How to File an Insurance Claim

Due to the volatile nature of the weather here in Texas, most of our residential roofing projects involve insurance claims.  Storm and hail damage cause a significant amount of damage to shingles and loss of life to roofs and other personal property here in North Texas.  At Caliber Roofing, we’ve negotiated millions of dollars in insurance claims last year alone.

Helpful Hints for Insurance Claims

• The Texas Department of Insurance recommends that your roofing contractor be present when your insurance adjustor arrives to inspect your home and roof.  Insurance adjustors are often deployed for a specific “catastrophe,” have many appointments, and are thus, very busy.  They may inadvertently miss or overlook an important aspect of your claim.
• Once an adjustor has performed their inspection, they issue a proposal to the homeowner that should act as a guide for handling the claim.  This is not a final settlement and in certain cases it is necessary to resubmit a counter proposal or call for a re-inspection if the type or scope of work differs significantly.
• Your insurance company cannot cancel your policy or raise your rates for having to file a claim against your homeowner’s policy
• Often, insurance carriers will ask you to get three estimates for roof repair or replacement.  This is not necessarily in your best interest.  Though there are certain contractors that can do work for less than the fair market price, often someone must cut corners somewhere to make a profit.  The savings by accepting a lower than market value bid is not money that can be applied towards your deductible.  The savings is passed on to the insurance company.

When you call your insurance company, it is helpful to have a few things handy:

• Your policy number (they can look you up if you don’t have it)
• Date of loss (we can help you determine the date of the storm if you do not remember)
• Type of loss (ask that you want someone to come take a look at your roof for damage)
• A copy of your policy (this should help you determine the type of damage your insurance covers and your deductible or the amount for which you are responsible)

You do not have to have an estimate.  It is your insurance company’s responsibility to send a licensed adjustor to you home to do an inspection.  We recommend that you have us come out and meet with your adjustor in case there is a disagreement on the damage or scope of work.  We have years of experience negotiating with insurance carriers and have your best interest in mind when doing so.

The following numbers are the claims lines for the major Texas area insurance carriers