Insurance Claims Process Step-by-Step

Step 1 – Contact Integrity Roofing & Painting for your complimentary inspection and honest assessment.

Step 2 – Filing the Claim

The claim handler will assign a claim number and a claims adjuster.

Write this number down as it will be very important throughout the entire process. It may take several days to obtain the name and contact information of your adjuster. Be sure to ask for his or her cell phone or direct contact number when he or she calls to schedule the inspection meeting. Contact your Integrity Roofing and Painting, LLC representative and provide the adjuster’s name, contact info and appointment time. Your insurance company may ask you to meet with multiple contractors and gather three inspections. You could invest your time assisting the insurance company in getting the lowest price. The result is the insurance company keeps the savings. You get a cheaper roof! Integrity will discuss with the insurance carrier a fair insurance re-roof settlement. You will get the highest quality roof system with Integrity Roofing and Painting, LLC.

Step 3 – Adjuster Meeting to Assess Damages

Measurements and photos of the roof and other damages will be taken at that time. Whenever possible, your Integrity Roofing and Painting, LLC representative will provide a satellite imaged, engineered report detailing the roof measurements (click for example report) to your adjuster. We do our job well so you can still make it to yours with confidence that you will be expertly represented during the initial inspection.

Step 4 – Ensuring a Fair Settlement

Most insurance carriers use Xactimate pricing software to determine the fair market price of your roof replacement. To simplify matters, Integrity Roofing and Painting, LLC also uses Xactimate to generate our inspection for your project, so the pricing per unit should be the same as your insurance carrier. When you receive the adjuster’s claim summary we will compare it to our own to make sure nothing has been omitted from the scope of the project. If there is a difference in our inspection and that of the insurance company’s inspection, it will be solely on the scope of the project, not per unit pricing.

In the event that there is a discrepancy between our assessment of the scope of the repairs needed to restore your home to pre-storm condition and their assessment of the same, our insurance liaison will discuss the difference with the insurance company on your behalf. (You will not need a crash course in roofing components and measurements to try to explain why omitted key items are necessary in the replacement of your roof.) In most cases this will be a simple process of faxing or emailing them our inspection and calling them to discuss the differences. We are very familiar with what each insurance company is currently approving and do not submit frivolous supplements that delay your new roof installation. That would be a disservice to all parties.

That being said, certain insurance companies are less willing to fund key components of your new roof. A quick phone call from you may be helpful. If that happens, we will discuss our options and develop the best plan of action for your claim situation. Once the negotiation process has been completed, the insurance company will release a supplemental check to cover the additional amount that was determined through negotiations with the insurance representative.

Occasionally a fair settlement is not able to be reached through negotiations. In this case, insurance appraisal is an option. Click here to learn more about the appraisal process.

Step 5 – Funding

The initial check may seem small compared to the full amount of the roof. There are two reasons for this- your deductible and the depreciation. Most homeowners choose the Replacement Cost coverage type of policy over the Actual Cost Value policy. If you have a replacement cost policy, at the proper time we will facilitate the recovery of the depreciation initially withheld by the insurance company. Recovery of depreciation is done after the work has been completed. The deductible is the portion withheld by the insurance company that will not be paid out to you at any time.

The deductible is your co-pay, which you will pay to Integrity Roofing and Painting, LLC. The full cost of the roof replacement is the sum of the first insurance check, your deductible, the amount of depreciation and any approved supplements. Learn more about the insurance deductible.

Step 6 – Installation of Roof

Step 7 – Recovering the Depreciation

Mortgage companies may require their own inspection before they endorse and release the depreciation back to you. Integrity Roofing and Painting, LLC does not handle this detail, so be sure to ask them about scheduling inspections and additional paperwork required when you contact them initially for their endorsement procedures.

Buyer Beware- If you have been approached by a contractor with a lower bid than the amount allowed on your insurance loss statement, your insurance company will not allow you to keep those savings. They will lower their price to match the contractor’s. Either you or that contractor would have to provide a false invoice to the insurance carrier to recover the full depreciation. Otherwise, the difference in the lower price and the original will be deducted from the final depreciation check. Insurance companies are not in the habit of overfunding roof replacements. If a contractor has offered to lie to your insurance company on the real price of the roof, he is including you as a counterpart to insurance fraud. The State of Colorado has clearly defined this as illegal in Senate Bill 38 that was adopted into law.

Step 8 – Making the Final Payment