbors' roofs through higher premiums, whether you filed a claim or not.

Important warning: Simply calling your agent's office to "ask" about whether you should file a claim can trigger an actual claim being filed on your behalf. We've seen it happen. An innocent inquiry can send up red flags and get your account flagged. Sometimes a single conversation results in a claim being automatically filed without your explicit approval. Before you contact your carrier, get a contractor assessment first. Let them tell you honestly whether a claim is worth filing.

Multiple claims in a short period or claims that don't exceed your deductible can impact your rates. That's why having a professional contractor assess the damage upfront is critical — they can tell you whether it's financially worth filing before you ever pick up the phone.

A supplement is a corrected, complete estimate submitted to your insurance company after their adjuster's initial estimate comes in low. Your contractor's billing team reviews what was missed, adds every line item required to complete the job correctly and to code, documents the reasoning with photos and code citations, and submits it to your carrier for review.

Insurance companies often push back. The difference between a contractor who knows how to supplement and one who doesn't is whether you end up with the full amount you're owed — or whatever insurance felt like paying the first time. A good billing team has a high success rate because they document everything properly and don't fold when the adjuster says no.

Adjusters look for visible signs of storm damage — hail hits on shingles, missing or lifted shingles from wind, damaged flashing, gutters, and soft metal surfaces like vents and caps. They document what they find and build an estimate around it.

The problem is what they don't always look for — or document. Pre-existing code requirements, secondary damage, and required components they don't include in the initial estimate. That's exactly why having your own contractor on the roof at the same time matters. Your contractor catches what the adjuster misses and makes sure it gets documented before the adjuster leaves.

If you have an RCV (Replacement Cost Value) policy, insurance pays in two installments. The first check covers the ACV — Actual Cash Value — which is your roof's current depreciated value, minus your deductible. Think of it like a car: if you wreck a 2015 Corolla, insurance pays you what a 2015 Corolla is worth today, not what a new one costs.

Once the roof is replaced and your contractor submits a Certificate of Completion, insurance releases the second check — the depreciation holdback — which brings your total payout up to the full replacement cost. Here's the key point many homeowners misunderstand: Your deductible is your responsibility to your contractor, not to insurance. Insurance shows the deductible as a line item deducted from their estimate because they're deducting it from what THEY PAY YOU. It does not reduce your bill to your contractor. You still owe the contractor the full amount you agreed on, and you pay your deductible out of your own pocket to your contractor.

There's no universal threshold — it depends on your carrier, your policy, and the adjuster's findings. Generally, insurance will approve a full replacement when the cost to repair exceeds a certain percentage of the replacement cost, or when damage is widespread enough that repairs would not restore the roof to its pre-loss condition.

What matters most is having the damage properly documented before the adjuster visit. A contractor who conducts a thorough inspection — including drone photography — and is present during the adjuster appointment gives you the best chance of a full replacement approval versus a partial repair payout.

You technically can buy a drone, but here's what you'd be missing:

Licensing & Legality: We're FAA Part 107 certified commercial drone pilots. Operating a drone for commercial purposes without this certification is illegal. Using your own footage in an insurance claim could flag the claim or void coverage.

Technical Knowledge: We know exactly what to look for on a roof. We can differentiate between hail hits, weathering, manufacturing defects, pre-existing damage, and normal wear. What looks like minor blemishes to you might be critical damage that insurance needs to see — or it might be unrelated to your claim and shouldn't be included.

Installation Quality Assessment: We can evaluate whether components are installed correctly and to code. Improper installation voids warranties and creates liability. We document what we see and know building codes.

Inspection Thoroughness: We inspect from multiple angles, check flashing, vents, chimneys, gutters, and secondary damage. We document everything professionally so adjusters can't claim they "didn't see" the damage.

Claims Credibility: Your own photos carry less weight than a licensed contractor's assessment. Adjusters take our documentation seriously because we have credentials and liability at stake.

Insurance Coordination: We're present at the adjuster appointment to advocate for every line item and catch what the adjuster misses. Your own photos can't do that.

The drone is a tool. What matters is what you do with it and whether your assessment holds up in a claim negotiation.

The Good Contractors List is a third-party vetting organization that certifies contractors based on strict professional standards, insurance, financial responsibility, and track record. It's not a BBB rating — it's actual credentialing with real backing.

Here's what makes it different: If we're on The Good Contractors List and something goes wrong — if we don't complete the work, fail to honor our warranty, or mishandle your project — the organization puts a $25,000 insurance policy behind your claim. You're not just hoping the contractor will make it right. There's actual financial protection.

We're proud members of The Good Contractors List. It means we've been vetted, we carry the right insurance, and we're willing to stand behind our work with real skin in the game. It's one of the clearest signals that you're working with someone who takes their reputation seriously.