Roofing insurance claims process & mortgage procedures
When it comes to a roofing insurance claim, there are many moving parts you may need help with. At Unisource Roofing we are here to guide you, as well as help walk you through this entire process. The information on this page will educate you on the entire process from filing the insurance claim on your roof all the way to getting your insurance check endorsed by your mortgage company.
INSURANCE CLAIMS: WORKING WITH YOUR INSURANCE COMPANY
If your roof suffers damage from hail or windstorm, you may need to make an insurance claim to get your roof fully repaired. This is what your insurance is for. When you make an insurance claim on your roof, there are certain procedures your insurance company will follow. Unisource Roofing is here to help you with these procedures. In this article, we will walk you through the common roofing claim process.
Contact Unisource Roofing to schedule a free onsite roof inspection to determine if you have damage to your roof.
If damage is found, we will help you file a claim with your insurance company. We can provide all of the appropriate phone numbers for your convenience!
Your insurance company will authorize any necessary temporary roofing repairs at that time to prevent further damage to the interior of your home. We will provide all receipts for their files after performing the work.
Your insurance company will then send an adjuster to perform an inspection of the damage. He will issue you a first payment along with paperwork outlining the repairs to be made. (See below for more information on this subject.)
Once we receive this paperwork from you, Unisource Roofing will be able to begin performing the repairs. We can do everything outlined in the paperwork.
After all paperwork is completed, we will provide all necessary paperwork to your insurance company in order to have the final check released. At this time, payment will be due for the work completed.
After you are paid in full, and upon your request, we will upload your roof warranty along with a paid in full receipt to your SSA client portal provided by Unisource Roofing. We are glad to help with any roof claim paperwork that you need!
MEETING WITH YOUR ADJUSTER
The first thing to do if you know you have roof damage is to document the damage Take pictures of the roof if you can safely do it, and any other damage that occurred, such as dents in your air conditioning unit, damage to siding or broken windows. Document any shingles that are missing or ripped. The damage may be evident because you experienced a hailstorm, tornado, or other wind related natural disaster that caused damage to your roof or you detected a leak. Take as many pictures as you need to fully document the roof and interior damage. Leaks or holes in your roof indicate the need for emergency repairs.
Call your insurance company to make a claim just as soon as you find someone to take care of any emergency repairs. Most insurance companies have hotlines that enable you to talk with someone 24/7. If not, they likely have a website where you can make a claim online and then check on the status until the office opens.
Your main job as a homeowner when you have damage to your roof or other parts of your home is to mitigate any further damage. As long as you do your due diligence in preventing further damage, you have done what is required of you.
Your insurance company will call you to set up an appointment with one of their adjusters.
This adjuster will represent the insurance company, and we would be happy to represent your best interests at the adjusters meeting.
Call your Unisource Roofing and have one of our project managers represent you at this roof inspection. You will need a trained professional to represent your best interest.
We will make sure that everything damaged is covered by your insurance company at that time!
NOTE: These are general guidelines, and each insurance company may vary on procedures.
INSURANCE CLAIMS PROCESS & MORTGAGE CHECK ENDORSEMENT PROCEDURES
When you file an insurance claim on your home, and we will focus on a roofing claim here, there are certain procedures you need to follow to collect and cash your insurance claims check. We will also focus on insurance claims process mortgage check endorsement. Normally there will be multiple checks involved in your insurance claims process. You will almost always you will receive two checks. The second check is called the recoverable depreciation and comes after the roofing job is complete.
UNDERSTANDING THE CLAIMS PROCESS
So, you just filed a claim on your roof for wind or hail damage, now what do you do. If you have a top local roofing contractor, you should be in good hands as they will be a great resource for help and information. Once you file your insurance claim, the insurance company will normally be at your house within 48 hours with an adjuster for the roof inspection. After the adjuster completes his storm damage assessment, he is going to make you an offer for repairs with what is called an insurance scope of loss. The first check you get is just an advance on the total amount of your claim for repairs. It is not your final payment.
