Guide
How a roof claim actually works
The outcome of a claim is usually decided in the first forty-eight hours, before an adjuster has been anywhere near the property.
Get it looked at
Three questions, and up to three Anaheim contractors. Free either way.
Your request is in.
We are matching it now against roofing contractors working in Anaheim and the surrounding area.
- Today, usually within the hour. The first contractor calls or texts the number you gave us. ASAP requests go out first.
- Up to three of them, no more. We cap it at three so you can compare without your phone melting.
- They come and look. Estimates are given after somebody has been on the roof, not over the phone.
- You decide, or you do not. There is nothing to cancel and nothing to pay us.
If you do not hear anything today, check your voicemail and spam folder — contractors often call from a mobile number.
Read anything before you sign it
An assignment of benefits hands control of your claim to a contractor. There are legitimate uses for it and it is also the single most common way homeowners lose control of a claim. Never sign one on the doorstep.
Stop further damage, and keep the receipts
Policies expect you to take reasonable steps to prevent things getting worse, and they generally reimburse the cost of doing so. Tarps, emergency call-outs, a temporary patch. Keep every receipt.
Get an independent assessment first
Filing a claim that turns out to be under your deductible costs you nothing but is on your record anyway. Find out the scale of the damage before you pick up the phone.
Photograph everything, immediately
Wide shots that show the house, close shots that show the damage, and pictures of the inside where water came through. Dated, before anybody touches anything. An adjuster can work with photographs; they cannot work with a description.
Mind the deadline
Report promptly even if you have not decided what to do. The clock in the policy runs from the date of the event, not the date you noticed.
Know what your policy actually pays
The two clauses that decide the cheque are the settlement basis and the deductible. Some policies also carry a separate, larger deductible for wind and hail.
In short
Document first, mitigate second, file third. In that order it usually goes smoothly; in any other order it usually does not.
Related questions
I have solar panels. What happens to them?
They come off and go back on, and that is a separate cost, often handled by the solar installer rather than the roofer. If the roof is near the end of its life, do the roof first — removing and refitting panels twice is money wasted.
Do you handle commercial buildings?
We do. It is a different set of contractors — commercial and low-slope work is a separate trade from residential re-roofing — so answering the property question accurately matters.
Do I need a permit?
Yes, in nearly every jurisdiction a re-roof is permitted work. A contractor who suggests skipping it is telling you something useful about how they work.