Insurance Guide
Insurance adjusters aren’t villains — they’re employees of an insurance carrier whose job is to settle claims for what the carrier believes is necessary. That’s a different thing from what would actually restore your roof to pre-storm condition. The difference is often $5,000–$25,000.
Most adjusters use Xactimate, the industry-standard pricing software. Xactimate has zip-code-specific pricing that often lags actual NE market rates by 12–36 months. Adjusters also make scope assumptions (‘we can match the shingles’; ‘only 6 squares are damaged’) that they’ll write into the estimate. Those assumptions become the starting position — and they don’t always reflect what’s actually possible or appropriate.
Asphalt shingle manufacturers change product lines every 5–8 years. Color matches that worked in 2018 don’t work in 2026. If your roof is 8+ years old, perfect matching is almost never possible — and partial-slope repair with mismatched shingles is rarely the right scope. Industry standards (NRCA Roofing Manual) recognize this and call for full-slope replacement when matching isn’t possible. Adjusters don’t always volunteer this.
Most NE homeowner policies include ‘law and ordinance’ (or ‘ordinance or law’) coverage — typically 10–25% additional, sometimes more. This coverage funds bringing the new roof up to current code, which has stricter ice-and-water shield, ventilation, and fastening requirements than older roofs. Many homeowners file claims without invoking this coverage; the carrier is not obligated to mention it unless asked.
When the initial claim approves only what’s visible from the ground, additional damage often shows up during tear-off (rotted deck, hidden underlayment damage, additional slope damage). These get filed as supplemental claims with photo documentation. Most carriers pay supplementals readily when properly documented — they’re a normal part of claim resolution, not an attempt to inflate.
Assignment of benefits (AOB) contracts. These transfer your claim rights to a contractor, who then files on your behalf, receives the proceeds, and decides what work to do. Multiple scam waves after major NE storms have used AOBs to collect insurance money and disappear. Legitimate contractors (us included) work on standard contracts where you control the claim and pay them with insurance proceeds.
Public adjusters work for you, not the carrier — they negotiate claim resolution for a percentage (typically 10–20%) of the settlement. Worth considering for: total losses on high-value homes, claims denied or seriously undervalued, claims involving multiple coverages (roof + interior + contents), and homeowners who don’t want to navigate the negotiation themselves. Not necessary for straightforward storm-damage claims with cooperative carriers.
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