Roofing insurance fraud scams

If you have lived within the Houston southeast metro Texas area for any length of time, you have surely encountered at least a hail storm or two. This post provides some useful information to help you steer clear of the door-knocking, storm chasers so prevalent during these times it is important for homeowners to be aware of roofing scams and insurance fraud issues that can come back to haunt you later.

If your home is ever hit with a hailstorm, you will notice that within hours of the storm, roofing contractors and “storm chasers” will show up in your neighborhood knocking on your door claiming that your roof has hail damage and offering to help. You will also find them also claiming that your roof can be replaced for free with a roofing insurance claim.

These storm chasers will often leave flyers on the doors of the homes with their contact information etc.. if the homeowner is not home. These types of companies are called roofing storm chasers and are often come from out of town as well. Some of these out of town storm chasers roofing contractors will even go so far as to contract with local roofing companies paying them commissions to use their local roofing company name.

Is Covering Your Ductable Illegal?

The storm chasers will often offer to cover your insurance deductible for you. Many homeowners want to make sure this is not illegal or committing insurance fraud. I can assure you it is illegal; however, there are some gray areas to be aware of on this subject. There are two mainly predominant ways these types of roofing fraudulent insurance scams have played out over the years, the first way being by submitting a “Fake Invoice to the Insurance Company“. A roofing company charges the homeowner one amount for roof the replacement, for example, in this case let’s use $9,000, then once the job is finished, the homeowner submits the roofing company’s revised receipt or invoice to his insurance company showing the higher amount of $10,000 which covers the $1,000 deductible (so they are not covering your deductible but the insurance company is!). The insurance company is being told that you paid $10,000 to replace your roof which you paid $9,0000 for. They keep the $1,000 for the deductible and send the $9,000 reimbursement to you or the roofer, you don’t have to pay the $1,000 out of pocket and the roofing company gets the insurance money.

This all seems like a nice winn-winn for both you as the homeowner and the roofing company who installed the new roof, right? WRONG! This roofing company and you as the customer/homeowner could end up in hot water by your insurance company for insurance fraud. if you fell for it and find out later you have been scammed, you might not only could have charges against you but lose your homeowner’s insurance! The truth of the matter is, your roofing company and yourself as the homeowner have participated in deceiving your insurance company for financial gain.

The second way is a “Yard Sign Advertising Reimbursement“. Your roofing company bills you as the homeowner for the full replacement value of the roof at the maximum amount that the insurance company will pay for replacement.  A “change order” is then used to reduce the final price to the consumer/homeowner in an amount that is now equal to the deductible.  The homeowner in return now agrees to advertise for the roofing company by displaying a yard sign for their services in the front yard of their home. In short, the insurance company is paying the deductible costs by being are misled with yet another roofing scam and insurance fraud situation that the homeowner fell for and is the one who will ultimately pay if caught.

Helpful Links About Roofing Insurance Scams and Licensing Requirements By State

The BBB Texas – BBB Roof Deductible Storm Chasers Could Be A Bad Idea

The Dallas Morning News – Beware Local Roofing Scams

Insurance Journal – Roofing Contractor Fraud

Roof Help – State Licensing Requirements

So, there you have it. The best thing that you can do to protect yourself from getting a fraud count against you and/or losing your homeowner’s insurance is to stay clear of any roofing storm chasers and their insurance claim scams by remembering that honesty is the best policy. This way you or your insurance company will not ultimately have to pay in the end. Pay your deductible, be grateful the insurance company is covering the major portion of your roof replacement and find a local Texas roofing company with references that are honest. As you can see that there is a lot of gray areas on this subject.

Choosing Roofing Contractors can be a daunting task for any homeowner looking to get their roof replaced. With so many roofers in the Houston Texas metro area market, a potential client might wonder who they should hire to get the job done correctly. We have put together some recommendations here in this post that we believe you will find most helpful. Below I have outlined a step by step approach when it comes time to replace your roof and selecting from the vast sea of  residential roofing companies. Here is a great article from WIki choosing a residential roofing contractor and some things you should be looking out for. As a homeowner, you should read each of the points below carefully as they have great information that you should be aware of when selecting a company to replace your roof.

