Replacing or repairing a roof is a daunting project. Most homeowners don’t have much experience dealing with insurance claims or roof replacements. This leads to many questions about the process. One of the most common questions is, should you show your roofing contractor the insurance estimate?
The short answer is yes, you should show your roofing contractor your insurance estimate. Here’s an explanation of why this is the case. Contact My Roof Pro to learn more or get a free quote for roof repair or roof replacement for your Texas home.
Sharing Scope of Work
One of the most important reasons for sharing your insurance quote with your roofer is to ensure that your roofer knows the scope of the work. Without this information, your roofer does not know what will be covered by your insurance claim. This can result in significant out-of-pocket expenses for homeowners.
Most reputable roofers will ask you if you’re filing an insurance claim and request to see the paperwork. The reason is that your roofer wants to know the scope of work approved by your insurance company. This protects both parties. If your roofer doesn’t request this information or is willing to do the work without it, it’s a red flag.
Ensuring Necessary Supplements Are Included
Your roofer will review your insurance estimate and identify any missing items. Your insurance company might have included an appropriate scope of work but missed some important items. For example, common items often left out of insurance estimates are:
- Compliance with local building codes
- Dump fees
- Labor costs
- Overhead
- Profit
Your roofer can identify missing items and negotiate with your insurance company to get these items approved in your estimate. This ensures your full project is covered and you’re not left with additional expenses.
Avoiding Insurance Fraud
Unfortunately, homeowners may unknowingly engage in insurance fraud if they don’t share the insurance estimate with their contractors. Your insurance claim covers a specific scope of work for your roof repairs or replacement.
If you take your insurance claim check and have a contractor complete different work, you could be engaging in insurance fraud. You can avoid this issue by sharing your insurance estimate with your contractor. Your roofer will ensure that you’re complying with the approved scope of work and not knowingly or unknowingly engaging in insurance fraud.
Complying With Policy Requirements
A simple but important reason for showing your contractor your quote is that most insurance policies require it. The fine print of most homeowners’ insurance policies requires policyholders to share all paperwork with contractors before the work is done.
Failing to comply with this requirement can impact your coverage. Make sure you’re protected by reading your insurance policy and complying with all policy requirements.
Build Trust and Rapport
Another important reason to show your contractor your estimate is that it helps build trust. At the start of the relationship, the roofer can review your estimate and make recommendations for additional items that should be included in the estimate.
The contractor can negotiate with the insurance company on your behalf to ensure you get the compensation you deserve. This fosters a good working relationship between the homeowner and contractor from the outset.
The roofer feels comfortable when homeowners are forthcoming about insurance claims and the scope of projects. Similarly, homeowners feel comfortable when a roofer is straightforward about project needs.
Sharing available claims information and paperwork helps establish good communication from the start of the project. This sets both parties up for success and helps things go as smoothly as possible.
Get a Free Quote for Roof Repairs or Roof Replacement
If you’re dealing with an insurance claim for roof repairs or roof replacement, My Roof Pro can help. We’ll review your quote, discuss any supplements needed, and help you get the most out of your claim.
Call us today to discuss your project or get a free roof quote.