Who deals with your insurance company
This is the part nobody explains. You have likely never run a roof claim, you are being asked to do it for the first time under a deadline, and the person who knocked on your door has an obvious interest in the answer. Here is the whole process, including the step where the money is actually decided.
The five steps, and who does what
You have probably never run a roof claim before. We have run 3,200+ of them, and the step that decides the money is the one most homeowners face alone.
We walk the roof and photograph every bruised shingle, creased tab, dented vent and damaged flashing, located on a roof plan. You get the report whether or not you file, and whether or not you use us.
You file it, because it is your policy and a contractor filing on your behalf is not allowed in North Carolina. What we give you is the date of loss, the damage summary and the report number, so the call takes five minutes instead of forty.
This is the step that decides the money. We are up there with them, with our report, making sure the full scope goes on the record rather than the half they can see from the ladder. Going through this alone is how homeowners end up with a slope approved instead of a roof.
It often does, and it is normal rather than adversarial — the adjuster missed the second layer, or the code requires ice-and-water your policy owes for. We document the gap and submit it to your carrier directly.
You pay your deductible. That is the number you were always going to pay and the only one we ask you for. We collect the rest, including the recoverable depreciation, directly from your insurance company once the work is signed off.
What we will not do
- File or negotiate the claim for you — that is public adjusting and needs its own licence
- Waive, absorb or rebate your deductible; that is fraud in both Carolinas
- Tell you that you have damage before we have been on the roof
- Promise what your carrier will approve, because we do not decide it
- Ask you to sign a contingency agreement before you have seen the report
What you should do first
- Photograph anything already wet inside, before you move it
- Find your policy and check the deductible — and whether wind and hail carry a separate one
- Note the date of the storm; the claim clock runs from the date of loss, not the date you noticed
- Book a documented inspection before you call your carrier
- Keep every receipt for temporary repairs — mitigation is usually reimbursable
The step that decides the money
Everything above is process. Step 03 is the one that changes what you are paid, and it is the one most homeowners face on their own.
They are working from what they can see and verify in a limited visit, often across dozens of roofs after one storm. Missed scope is far more common than bad faith.
If the back slope is not photographed, it is not in the estimate. Being up there with our report is how the whole roof gets into the record rather than the front elevation.
The supplement is a normal, documented request rather than a fight — the code requires ice-and-water, the second layer was missed, the ridge vent was not counted. We write it and submit it directly.
Start with the documentation
Four questions and we will call to schedule. No cost, no obligation, and the photo report is yours whether or not you hire us.
Claim questions
Can you file the claim for me?
No, and be careful with anyone who says they will. In North Carolina a contractor filing or negotiating a claim on your behalf strays into public adjusting, which requires a separate licence. What we do is give you the documentation and the numbers so the call is short, and then stand on the roof with your adjuster.
What do I actually pay?
Your deductible. That is the number in your policy and it does not change based on who does the work. We bill your carrier for the balance, including the recoverable depreciation once the job is signed off.
Someone offered to waive my deductible. Is that allowed?
No. Waiving, absorbing or rebating a deductible is insurance fraud in both North Carolina and South Carolina, and it is a bright line rather than a grey area. A contractor willing to defraud your insurer on the first day is telling you something useful about the rest of the job.
My claim was denied. Is that the end of it?
Often not. Denials frequently rest on a scope the adjuster could see from the ladder rather than on the whole roof. If our report shows damage the inspection missed, we document the gap and you can request a re-inspection — plenty of the roofs we build started as a denial.
How long does the whole process take?
Typically two to six weeks from inspection to build, most of which is waiting on the carrier rather than on us. An emergency tarp happens immediately and does not wait on any of it.
Will filing raise my premium?
Weather claims are generally treated differently from at-fault claims, but that is your insurer's decision and not ours. Ask your agent directly before you file. Anyone in a truck who tells you flatly that it will not is guessing with your money.
Get the report before you call your carrier
Free, documented, and yours to keep whichever way the claim goes.