What Happens After I Decide to File an Insurance Claim?
- 4D Roofing & Restoration
- 5 days ago
- 3 min read
So you’ve had your roof inspected and storm damage was identified… what happens now?
We understand that the decison to file a homeowners insurance claim can feel overwhelming and filled with uncertainty. At 4D Roofing & Restoration we remind ourselves that while we handle claims like this every day, for our customer there is a lot riding on a successful outcome.
We want our customers to be completely prepared for each step of the process. That said, here's what happens in the days after you decide to file an insurance claim.
Call your insurance company to report the claim.
We’ll provide their claims phone number for ease of access, but many carriers also allow for claim reporting online via a portal.
If you have your policy number available that can be helpful, but the insurance company can look your file up with just the address. (This call generally takes just 5-10 minutes)
Tell them that you decided to have your roof assessed and that your contractor identified storm related damage.
(Your annotated roof report will have additional details on what type of damage was found, Ie; Hail, Wind, etc.)
They will give you a claim number and let you know that someone else will be reaching out to schedule a time to look at your roof and any other damage.
The physical inspection of your property is known as an insurance adjustment and is often performed by a third party, such as an independent adjuster, inspection service or even in some cases a roofing company that works for the insurance company.
They will usually reach out within 24 hours of your filing the claim and will schedule a time that works well for this adjustment.
They will perform a physical inspection of the property (Insurance Adjustment)
When they reach out to schedule, we’ll coordinate with you to ensure that we are there for this inspection. We will make sure that everything we identified during our initial visit is properly documented.
We are not insurance adjusters… we are a Licensed Florida Roofing Contractor… as such, we are specifically qualified to discuss damage to your home, repairability, product availability, code requirements, manufacturer requirements, and construction best practices.
These are the issues at hand and are what actually drives the decison making process on wether a roof should be repaired, replaced or what other measures should be taken.
The desk adjuster (Insurance Office Staff) will review the field report.
Insurance companies generally take the report that the field adjuster creates, assess their findings and then make a coverage determination.
What happens in between each of these different claim stages is where the contractor you choose to work with often makes the biggest difference.
An experienced, qualified roofing professional will reach out to your desk adjuster immediately after the claim has been filed in order to open a dialogue, they will provide your adjuster with information about the roof such as age, material type, condition, the types of damage that was documented, and feasibility of repair.
They should also be prepared to provide address specific weather reports for the storm date that affected your home and area around it.
Perhaps most importantly, they should be keeping you in the loop throughout the process.
At 4D Roofing & Restoration, we look at the claim process differently.
By taking a proactive approach, coordinating with the insurance company's representatives in a professional way, making ourselves available for their questions, concerns and feedback and then bringing that information back to our homeowner, we have found that the whole process runs a lot smoother and what can often be a stressful experience... becomes less so.
For more information on the claims process, our Q&A section is a great resource.
Of course, we're happy to answer any of your questions anytime... just give us a call.
407.205.2585
Comments