You followed all the steps necessary to protect your home and claim repairs with your homeowner’s insurance, yet the claim was denied. You now want to do your homework and check if disputing the claim is possible and recommended for your case. We’re here to help you with your roof damage, documenting the process for you from start to finish.

This article will shed light on why some roof insurance claims are denied, how you can get roofing claim help, how to dispute the insurance claim so that you can get your roof repaired, and why it is important to work with roof repair contractors before continuing down this process.

How Roof Damage Insurance Claims Should Work

Before we go into how to dispute your claim, this is how a roof repair insurance claim should go.

Parties Involved: When you file a claim, the approval process involves several parties of people. You, the homeowner, as well as a professional roof contractor, and an insurance company representative. Every party is important to the process.

Step One: Before calling your insurance company, you need to verify what is included in your insurance policy. Once you’ve verified that your repair is covered through your insurance policy manual (available through your online login in most cases), you need to bring in someone to provide a roof repair quote. Champion Restoration & Construction can provide you an accurate repair estimate. If this estimate is higher than the cost of your deductible, you are in a great place to file for a damaged roof insurance claim. Have your contractor take photos of the damage for your records during their estimate.

Step Two: Now, call your insurance company and schedule an appointment. Your insurance adjuster will verify the damage even if you have an assessment already. This is why a reputable roof contractor is important, so you don’t get surprised by inaccurate quotes. You will get a homeowner summary of damages within the week. This is when you will find out if your claim is improved.

Step Three: If you are approved, you will receive your first check. This first check will cover only half of the amount needed for your roof repair (separate from your deductible). With this approval, you have a set amount of time to complete the work with your contractor. We are happy to meet this schedule for you!

Step Four:  After the contractor completes the work, you will send in documentation to your insurance company showing that you paid for the rest of the repairs. The second check will then be made and sent to you for the remaining balance.

Why Roof Claims May Be Denied: Four Reasons

There is always a reason for a denied roof insurance claim. Understanding the reason will help you figure out if you can dispute it and how. Here are four common reasons. If you think your insurance adjustor was incorrect based on the below instances, you may be able to dispute your roof claim.

Reason #1: Your damage does not meet the requirements in your policy.

This may be the case or the insurance adjuster did not catch all of the damage. If that is true, your insurance thought the policy claim was not valid when it could have been. Look carefully at the information in your policy to verify which case it could be and confirm with your contractor what may be different between both inspections. Certain types of damages may be limited or excluded from coverage depending on where you live and your policy, such as wildfire damage or earthquakes, which may be why the claim was not covered even if the estimate was correct.

Reason #2: Your claim estimate is lower than your deductible.

There are multiple kinds of deductions in your policy, such as wind or hail damage. If the estimated cost your insurance provided is different than the estimate from your contractor, the adjuster could also have missed something that your contractor saw, similar to reason #1.

Reason #3: The damage was gradual.

This makes your roof damage claim more “wear and tear” and then not covered by your homeowner insurance policy. Your policy does not cover regular maintenance to your home and roof.

Reason #4: Your roof is too old.

Unfortunately, if your roof has exceeded its expected age and regular damage allotments, your roof damage insurance claim may be denied because you need to replace the roof entirely.

How to Dispute a Roof Insurance Denial

If you believe your insurance claim was denied when it shouldn’t have, there are a few steps to take to dispute your roof claim and your contractor can help with this process.

Step 1: Reach out to file a dispute with your insurance provider. During this process, you will file an appeal and ask for a resolution date. This process can be longer than your initial claim.

Step 2: Have the roof re-inspected with both the insurance adjuster and your Champion Restoration & Construction roof repair associate with you. With all three parties together, you can compare the damage and possibly find what was overlooked during the initial claim. It’s possible they won’t want to schedule the re-inspection until they see additional photos of the damage, which is why it’s important to have your reputable roof repair contractor take photos during that initial inspection. It’s possible the photos are enough to have the claim approved. If not, have your contractor with you during the second inspection.

Step 3: Wait to hear back. If the deadline you asked for is passed, you can reach back out to your insurer. If the appeal is denied, you can still dispute with your insurer. There are options to explore with your company’s management team and/or you can file a complaint at your state’s regulatory agency.

Hire a Roof Repair Contractor

To secure the help you need in this process, hire a professional roof repair contractor from Champion Restoration & Construction. We will help you determine the amount of damage on your roof and provide you with the paperwork and photos you need to work with your insurance adjuster. Should you need to file a dispute against a roof denial, we are also available to help compare the rate they provided versus ours.

Contact Champion Restoration & Construction for your free roof repair consultation prior to filing your insurance claim and get the peace of mind you need for this process.