Adjusting: What Roofing Contractors Can & Can Not Do
Last week we attended the monthly “Lunch & Learn” meeting with the North Texas Roofing Contractors Association. The speakers were Bill Voss of the Voss Law Firm and Jake Posey of The Posey Law Firm. Both are active in insurance work and/or plugged into the current and proposed rules with the Texas Department of Insurance.
In short, no one can be both contractor and adjuster. There can be a conflict of interest. An adjuster must also hold a license. Contractors can examine your property and write up estimates of what it will take to restore your property. It is also proper for them to spend time with your insurance carrier to discuss the scope of your repairs. What Contractors cannot do is advise property owners about insurance policy and language. If you think about it, an insurance policy is a contract between you and the insurance carrier. Contract advice is legal, and you should no more ask your plumber legal advice as you would a roofing contractor. Dallas is a big town, there are plenty of lawyers and public adjusters to help if things get sticky (which is the exception, not the rule).
Bad Roofers often pose as Claim Specialist
This is really nothing more than a sales pitch brought out by a bad roofer. They will tell you that you need “representation” as if the claims process is a guilty until proven innocent proposition. There certainly are good and bad adjusters out there, but the overwhelming majority have one goal in mind when they examine a property and that is to examine it properly. It is just a scare tactic when someone tells you that they are “looking for a reason to deny your claim”
Don’t hire a “Claims Specialist” hire a seasoned roofing contractor who knows how to properly spot and repair storm damage.
Answering Basic Insurance Questions
We often answer very basic questions to homeowners about the process when hail damage is involved. I asked the speakers if answering the common questions could be construed as advising them on policy. He said no. The common definition of terms and a basic question that someone with access to Google could easily answer themselves is not crossing the line. For some of those basic questions please look at our FAQ with insurance and roofing page.