Roof Insurance Claims

Be clear about what we do and do not do

We do not file your claim, handle it, negotiate it or speak for you. Nobody at Fraser Roofing is a licensed adjuster and we will not pretend otherwise. Your claim is between you and your insurer.

What we do give you, and what actually moves a claim along:

• A documented inspection. On the roof, photographed, with what we found and where, including the parts that are fine.
• A written scope of work and a price itemised enough that an adjuster can read it line by line instead of arguing with a single number.
• A plain opinion on cause. Whether what we are looking at is storm damage, age, a previous installation fault, or some of each. Including when the honest answer does not help your claim.
• Answers in writing if your adjuster has questions about the scope.

One thing we will never do is adjust a quote to match a number an insurer has already decided on, or quietly absorb your deductible. Both are fraud, both put your claim at risk, and a contractor who offers either is telling you something about how they do the rest of the work.

What a BC home policy usually covers, and what it usually does not

Every policy is different and only your wording and your insurer decide, so read yours. That said, the pattern across most BC homeowner policies is consistent:

• Usually covered: sudden, accidental damage from a named peril. Windstorm, hail, a tree or limb coming down, fire, and in many policies the resulting water damage inside.
• Usually not covered: wear and tear, age, a roof past its service life, rot, moss damage that built up over years, and damage traced to poor maintenance.
• Often argued either way: a roof that was old and then took a storm. This is where documentation decides it.
• Usually excluded outright: faulty workmanship by a previous contractor, though the resulting sudden damage sometimes is not.

There is also the question of how you are paid. Some policies settle at replacement cost and some at actual cash value, which is replacement cost minus depreciation for the age of the roof. On a fifteen year old roof that difference can be most of the money. It is written in your policy and it is worth knowing before you start, not after.

The documentation that decides it

Claims are usually won or lost on what was recorded on the day, and the single most common reason a legitimate claim gets difficult is that the damage was tidied up before anyone photographed it.

1. Photograph before you touch anything. Inside and out, wide shots and close ones. Get the whole room, then the stain, then the ceiling.
2. Keep what came off. The shingles in the yard, the branch, the piece of flashing. Do not bin it.
3. Write down the date and the weather. Environment Canada publishes historical conditions for this valley and a dated note that matches a recorded windstorm is worth a great deal.
4. Report it promptly. Most policies require notice without unreasonable delay, and a gap of months invites the argument that the damage was gradual.
5. Keep receipts for emergency work, tarping included. Reasonable costs to prevent further damage are commonly reimbursable, and most policies expect you to take those steps.

If the claim is denied

A denial is not always the end, and it is also sometimes correct. If we think the insurer has read the roof wrong, we will say so in writing and explain what we are looking at. If we think they have read it right, we will tell you that too, and then talk to you about doing the work without a claim.

Either way the roof still needs doing. The ranges on our roof replacement page are published for exactly this reason, and a repair is often the right answer when there is no claim paying for a full one.

Start with the inspection

It is free, and it is free whether or not there turns out to be a claim in it. We get on the roof, photograph what is there, and tell you plainly which of the two stories it tells. If you have storm damage right now, start here instead and do the urgent things first.

Fraser Roofing Ltd. is registered and in good standing with WorkSafeBC, account 201893485, and carries $2,000,000 commercial general liability through HUB International. Your insurer may ask for both. We are not bonded, and we say so rather than letting you find out at the wrong moment.