Independent Roof Inspections

BENEFITS OF AN INDEPENDENT ROOF INSPECTION

Unbiased assessment of your roof condition.
Identification of roof covering issues and their cause.
Avoid filing claims for minor damage which can cost you thousands of dollars.
Limit the number of homeowner claims filed which will help keep premiums low.
Help you decide if you should pursue an active insurance claim before you hire a public adjuster or start the appraisal process.
Prevent delays and a lost sale when selling your home by addressing roof issues before putting your home on the market.

WHEN DO YOU NEED AN INDEPENDENT ROOF INSPECTION?

To avoid filing an insurance claim for minor hail and wind damage.
To verify the condition of the roof covering.
To help you make an informed decision when there is a disagreement between your insurance company and roofing contractor.
Prior to selling your home to avoid delays.

Avoid Filing Claims for Minor Damage

There can be a decent financial penalty for filing an insurance claim for relatively minor hail damage. When you file a hail claim and your insurance estimate only includes some minor collateral damage, or a partial shingle replacement, it may end up costing you thousands of dollars. This situation can be avoided with our $150.00 Visual Inspection, which will allow you to make an informed decision whether to file a claim or not. In addition, your annual insurance premium may also increase due to filing claims for minor damage.

EXAMPLE 1: Example 1- Minor Damage.pdf

A homeowner files two hail claims with the same insurance carrier 2 years apart. The first claim is filed for a home with very minor hail damage at the direction of a roofing contractor. The insurance estimate includes roof vents, trim paint, screens, and fence stain, but the work is not completed by the homeowner.

Insurance Estimate: $2,300.00

Insurance Deductible: $2,500.00

Insurance Payout: $0.00

Additional Cost to Homeowner: $2,300.00

How does filing this claim cost the homeowner $2,300.00? The original claim damage of $2,300.00 is lost to the deductible. It's fair to assume that most of these minor hail damages will not be repaired by the homeowner, as they did not receive any money to make the repairs. A year later a second hail storm strikes the home. The insurance estimate will not include those items covered under the first claim that were not repaired/replaced, so those items cannot be used to cover the deductible as they did in the first claim. This essentially means that the homeowner must pay $2,300.00 in addition to the $2,500.00 deductible to have all damages repaired.

EXAMPLE 2: Example 1- Partial Roof.pdf

A homeowner files two hail claims with the same insurance carrier 3 years apart. The first claim is filed for a home with hail damage to the west roof slopes only. The insurance estimate includes to fully replace the west slopes, but the work is not completed by the homeowner.

First Hail Claim:

Insurance Estimate: $4,000.00 - Cost to replace west slopes

Insurance Deductible: $2,500.00

Insurance Payout: $1,500.00

Additional Cost to Homeowner: $2,500.00 - $4,000.00

How does filing the first hail claim potentially cost the homeowner $4,000.00? The insurance carrier will not cover the west slopes under the second claim, so $4,000.00 will have to be paid by the homeowner, in addition to, the $2,500.00 deductible for a full shingle replacement. Assuming they saved $1,500.00 from the first claim payout, they will still have to cover $2,500.00 plus the deductible to have all repairs completed.

Second Hail Claim:

Total Roof Replacement:	$15,000.00
Less Deductible:	-$ 2,500.00
Net Amount:	$11,500.00
Less Prior Claim Amount:	-$ 4,000.00
Insurance Amount Paid:	$ 8,500.00
Homeowner Amount Owed:	$ 6,500.00

In this example, the insurance carrier will only owe $8,500.00 towards a $15,000.00 full shingle replacement, while the homeowner must cover $6,500.00.

High Insurance Deductible

If you have a high insurance deductible, it may make sense to have an independent roof inspector verify if your roof/property sustained enough covered damage from wind or hail to justify filing an insurance claim. It is an understood rule that you do not want to file more claims than necessary. Moreover, minor damage that does not exceed your deductible will not be counted in future claim inspections, so you could be taking money out of your pocket by filing a claim without enough damage. In other words, current damage becomes pre-existing damage that is excluded from coverage in future claims.