If you are offered an on the spot settlement and you could be depending on your insurance company, you can accept it in most cases. If your local roofing contractor finds additional damage during the roof install process, you can file what is called a supplement for the additional damage needing to be repaired. You need to make sure accepting the full claim upfront does not preclude you from making a supplement for any hidden repairs that could not be seen in an initial inspection. Most insurance policies require you to make a claim within one year of the date of the wind or hailstorm. You will need to check with your state insurance department for verification on this.
If you have a claim and you have roof damage, interior damage, as well as personal belongings damaged, you generally will receive separate checks for each type of claim made.
STRUCTURE CLAIMS CHECK PROCEDURES
If there is a mortgage on your home, the repairs check will typically be made out to both you and your mortgage company. During the insurance claims mortgage check endorsement, all named parties will be required to endorse the claims check. In your mortgage company agreement, you agreed to keep hazard insurance in place on your home, lenders also require that their name be added to the insurance policy as an additional insured.
This is the often-misunderstood part about your insurance claims check, the lender gets the same rights to the check as the homeowner. This is usually when the homeowner either gets mad or frustrated with the claims process. When there is a mortgage company or bank involved, it means that your mortgage company or bank will need to endorse the insurance claims check before you can pay your roofing contractor. The mortgage check procedures from the mortgage company can be quite lengthy, click on the mortgage check process for a full description of the actual process. The link will take you to a generic but full explanation which should explain most mortgage companies’ processes.
ROOFING CLIENT MORTGAGE CHECK PROCEDURES
While signing the contract with your roofing contractor. You will be asked about payment for the project. Is there a mortgage on the house that needs to be addressed? Your roofing contractor will need to know if you have already gotten the claims check endorsed or if you need help with the process. The roofing client mortgage check process can be tricky, get professional help with this process.
Homeowner Process
If you need help getting the insurance claims check endorsed, the following are current procedures that hold true for most mortgage companies:
The homeowner will need to call the mortgage companies loss draft department and file the claim
Your contractor will need a commitment from you to help until the end of the roofing project and endorsement process.
Get the routing or tracking number for the check (This is what the mortgage company uses to keep track of the check during the claims process)
Turn the check over to your roofing contractor if you would like them to help get the endorsement.
Make sure the check is endorsed by you, the homeowner (Ask your mortgage company if it must be endorsed by the homeowner, some do, and some do not, depending on the amount of the check)
Your roofing contractor should notate your check on your contract for future reference.
You will need to sign a third-party authorization. (make sure your contractor’s name is the authorized person, he must have this to be able to communicate on your behalf with your mortgage company) This can be done in your SSA client portal.
Your Contractor Can Help
Your contractor will need the last 4 numbers of your social security number! The mortgage company may require your local roofer to have this to communicate on your behalf.
Make sure the effective date on the third-party authorization is set 90 days out, your roofer needs time in case of problems that do creep up
Make sure you give an email address so your contractor can deal with the workflow from the SSA client portal.
Have your roofing contractor explain your SSA client portal (There is a video knowledge base in your client portal to show how to use it)
Give additional mortgage company details: overnight address, phone#, fax#, loan#, any specific packet material, if they require their own documents be signed.
There will be a final inspection required after the roof is installed, go ahead and call for this the day your roof is being installed (it takes 3 days minimum to get an inspector out to your home)
Go to your SSA client portal and fill out all the documents that you can.
Make sure you understand that at any point the mortgage company can cut Roof Crafters off and stop working with us and you will need to complete the process if that happens. They do not even have to give a reason; they sometimes just do it.
If you sent the first check off yourself, you will need to do the same thing for their RD (Recoverable Depreciation) check.
Even if you sent the first check off yourself, the mortgage company still requires documents from Unisource Roofing, and you will need to follow the same procedures so your contractor can call and get updates. Documents the mortgage company will require are but not limited to a W-9, lien waiver release, roofing contractor’s contract, insurance scope of loss, and final inspection on the completed roofing project for the recoverable depreciation check to be released along with completion pictures of your new roof.
CONCLUSION
The process from filing an insurance claim on your roof, through the mortgage check procedures and be a long and stressful one. Lean on Unisource Roofing for professional help. At Unisource Roofing, we have done thousands of insurance claims on roofs as well as other parts of homes.
Let a well-experienced roofing professional make your roofing claim stress free.
