Storm Damage, Your Roof, and the Insurance Claim: How It Works in Ohio

• Look from the ground: shingle pieces in the yard, granules at downspout outlets, dents in gutters and vents, siding chips on the storm side.
• Photograph what you can see from the ground, with the date. Do not climb the roof.
• If water is coming in, get the roof tarped. Temporary protection is normal and most policies expect you to prevent further damage.
• Get a roof inspection with photos from a contractor with a local office. Ours is free and there is no obligation.
• Read your policy's deductible before you decide whether a claim makes sense. A claim smaller than the deductible pays nothing.

A contractor can inspect, document damage with photos, provide a written repair or replacement scope, tarp and make temporary repairs, and meet your adjuster on the roof so everyone sees the same thing. That is the useful, legitimate role, and it is what Silcott Legacy Roofing and Exteriors does.

A contractor cannot act as your adjuster, negotiate or settle your claim, or tell you what your policy covers. In Ohio, negotiating an insurance claim on a policyholder's behalf is the job of a licensed public adjuster or your own attorney. Be wary of any roofer who says they will handle the claim for you.

Your deductible is your share of the loss. A contractor offering to cover it, waive it, or absorb it in the paperwork is offering to misrepresent the job cost to your insurer. That exposes you, the policyholder, not just the contractor. Silcott Legacy Roofing never offers deductible help, and we recommend you treat the offer as a reason to hire someone else.

Ask your contractor to be there when the adjuster inspects. Two people on the roof looking at the same photographed damage resolves most disagreements on the spot. Bring the contractor's photos and written scope; the adjuster will bring the insurer's estimate. Where they differ, the differences are usually about scope items like decking, ventilation, or code-required upgrades, and those get resolved between you and your insurer.

• No local office address, or an address that turns out to be a mailbox.
• Out-of-area phone numbers and trucks with temporary lettering.
• Pressure to sign an agreement or an assignment of benefits before you have a written scope.
• Promises about what insurance will pay before an adjuster has looked.
• Deductible offers of any kind.
• A quote from the driveway with no one on the roof.

After a large storm every roofer in the county is busy and every insurer is behind. A contractor who quotes you a real date and keeps it is worth more than one who promises tomorrow and shows up next month. Temporary protection buys time for the permanent repair to be done properly, in dry weather, with materials on site.