This page is about the claim process. For what hail and wind actually do to a roof and how we restore it, see storm damage restoration.
This is what Roof Commander is built around. Chad and Grover Warren worked catastrophe claims from Chicago to the Florida Keys before bringing that experience home to Middle Tennessee, and since 2010 the focus has been residential and small commercial insurance claims: storm, wind, hail, fire, and water loss. If you have damage and a policy, we will walk the entire claim with you.
A roof claim is not a negotiation between you and your carrier over what your roof is worth. It is a documentation exercise. The carrier pays for damage that is recorded. Damage that is not recorded does not exist as far as the claim is concerned.
That is where most homeowners lose money, and it usually happens in one of three ways.
The adjuster inspects alone, spends twenty minutes on a roof, and misses the wind creasing or the hail strikes on a back slope. The loss summary comes back covering a repair when the roof needed replacing.
Or damage outside the roof never makes it in. Siding, gutters, screens, a detached garage. All covered, all frequently left off.
Or the homeowner accepts the first loss summary as final. In reality a supplement is a normal part of the process, not a confrontation, and carriers pay them routinely when the documentation supports it.
1. Free inspection and documentation. Before you file anything, we inspect the property and photograph every area of damage: roof, soft metal, siding, gutters, and interior water intrusion. You get a real assessment of whether you have a claim worth filing. Sometimes the answer is no, and we will say so.
2. Filing. We help you file with your carrier and tell you what to expect and when.
3. The adjuster appointment. Tell us the day and time as soon as it is scheduled. Chad meets your adjuster at the property and walks the entire loss with them. This is the highest leverage step in the process and the main reason our customers' claims come back accurate.
4. Loss summary review. You will receive a loss summary and typically a partial payment. Send us an unaltered copy. We compare it line by line against our documentation to identify anything that was missed or underscoped.
5. Supplement if needed. If items were missed, we prepare and submit the supplement with the supporting photographs and documentation.
6. Material selection and scheduling. We meet with you to choose material type, color, and a replacement date.
7. The work. We complete the roof and any other restoration covered under the loss.
8. Final inspection and certification. We inspect and certify the completed work, then provide a final invoice for the repair or replacement plus any required supplementation for your carrier.
9. Final payment. Once your carrier releases the final check, we collect the balance due.
There is a lot of bad information out there, so here is the straight version.
When you file a covered claim, you pay your deductible and the carrier pays the balance of the covered loss. If the adjuster determines there is ten thousand dollars of damage and your deductible is one thousand, the carrier pays nine thousand and you pay one thousand to the contractor.
Some contractors offer to cover or absorb your deductible, marketed as a free roof. In Tennessee that is insurance fraud, and it exposes the homeowner as well as the contractor. It also tends to come with cheaper materials and worse work, because that money comes out of the job somewhere.
Roof Commander does not do it. What we will do is talk to you about legitimate financing so that the deductible is not a barrier to getting your roof fixed.
Two policy types, two very different outcomes, and most homeowners do not know which one they have until they need it.
Replacement cost value (RCV) pays what it costs to replace the roof today. You typically receive an initial payment based on depreciated value, then the withheld depreciation is released after the work is completed and documented. This is why the final certification step matters. Skip it and you may never see the recoverable depreciation.
Actual cash value (ACV) pays the depreciated value only. On a fifteen year old roof, that can be a fraction of replacement cost, with the difference coming out of your pocket.
Check your declarations page, or send it to us and we will tell you what you are looking at.
Storm, wind, and hail damage make up the majority. We also handle fire loss and water loss, which is a legacy of the catastrophe work the Warrens did before settling here.
Because we are a full restoration contractor and not only a roofer, a single loss can be handled by a single contractor. Roof, siding, gutters, interior repair, and painting. That matters more than it sounds like it does, because a claim split across four contractors is four schedules, four invoices, and four chances for something to fall through the cracks with your carrier.
The exception is large scale water extraction and structural drying, which we do not take on. We will refer you to someone who does.
Worth being clear about. We do not represent you in a legal or adjusting capacity and we do not charge a percentage of your claim. We are the contractor doing the work, and part of doing that work properly is documenting the damage accurately and being present when your adjuster inspects it.
If your claim reaches a point where you need a licensed public adjuster or an attorney, we will tell you that honestly rather than pretending we can do something we cannot.
Use the Google review from the customer who described Chad helping from start to finish, coming out very quickly to estimate, and assisting through every step of the tedious insurance process.
No. Documenting the damage, meeting your adjuster, and reviewing your loss summary are part of our service when we do the restoration work. We do not take a percentage of your claim.
After. A free inspection first tells you whether you actually have a covered loss worth filing, so you are not opening a claim on age related wear that will not be covered anyway.
That is what the loss summary review is for. Send us an unaltered copy of your summary and we compare it against our photographs. If items were missed, we file a supplement with the documentation to support it.
No, and you should be cautious of any contractor who offers to. Covering a homeowner's deductible is insurance fraud in Tennessee and it puts the homeowner at risk along with the contractor. We can discuss financing options instead.
It varies by carrier and by how busy they are after a large storm event. A straightforward claim commonly runs a few weeks from filing to approval. Claims that need a supplement take longer. We keep you updated at each step.
Call us. Send the loss summary. If our inspection finds damage the summary does not account for, there is a real path to getting it reconsidered through a supplement.
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