Denied or underpaid roof insurance claims

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Evidence built to be read by somebody who was not there

Roof damage documentation assembled for a reader who will never stand on your roof: dated, located, photographed at two distances, and honest about what it does not show.

Book an inspectionSee what is included

Hands holding a clipboard with an insurance form

What is included

A plan with the elevations named

A simple drawing of the roof with each slope labelled, so a finding has an address rather than a description like over the back bedroom.

Two photographs for every finding

One close enough to see the thing and one far enough back to place it. A close shot on its own tells a reader what, never where.

Scale in the frame

A rule, a chalk mark or a coin beside anything where size is part of the point, because nothing else in a photograph of a roof gives a sense of size.

Dates that travel with the files

The date of the visit on the document and the capture date in the image files themselves, delivered as originals rather than as copies pulled out of a message.

Plain words for each finding

What it is, what it appears to have been caused by, what that points to for the roof, and how confident we are, in sentences without jargon.

A written statement of the gaps

Slopes not reached, areas covered, material we were given rather than saw, and findings the roof does not settle either way.

How it works

  1. Tell us who will read it

    A carrier, a contractor, a lender, an attorney or a buyer. It does not change the findings, but it changes how much has to be spelled out.

  2. Send us what you already have

    Your own photographs, any earlier report, the estimate and the letters. Material you hold is listed as yours rather than presented as ours.

  3. We inspect and record

    Every slope that can be reached safely, each finding numbered, located and photographed at two distances as we go.

  4. We assemble the document

    The plan, the findings in order, the photograph log, the statement of limits and the repair scope, arranged to be read front to back.

  5. We hand it over and explain it

    A call to walk you through the structure, so you know what each section is for before anybody else reads it.

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What decides the price

Roof size and complexity
A larger roof and a roof of many separate planes both take longer to walk, and a plan with a dozen labelled elevations takes longer to draw than one with two.
Number of findings
Every finding is numbered, located, described and photographed twice, so the count of findings drives the length of the job more than anything else.
Access and pitch
Height, pitch and the route up decide the equipment, and that is settled before the visit rather than on the day.
Interior and attic work
Recording water paths inside the building adds time on site and a section to the document.
Material to organize
Sorting and listing photographs, reports and letters you already hold takes time, and doing it properly is what stops the file falling apart later.
Depth of the document
A photograph log with short notes and a full report with a plan, a written account of each finding and a repair scope are different pieces of work.

We price the job after we know these. We do not publish a rate that ignores them, because it would be wrong for most buildings.

What you receive

Roof damage documentation is a file rather than an opinion. It opens with the plain facts of the visit, then a drawing of the roof with the elevations named, then the findings one at a time, numbered and placed on that drawing. Each finding carries a close photograph and a wider one, scale in the frame where size is part of the point, a description in ordinary words and a note of what the conclusion rests on. The image files arrive as originals with their capture dates intact, not as copies pulled out of a message.

Then a section most documents leave out: what we did not see. Slopes not reached and why, areas covered over, material you gave us rather than evidence we gathered, and findings the roof genuinely does not settle. That section is not a weakness in the file. It is the part that makes the rest of it credible to a stranger.

What we do, and what we hand on

We inspect roofs and we write documents. The file is evidence, built so that it can be put in front of anybody. Where the claim needs somebody to act for you, we introduce you to a licensed partner in your state, a public adjuster or an attorney, and the file goes with you to them. What is covered is decided by your policy and your carrier, and nothing we write is legal, financial or insurance advice.

We do not describe a finding we did not see, we do not present your photographs as ours, and we do not date a loss the roof cannot date. We do not bid the repair work either, so nothing in the file is a case for a job we want.

When people use it

Usually when a decision has already gone the wrong way and the reason given describes a roof the owner does not recognize. Often the original file was thin: a short visit, part of the roof, a handful of photographs with no scale and no location, and nothing written down about what was not examined. A decision made on that is a decision made on very little.

Sometimes it is simpler than that. An owner is about to hand the claim to a licensed public adjuster or an attorney, often one we introduced them to, and wants the evidence in a state somebody else can pick up and use. Either way the job is the same: build a record that holds together in the hands of a reader who will never see your roof.

Common questions

Who is the documentation actually written for?

Somebody who was not there, has never seen your house, and will read it once. That might be an adjuster at a desk, a reviewer months later, a contractor in another state, a lender or a buyer.

  • They have no reason to give you the benefit of the doubt
  • They have no way to ask a follow up question
  • Findings are numbered and elevations labeled so a location means something
  • Every close photograph has a wider one beside it, and scale goes in the frame
  • Dates travel in the image files, and each finding says what it rests on

It is also why the limits are written down. A reader who finds a gap you disclosed keeps reading, and a reader who finds a gap you concealed stops trusting the rest, by which time you are not there to explain.

What makes a photograph usable as evidence?

Four things, and most roof photographs fail on at least one: context, scale, a reliable date, and honesty about what the picture is.

  • A close shot of a fractured shingle proves only that one exists somewhere
  • Pair it with a wider shot showing the slope and the position
  • Put a rule, a chalk circle or a coin beside anything where size matters
  • Keep original files with their capture data, not screenshots or messaging app copies
  • A shot taken from a ladder is labeled as taken from a ladder

Do the same with your own images. Photographs you took before anyone arrived are often the most valuable material in the file, and they keep that value only if their dates and origins are clear.

Should I keep taking my own photographs as well?

Yes, and keep them separately from ours. Your photographs show the property at moments we were not present for, which is something ours cannot do.

  • Pictures taken the morning after the weather often record a condition now gone
  • Shoot from the ground, from a window and from inside where water appeared
  • Do not climb to get a picture
  • Keep original files, because sending through a message usually strips the date
  • Photograph anything you are about to cover or repair, before you do it

Write down what you saw and when on the same day, including what a neighbor or a contractor said, and keep a log of every call and letter in one place. Keep your material and ours in separate folders, so it is always clear who took what.

Does documentation prove when the damage happened?

Not by itself, and we will not write a sentence that suggests otherwise. What an inspection establishes is the condition of the roof on the day we stood on it.

  • A report can describe how fresh something appears, because materials weather in describable ways
  • A recent fracture looks different from an old one to a trained reader
  • Those are observations about appearance, not a date
  • Dating a loss rests on your own record, dated photographs and public weather data
  • An earlier report showing a different state helps even when it found nothing

Our report says what the roof shows and how confident we are, and leaves the question of when to the material that can actually answer it. How much weight any of it carries is for your policy and your carrier.

Can you send the documentation to my carrier for me?

Not as your representative, though there is a way to get it done. We hand the file to you and it stays yours.

  • Our own work is the inspection and the document, nothing more
  • Where you would rather somebody else handled the correspondence, we introduce you to a partner
  • That partner is a licensed public adjuster or an attorney in your state
  • Whoever sends it, send the whole thing, limits section included
  • Keep a complete copy of what went and the date it went

A file arriving with the limits removed reads as a sales piece and invites the scrutiny you do not want. Confirm any license with your state insurance department before you sign, what is covered is decided by your policy and your carrier, and nothing in the file is legal, financial or insurance advice.

Read more on this

  • Claim lawyers

    When a roof damage claim needs a lawyer rather than better documentation, how property claim lawyers usually work, and what to do before you engage one.

  • Hail claim attorneys

    When a hail damage claim needs an attorney, how roof claim attorneys usually charge, what to prepare first and what evidence has to exist before anyone can act.

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