We speak insurance, so you don't have to learn it

A storm claim has four parties, and knowing each one's job keeps the process from feeling like a maze. You, the policyholder, own the claim: you file it, you make the decisions, and the policy is a contract between you and your insurer. The insurance company decides what is and isn't covered, not us, and not any contractor. The adjuster inspects on the insurer's behalf and contributes the scope of loss, which is the insurer's written list of the work it agrees the covered damage requires. Our job as the contractor is the physical evidence and the build: we document the roof's actual condition, prepare a proposal for the repairs, and complete the approved work.

One thing worth saying plainly: this page is general information about how the process typically works. It is not legal advice, and it is not an interpretation of your policy, your policy language and your insurer's decisions control. When a coverage question matters, the answers come from your policy, your agent, or your insurer.

Whether your policy pays on an ACV or an RCV basis is the single biggest variable in how a roof claim feels. Under a typical RCV policy, the insurer's first payment reflects the actual cash value of the covered damage, the replacement cost minus depreciation, less your deductible. The withheld depreciation is commonly recoverable: once the work is completed and documented, we submit the completion paperwork and final invoice, and the insurer releases it. Under an ACV policy, that second step usually doesn't exist, depreciation is non-recoverable, and the gap between the depreciated payment and the real replacement is yours to carry.

Roof age drives depreciation, so the same hailstorm can produce very different claim outcomes on a five-year-old roof and a twenty-year-old one. Some policies also apply separate roof deductibles or roof-payment schedules by endorsement. We can't change any of that, but we can make sure you understand which structure you're in before you make decisions, and that the completion documentation needed to request recoverable depreciation goes in promptly and correctly.

Not everything wrong with a roof is storm damage, and insurers are right to draw that line. Ordinary wear and aging, installation defects, and long-standing leaks that predate the storm are commonly excluded. A claim covers sudden loss from a covered cause, not deferred maintenance. That's exactly why we tell you before you file when what we find on your roof looks like age rather than impact: filing a claim that documents wear helps nobody.

Commercial claims run on the same skeleton but with more moving parts: larger scopes, membrane and insulation assemblies that require core sampling to evaluate, business-interruption considerations, and policy forms that differ meaningfully from homeowner policies. Timelines on any claim: residential or commercial: depend on your policy terms, your insurer's process, and regional storm volume, so nobody can honestly promise you a date. What we control is our part: thorough documentation, a prompt proposal, and completion paperwork the day the work wraps.