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Storm & ClaimsThe insurance claim, translated into English.
The claim is yours; the evidence is our job. This page is the whole process, start to finish, including the parts other roofers mumble through: the deductible, the adjuster meeting, and what happens when a scope comes back short.
Four steps, in full.
Inspect
A Kestrel field inspector walks the roof, attic, and exterior within days of the storm, not weeks. You get a plain-language damage summary the same visit.
Document
Every bruise, crease, and impact gets photographed, chalked, and mapped to your policy's language. Adjusters respond to evidence, so we build a file, not a pitch.
Meet the Adjuster
We attend your adjuster meeting, walk the same roof together, and make sure nothing documented gets missed. You never have to argue scope alone.
Restore
Once the scope is approved, we build to it. Materials staged, one to two build days, magnetic nail sweep, and a final photo report for your records.
You never argue scope alone.
The adjuster meeting is where claims are won or shortened. Your carrier sends a person to verify the damage; we make sure that person sees everything the file documents. Dana, our claims coordinator, schedules Kestrel onto every adjuster appointment, and a field inspector walks the roof with them, chalk mark by chalk mark.
When a scope comes back short, we respond with the file: photos, slope maps, and the policy language it maps to. Most gaps close on paper without escalation, because adjusters approve evidence, not arguments. The Andover case on our projects page is what that looks like in practice.
Adjusters respond to evidence. So we build a file, not a pitch.
Dana Whitfield, Claims Coordinator (fictional)The part other websites whisper.
Your deductible is your part of the claim. It never disappears.
Your policy sets your deductible, and it does not change based on who does the work. If a contractor offers to make it vanish, that is not a discount. It is a compliance problem in a growing list of states, and it usually comes back on the homeowner.
Kestrel prices the work to the insurer-approved scope, documents everything in writing, and you pay exactly what your policy says you owe. Nothing hidden, nothing padded, nothing weird. That is what claims literacy looks like.
Five terms that decide your claim.
- ACV vs RCV. Actual Cash Value pays the depreciated worth; Replacement Cost Value pays what a new roof costs, usually released in two checks. Know which policy you hold before the storm, not after.
- Recoverable depreciation. Under RCV, the held-back amount your carrier releases once the work is complete and invoiced. We handle that paperwork.
- Scope of loss. The adjuster's itemized list of approved work. We build to it, and we contest it on paper when the evidence says it is short.
- Supplement. A documented request to add missed items to the scope: code-required upgrades, hidden decking damage, the slope nobody walked.
- Claim window. Most policies require filing within a year of the storm date. The storm log exists partly so that date is never a guess.
One honest caveat: not every dented vent is a claim. If documented damage sits below your deductible, filing helps nobody and can still count against you. Our free report tells you which side of that line you are on, in writing, before you call your carrier.
Asked on every claim, answered the same way.
Should I file a claim before or after the inspection?
After, almost always. The free report tells you whether damage clears your deductible and the claim threshold. Filing first can start a clock, and an inspection-first order gives you evidence from day one.
Will my premiums go up if I file?
Weather claims are treated differently from at-fault claims, and in hail states carriers already price the region's storms in. But that is a question for your agent; we will give you the damage evidence either way and never pressure a filing.
The insurer approved less than your quote. Now what?
We supplement with documentation: photos, measurements, and code requirements. Most shortfalls close on paper. What we never do is eat the difference by cutting scope behind the insurer's back or yours.
Do you charge for helping with the claim?
No. Documentation, adjuster meetings, and supplement paperwork are part of doing storm work correctly. We are roofing contractors, not public adjusters, and the claim decision always stays yours.
One storm line. One desk. Zero guesswork.
Start with a free written damage report. If your roof is fine, we will tell you that too, in writing, and you can get back to your week.