How a Roof Insurance Claim Works and What It Covers
What a homeowners policy usually pays for on a storm-hit roof, who makes the call on your claim, and how the damage gets written down so the claim can stand on it.
Free, no-obligation estimates. We answer the phone or call back the same working day.
What Insurance Usually Covers
Insurance usually pays for damage from storms and other sudden events, while damage from age or ordinary wear and tear is often not covered.
That line between sudden and gradual is the question behind most roof claims. Your policy wording settles the details, so read it beside anything a roofer tells you.
Usually covered
- Shingles torn off or lifted by wind in a storm
- Hail damage to the roofing
- A limb or debris that came down on the roof
- Other sudden events that open the roof up
Often not covered
- A roof that has simply worn out with age
- Ordinary wear, such as "granule loss", the grit washing off old shingles into the gutters
- A slow leak that built up over seasons of rain
Who Decides the Claim
Your insurer decides the claim, not your roofer: whether the damage is covered, whether the claim is approved and what it pays.
A roofer's part is the evidence. We get on the roof, show you what we find and put the repair in writing, and that record goes to the insurer with your claim.
So be wary of anyone who promises that a claim will be paid. That promise is not a roofer's to make.
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Your insurer
Weighs that evidence against your policy and gives the final answer.
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Your roofer
Gets on the roof, photographs the damage, separates it from older wear and prices the repair.
We quote the whole job before we start, with no surprise charges after.
Documenting Roof Damage for a Claim
A useful damage report photographs what the storm did and keeps it apart from the wear the roof already had.
Insurance pays for the storm, not for age, so a report that blurs the two leaves every shingle open to argument. A good one carries these:
- Photos of the damage taken up on the roof, not only from the yard
- Storm damage set apart from older, pre-existing wear
- Before and after photos of any repair
- The hidden layers, such as the "underlayment" and the "roof deck", photographed while they are open
Windstorm Insurance on the Texas Coast
On the Texas coast, a property has to meet building standards to get windstorm insurance, and the state checks those standards through its windstorm inspections.
The program that does the checking is the Texas Department of Insurance: Windstorm Inspections, and its pages explain what is inspected and when.
If your windstorm coverage depends on that inspection, ask your agent how a repair or a new roof fits it before the work starts, not after. It is far easier to plan the job around the standard than to fix the paperwork later.
After a Storm
The first jobs after a storm are getting the damage on record and getting the roof covered, before the next rain makes it worse.
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First
Photograph it
The roofer assesses the damage and photographs it, so the record shows the roof the way the storm left it.
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Then
Cover it
The opening is stabilized, often with a tarp, to keep water out of the decking and the rooms below.
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After that
Repair it
A tarp only holds until the permanent repair, and that repair gets priced in writing before anyone starts it.
If your windstorm policy is with the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association (TWIA), its site has guidance on reporting a claim and on temporary repairs.
Storm just opened up your roof?
What our customers say about the work
These are our Google reviews, as our customers wrote them.
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Chilo was super quick to respond and come by for a quote. I only needed minor repairs, but the work was done quickly (within the day) and for a fair price.
Google review -
I am so happy I called IH roofing. My new roof looks great. I called 5 roofing companies and the bid from IH roofing was very competitive. $1000's less than the big companies. I told them my need was dire and they put me right into their calendar. They worked from 8am to dark and had my roof completed in under two days. The crew was courteous and they left my yard cleaner than they found it. I recommend I H roofing without any hesitation.
Google review -
Professional and did an outstanding job on replacing shingles and bad areas that was found on my roof. I highly recommend IH Roofing.
Google review
Want the damage on record before you call your insurer?
Call and we come out anywhere in Beaumont and the towns around it, get on the roof and show you what the storm did.
Free, no-obligation estimates, and we show up when we say we will.