Get Three Roofing Estimates from Different Contractors

In the past, many homeowners have used the first and only roofing company to give them an estimate because they liked the person that came out to give them a bid. This is not a good idea because you have no idea if their pricing is inline with the going roofing market. By getting other bids, you will now have something to compare to. Look at each roofing estimate closely and read what each roofing contractor is offering of the following:

Contractor Reputation and Reviews

You should be doing your research in looking around on the web for reviews for that roofing company you are considering using. Check with the local BBB and view the reputation of that Houston TX roofing contractor and it’s complaint history if any. You can also do a Local Google Review search for that company that you are considering hiring and see what their Google reviews are like. I would also check with Angie’s List, as well as other sites and see what their reviews are like as well.

Price They Are Charging

What is the price that is offered and does it include tax? Make sure that there are no hidden charges like replacing any extra rotted wood that might be found under your old roofing shingles. The cost of replacing your roof can vary from contractor to contractor as you will see in their estimates.

Roof Removal Work Scope

Make sure that you are reading line by line what the scope is of the removal work the roofing contractors are doing such as; removing the old roofing shingles, tar paper (felt) hauling off the trash, removing drip edge, pipe jacks, valley flashing, sidewall flashing, ridge vents, air hawks or turbine vents.

Roofing Installation Scope of New Material

This is where you should find listed on their contract what new in accessory materials they will be installing such as the following; New tar paper (felt) and what weight such as #15 lb or #30 lb? Drip edge what size? 1″1/2 X 1″ 1/2 is most common and make sure that it is colored to match your new roofing shingles. Pipe Jacks, make sure they are using led jacks as they are most common and will most likely out last your roof. Valley flashing, the roofing contractor should be installing new at least 20″ wide metal or roll roofing before installing the new shingles.

All that I have spoke of here you can call, best roofing practices. Note: Ice and water shield usage in the south on all of the roof protrusions and valleys is a nice upgrade to ensure no water leakage. This is a must in the north especially where snow can ice dam around the perimeter we recommend ice and water shield in those areas as well as all valleys and roof protrusions. This should all be outlined in free roofing estimate they have given you.

Roofing Shingles and Warranty

What roofing shingles are offered and what is the warranty? With all of the roofing shingle options that you can choose from, consider what kind of look do you want your roof to have, flat and smooth, dimensional or maybe the wood shingle look? Most homeowners have been using a laminate shingle that is offered by GAF called Timberline Roofing Shingles. They come with a lifetime warranty and have great reputation in withstanding the elements and that desired dimensional look.

Shingle Colors Offered

Consider the color of your home both in siding and trim, how do you want your roof to contrast with the colors? Do you want the roof to blend in or stand out? Look around at your neighbors houses in your neighborhood and see if there is a roof color combination that you like. This way you can see what it will look like before getting started on your own home.

General Liability Insurance

Every roofing contractor should have at least one million dollars in general liability insurance should it rain while your roof has been removed and is being replaced. This they should offer a copy of while giving your roofing estimate.  As a suggestion, you might want to make sure that the insurance certificate is genuine and active by calling the issuing insurance company.

Roofing Job Completion Walk Around and Final Payment

At the end of your roofing job we suggest that you do a walk around to inspect the entire job from top to bottom. Look up at your new roof, make sure that all of the shingles are laying down, this might take several days if the sun is not out and in the colder winter time as well. Also, look around on the ground near the perimeter of the home and your driveway for nails and trash as they should be using a magnetic sweeper nail rake to pick them up.

If you have any type of natural gas, propane appliances or heat, look in your attic, make sure all of the roof protrusions are securely fastened to the base of where the hot gases come out of base unit. Take a flashlight and make sure that all single and double wall vent stacks are not touching any plywood for fire safety. This is often overlooked.

Some Helpful Links – Choosing a Roofing Contractor

Owens Corning – Roofing Basic Choosing Contractor

Angie’s list – Tips Choosing Roofing Contractor

Roofing About – Selecting a Roofing Contractor

GAF – Roofing Residential Contractors

Inspectapedia – Roofing Contractor Selection

San Francisco Chronicle – Select Roofing Contractor

Each of those links above have great information when it comes to selecting or choosing a roofing contractor for your project. Amittengley, this can be an exhausting task and we hope that the information included will make for a more enjoyable home improvement experience.

From all of us here at Texas Home Exteriors do hope that you have enjoyed this informative Houston Texas roofing contractor article that we have written for your benefit and education. Should you need home improvement financing we have some exciting options with no payments for one year and free roofing estimates in the Houston TX metro area.