What you receive
An independent roof inspection gives you a dated report on the condition of your roof, written by somebody who is not repairing it and is not working for your carrier. Each slope is dealt with separately, every finding is located on a plan and photographed close and in context, and the cause of each one is described as far as the roof actually allows. Where the evidence does not settle a question, the report says so in the same plain words it uses for everything else.
It is worth being clear about what that buys you. It does not buy a better answer. It buys an answer that nobody had a reason to shade. When the report says a slope shows age rather than impact, there was nothing in it for us in saying anything different, and a reader can weigh the whole document knowing that.
What we do, and who takes it from there
We inspect roofs and we write documents. That is our own work, and it is where the evidence in a claim comes from. Where a claim needs somebody to act for you, we introduce you to a partner licensed in your state, a public adjuster or an attorney as the dispute requires, and they take the file and work with you directly. What is covered is decided by your policy and your carrier, and nothing we write is legal, financial or insurance advice.
We do not bid the repair, take a fee from the contractor who does, or keep a list of roofing firms to send you to, because a report attached to a bid stops being evidence. We do not open up the roof, we do not walk a slope that is unsafe, and we do not write findings for a slope we could not reach.
When people book one
After a decision that does not match what the owner can see. After an adjuster walked part of the roof and not the rest. After a contractor and a carrier have described the same roof in ways that cannot both be true. Sometimes before any of that, when an owner simply wants to know the state of the roof from somebody with no stake in it.
If the dispute is really about the wording of your policy rather than the condition of the roof, another inspection may not be what you need, and we will tell you so before you book one.
Common questions
What actually makes an inspection independent?
Who is paying, and what they stand to gain. Most roof inspections are done either by a contractor who hopes to do the work or by an adjuster engaged by the insurance company.
- Neither is dishonest by nature, but both have an interest in the answer
- The adjuster's scope and pricing follow that company's guidelines
- We are not doing the repair, so a longer list of findings earns us nothing
- Our fee does not move with what your carrier pays
- That is the whole of the claim, and it does not make us right
What it means is that when the report says a slope showed ordinary wear, there was nothing in it for us in saying anything else. A reader can weigh the document knowing that, which is the only thing independence really buys you.
If you do not do the repair, who fixes the roof?
A contractor you choose, and you choose them without us in the room. The report is written to be handed to any roofer.
- Findings are located on a plan and every close photograph has a wider one
- The repair scope names the work in line items with quantities
- Two companies can quote the same job, so you can compare what comes back
- We take no fee from a roofing contractor and keep no list of firms
- Verify any contractor's license and get insurance confirmation from the agent
That is deliberate. Once a report is attached to one company's bid a reader weighs it as a sales document, which is exactly the problem an independent look is meant to solve. Get the full scope and payment schedule in writing, and be careful with anyone who wants your signature on the day they knock.
Is this the same as asking my carrier for a reinspection?
No. A reinspection is arranged by your carrier and written by someone the carrier engaged. What we produce is a document in your file, written by someone you engaged.
- A reinspection puts another document in the carrier's file
- They are not alternatives and many owners end up with both
- The second often follows the first, because a report lands differently than a complaint
- Ask for a reinspection in writing, quote the claim number, say what is new
- Ask whether your own roofer may be present
Whether the carrier agrees, and what it does afterwards, is between you and them, and we do not attend as your representative. If you want somebody there in that role, say so and we will introduce you to a partner who holds the license for it in your state.
Will you act for me in dealing with my insurer?
Not in person, but this is a shorter road than it sounds. We inspect roofs, document damage and write the report, and we hold no adjuster license ourselves.
- Where a claim needs somebody to act for you, we introduce you to a partner
- That partner is a licensed public adjuster or an attorney in your state
- They take the file and handle the correspondence, the paperwork and the argument
- In many states a contractor may price work but not negotiate a settlement
- Confirm the license, the fee terms and the cancellation clause before you sign
The introduction is part of what we do rather than a door closing. What is covered is decided by your policy and your carrier, nothing we write is legal, financial or insurance advice, and your deadlines are set in your policy and in your carrier's letter.
What if you find less damage than my roofer did?
Then that is what the report says, and you should want a report capable of saying it. Two people can walk the same roof and write it differently without either lying.
- A contractor with an eye to replacing reads a worn slope as failing
- Somebody with nothing to sell reads the same slope as worn
- The difference sits in the ambiguous findings, not the obvious ones
- A weak file fails at the worst moment, after you have spent on it
- We tell you on the phone before you read a report that disappoints
You are better off hearing it from us than from an adjuster. We will explain exactly what the roof showed and what it did not, and whether there is still a claim worth pursuing is a matter for your policy, your carrier and any adviser you bring in.