Filing Roofing Insurance Claims in Fort Lauderdale, Miami & Palm Beach, FL

Roofing insurance claims can be intimidating

Your roof has just been struck by a crashing tree. What do you do? Where do you begin?

After you safely evacuate your home or business and secure it from additional damage, your next step is to locate your insurance policy.

Find Out How Much Your Roof Deductible Will Be

Many policies have separate policies for wind and storm damage. For example, a claim filed because of a tropical storm would have a different deductible than a claim filed for a floor leak.

Look for the words "storm" or "wind" deductible. These deductibles can be as low as $250 and up to several percentage points of your home's or building's value.

If your deductible is 5% and your home's or building's value is $400,000, you'll be stuck with a $20,000 deductible. While it is possible that your roof could cost more than $20,000, it is unlikely that you'll realize much benefit from filing the claim.

Document All Your Damage

Once you decide you are going to go ahead and file a claim, use a digital or video camera to document the damage done to your roof and property. Be as thorough as possible, documenting all damage to your home or building as well as to your belongings. It is also smart to videotape destruction within the community as further proof.

While it may be tempting to discard damaged goods, only do this if the damaged items are hazardous or harmful such as waterlogged furniture that will soon turn to mold. If you must discard damaged items, take detailed photos beforehand. Consider cutting off swatches of fabric to prove the cost of furniture.

Use a notebook to assess your home or building, room by room, for damage. Work in a clockwise direction, surveying each element of each room systematically from the top down and from left to right. With this system, you would enter a room, and note the area immediately to the left of the door.

Do you see any damage to the wall? The floor? The furniture against the wall? Move to the next wall and repeat, working your way around the room and noting any damage and taking pictures as you go.

Team Up With a Reputable Roofing Contractor in Fort Lauderdale, Miami or Palm Beach to Assess Your Roof Damage

Before you make any calls to your insurance agent, have a professional roofing contractor come out and assess your roof damage.

Call Your Local Insurance Agent

But before you do, make sure you have all your policy documentation and have your roofing contractor present.

This will allow your contractor to give all of his/her contact information to the phone adjuster in order to be notified when the field adjuster will be arriving at your property.

The General Procedure For Filing A Claim

1. You file a claim with the insurance company for damage to your property.
2. An insurance agent will investigate the specifics of your claim.
3. The insurance company then sends out an investigator called an adjustor to make an objective evaluation of the damages. (Note: You want to have a professional, Fort Lauderdale, Miami or Palm Beach roofing contractor come out to meet the adjuster to ensure he/she treats your claim fairly. If this is not possible, show the adjuster all of your documented photos and information.)
4. If the claim is approved by the adjustor, the claim is paid.

Hopefully you are reading this page out of curiosity and not out of emergency. If this is the case, find some time on a weekend to document and photograph your roof and personal belongings in good standing.

You can then share this documentation with your insurance adjuster to prove your losses, if something were suddenly to happen to your roof and possessions.

To Learn More About Roof Insurance Claims in South Florida, Give Us a Call and We'd be Happy to Assist You and/or Speak to Your Insurance Agent and/or Adjuster.