Roof repairs, while necessary to your comfort and your home’s long-term stability, can become expensive fairly quickly. Insurance can certainly help, but are you sure your policy covers everything you’ll need? Sometimes the fine print hides crucial exclusions or stringent rules that make filing a claim difficult.
Fortunately, there are several steps you can take to cooperate with your insurance provider and get repairs covered during an emergency event. Even if they can’t or won’t cover the entire job, following their preferred procedure will ensure you get a good amount of your money back. Let’s take a look at what to do to begin filing an insurance claim for roof damages.
How do you begin filing an insurance claim when a storm damages your roof? Learn a few important steps to take here. Click To Tweet
Read Your Policy in Detail
Before you actually buy an insurance policy, read it in detail and make sure you know exactly what’s covered and what’s not. But by now, you’ve probably already had this policy for a while and want to take advantage of it. It still pays to read your policy carefully for any conditions or stipulations you may not have known about. For instance, several policies depend on the age of your roof. While some may cover up to 20 years, some policies expire after 10 years. You’re better off just replacing the entire damaged roof in a case like that.
Document Everything
As soon as it’s safe to do so, take a look at your roof’s interior and exterior. Take pictures of any sign of damage, even if it seems minor, for your insurance company to investigate. Label each picture with the date, time, and a brief explanation of what you noticed that concerned you.
Pro Tip: While you can certainly perform a cursory inspection of the damage, your insurance company is likely to take an expert’s opinion more seriously. Have a local roofing contractor inspect the damages and send your provider a detailed report.
Call Your Insurance Agent
Now that you have the relevant information from your policy and the documentation of damages, it’s time to contact your insurance company and begin the claim process. Continue to document any and all information they give you as you work through the problem. Your roofing company should be involved in this process as well to provide their estimate of repair costs and help advocate for you during the claim.
Insurance for Your Woodlands Roof
Don’t wait for your home or roof to suffer storm damage before pursuing quality insurance coverage. Even better, if you already have good insurance, take the time to study your coverage in detail and speak with an agent about any potential concerns. Waiting till an emergency situation to start learning how to file a claim for roof damage is perhaps one of the worst things a homeowner can do.
Join the conversation to learn more about filing a roof claim and protecting your home.