How does a roof insurance claim work in Kentucky? Step by step

After a storm, the damage is usually the easy part to see. The hard part is the claim: the paperwork, the waiting, and the language nobody explains.

I spent 15 years in insurance before I started roofing, as a State Farm agent and then as the owner of an independent brokerage. Here’s how a roof claim actually works, in the order it happens, and what I’d pay attention to at each step.

What should I do first after a storm?

Take pictures. Get photos and video of anything you can see from the ground: shingles in the yard, dented gutters and downspouts, damaged siding, water stains on ceilings. Your phone puts a date on them, which helps.

Stay off the roof. It’s not worth the fall, and a trained inspector will find more than you will anyway.

If water is getting in, stop it. Your policy expects you to take reasonable steps to keep the damage from getting worse, so get a tarp on it and keep every receipt.

Should I call my insurance company or a roofer first?

This is one of those places where the details matter.

Asking your insurance company to send an adjuster opens a claim. If the adjuster finds nothing worth paying, that’s a zero-paid claim, and it still goes in your claim history. It can affect your insurance score, and it counts toward your claim frequency when the carrier looks at your policy at renewal. Other carriers see that history when you shop, too.

So it usually makes sense to have a roofer inspect first. If there’s no real storm damage, you haven’t opened anything. If there is, you’ll know what you’re filing for and roughly what it costs.

There’s one exception: if water is coming in or part of the roof is gone, call your insurance company right away. I go through both cases in should I call my insurance company or a roofer first?

What happens when I file?

Have your policy number, the date of the storm, and a short description of the damage ready. Ask three questions while you have them on the phone: what’s my deductible for this, what happens next and when, and what do you need from me.

Check your policy for deadlines on reporting a loss. Don’t sit on it for months.

What happens when the adjuster comes out?

The carrier sends an adjuster to inspect the property and write up the damage. Be there if you can. Point out everything you photographed.

It helps to have your roofer there too. If you want us there, we’ll meet the adjuster, walk the roof with them, and make sure they see what we documented. The adjuster works for the insurance company and makes the call on what’s covered. Our job is making sure nothing gets missed because nobody pointed it out.

How do I read the insurance estimate?

After the inspection you’ll get the carrier’s decision and an estimate, sometimes called the scope of loss. It lists what they’ll pay for, line by line.

Read it against what you and your roofer saw. Then look for two numbers, because there’s a pretty big difference between them:

• Replacement cost value (RCV): what it costs to replace the damaged roof today.
• Actual cash value (ACV): the replacement cost minus depreciation for age and wear.

On a replacement cost policy, the first check is often the actual cash value. The rest, called recoverable depreciation, is paid after the work is done and you send proof. On an actual cash value policy, the depreciation is gone for good.

If something on your roof isn’t in the estimate, the carrier can take another look. If you want us to, we’ll send them our photos and measurements. What they decide is up to them.

Do I need more than one estimate?

You don’t have to, but it’s reasonable to get two or three, especially on a big job. Compare what’s included, not just the bottom line. A cheaper bid that leaves out flashing or ventilation isn’t cheaper.

On an approved claim, our price matches the approved scope, so you pay your deductible and nothing more for the covered work.

Who gets the insurance check?

If you have a mortgage, the check is often made out to you and your lender. That’s normal. Your lender may have its own process for releasing the money, so call them early and ask how it works.

What happens when the job is done?

Walk the finished job with your roofer before you sign off. Get the final invoice and completion photos, because your carrier usually needs them to release any recoverable depreciation. Then file away your warranties: the manufacturer’s warranty on the materials and the contractor’s warranty on the installation.

If you want, we handle the communication with your carrier along the way, so you’re not the one chasing paperwork. If you’d rather deal with them yourself, that’s fine too. Here’s more on how we handle storm damage claims.