Guide
Making a roof damage claim
A roof claim is a documentation exercise. The damage matters, but what you can prove about it matters more.
Get it looked at
Three questions, and up to three Villa Park contractors. Free either way.
Your request is in.
We are matching it now against roofing contractors working in Villa Park 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.
Get an independent assessment first
A written contractor assessment before the adjuster visits gives you a scope to compare against. If the two disagree, ask for the contractor to be present at a re-inspection — it changes the conversation considerably.
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.
Stop further damage, and keep the receipts
Emergency mitigation is normally recoverable and routinely forgotten. Save the paperwork for the tarp as carefully as the paperwork for the repair.
Read anything before you sign it
Be wary of any contract signed in a hurry after a storm, particularly one that ties you to the contractor regardless of what the insurer decides.
Know what your policy actually pays
Replacement cost pays what it costs to replace the roof today. Actual cash value pays that minus depreciation, which on a fifteen-year-old roof can be most of it. Find out which you have before you file, along with your deductible.
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.
In short
The homeowners who do well out of claims are not the ones with the worst damage. They are the ones with the best photographs.
Related questions
Do you handle commercial buildings?
Yes. Commercial requests go to contractors who do low-slope and flat systems rather than to residential crews. Say so on the property question and it routes correctly.
Can I stay in the house while it is done?
Most people do. Expect noise from early morning, dust in the attic, and a day where the driveway belongs to the crew.
Are the contractors licensed and insured?
Contractors have to give us their state licence number and proof of liability and workers compensation cover before they can receive requests. You should still ask to see current certificates yourself before work starts — a licence can lapse between checks.