Disagreement Between Your Insurance Company and Your Roofing Contractor

A common issue we see as insurance adjusters is when our inspection does not find significant hail damage, yet a roofing contractor salesperson has already convinced a homeowner that the roof covering sustained major hail damage and must be fully replaced. As a homeowner, you are stuck in the middle. Who is correct? Who is being fair and providing honest information? If you see neighbors' shingles being replaced, does that mean your roof is also damaged? If you find yourself in this situation, and your contractor is pushing you to obtain a public adjuster or take your claim to appraisal, both of which will cost you money, then you will most likely benefit from our service. Find out if your roof covering really did sustain weather related-damage, or if the issues are from normal wear and tear or a manufacturer's defect.

Selling Your Home

The Colorado Front Range receives damaging hail and wind every year. These storms often occur when you are not home, and you may not be aware of the damage to your roof covering and other exterior items. UV rays are also very harsh on roof systems, and can cause rapid wear and tear issues when compared to other parts of the country. Having your roof inspected prior to listing your home, or even partnering with a Realtor, will provide you with an accurate analysis of the condition of your roof covering.

When your home is under contract, the prospective buyer will hire a home inspector. In our experience reviewing home inspection reports, some inspectors are trained more than others at identifying hail damage. If they find anything but shingles in near-perfect condition, they will likely recommend you hire a professional to inspect the roof. Their report language often states, "Possible hail damage to roof. Have inspected by a professional." This same recommendation is often used for what turns out to be common wear and tear issues, but the language in the home inspector's report now provides the buyer's roofing contractor with ammunition to push for a full shingle replacement due to hail. This will often force you to file an insurance claim and potentially affect the sale. This can be avoided by an independent inspection that will provide you with a detailed report and photographs of your roof covering. If it is damaged, you can get it fixed before putting your home on the market.

Furthermore, if you are requested to file an insurance claim by the buyer, the insurance adjuster may find hail damage to downspouts, gutters, screens, window frames, siding paint, and fence stain. The buyer may now expect that you have all of these other items replaced or repaired, as the covered damages will be detailed in the insurance estimate. Therefore, in order to sell your home, you must now have many repairs made and pay a deductible. This could be avoided with a pre-emptive inspection by our company. We will provide you with a full understanding of all weather-related damage that would likely be identified by a home inspector or insurance adjuster.

Additional Thoughts on Roofing Contractors

In over a decade of insurance claims experience, we have met with thousands of roofing sales representatives to review damage. As with any profession, some are more ethical than others. Roofing contractors offer free inspections for a reason - to generate inexpensive leads for complete roof covering replacements. In addition, the "expert" that comes to your home will likely be a sales representative with questionable experience, training, and motives.

In general, if you call a roofing contractor to provide a free inspection to help you decide whether to file an insurance claim or not, be prepared to file a claim. Their general philosophy is to let the insurance adjuster decide if damage exists, and as outlined above, this can cost homeowners thousands of dollars if only minor damage is found.

OUR EXPERIENCE

All inspections are completed by professionals with 10+ years of roof inspection experience and are HAAG Engineering certified as a residential roofing inspector.

ROOFING MATERIALS WE EVALUATE

Asphalt Shingles
- Three-tab
- Laminated / Architectural
- T-lock
Concrete Tile
Metal Roof Systems
- R-panels
- Standing Seam
- Corrugated
Rubber Roofing/ EPDM
Flat Roofing
- BUR (built-up roofs)
- Modified Bitumen
- Roll Roofing

VISUAL INSPECTION

$150.00 + Drive Time

Visual inspection with verbal explanation. No documents provided.
Inspect roof covering from on the roof, not from the top of a ladder or with a drone.
Inspect the exterior of your home to look for collateral wind and hail damage.
Review of our photographs.
In-depth explanation of our findings and professional recommendations for your next steps.
Cost covers the first 45 minutes at your property.

BASIC INSPECTION

$120/hr or $300.00 Minimum + Drive Time

Includes all services in the Standard Inspection package plus the following Additional Services:
- Date of Loss Research
- PDF Photo Report
- Narrative Report

COMPREHENSIVE INSPECTION

$120/hr or $500.00 Minimum fee + Drive Time

Includes all services in the Standard Inspection package plus all Additional Services listed above.

DRIVE TIME

Drive time fees are calculated from 80129 on a round-trip basis. The first 30-minutes are free and billed at $30/hr afterwards.