Roof Insurance Claims Assistance

Simply Roofing inspects and documents storm damage, provides repair estimates, and can meet your insurance adjuster on site. Your insurer decides coverage and payment. Call (602) 849-7990.

Roof Insurance Claims in Arizona: Storm Damage, Adjusters, Settlements and Your Rights

A roof claim in the Valley usually turns on one question: did a storm cause this damage, or did the roof wear out? Your insurer answers that question, not your roofer. What we can do is give you clear evidence, an honest read of the roof, and a written scope of the repair, so the adjuster sees the same thing we see.

This guide goes past the basic claim steps above. It covers how adjusters tell storm damage from age on Arizona roofs, why tile roofs are the hardest claims to sort out, how to read a settlement, what Arizona law says a contractor can and can't do on your claim, and what to do if the answer is no.

Storm damage or wear: what adjusters look for

Most homeowner policies pay for sudden damage and exclude slow wear. On a desert roof, both can look alike from the ground, so adjusters look for signs that tie the damage to a single event.

  • Tile: fresh breaks with clean, unweathered edges, tile shifted out of line at ridges and roof edges, and broken pieces in gutters or on the ground after the storm. Old cracks that have darkened or collected dirt usually read as wear.
  • Shingle: creased or torn tabs and missing shingles on the side the wind came from. Granule loss spread evenly across the roof and curling edges usually read as age and heat.
  • Foam and flat roofs: punctures and torn coating from blown debris. Blisters, faded coating and ponding usually read as maintenance items.
  • Metal: dents, bent trim and panels lifted at the edges. Rusted or backed-out fasteners usually read as age.
  • Debris: a fallen limb or a neighbor's patio cover on the roof is about as clear a cause as there is.

Why tile roof claims are the hardest

Most Valley homes have concrete tile, and tile roofs have two layers that age at very different speeds. The tile can last 50 years or more. The underlayment under it usually lasts 15 to 25 years in our heat. A monsoon storm can break tile on a roof whose underlayment was already near the end.

That split often shows up in the claim. An insurer may agree that the broken tile is storm damage but treat brittle underlayment as wear. If the roof leaks because the underlayment failed with age, a new crack in a tile above it doesn't change that. We tell you up front when we see this, so you know which parts of the job a claim might cover and which parts are maintenance you'd be paying for anyway.

Matching is the other tile problem. Older profiles and colors go out of production. When we can't get an exact match, we can move original tile to the slopes you see from the street and put the replacements where they won't show. Whether a policy pays for more than that is between you and your insurer.

Before you call your insurance company

A little preparation makes the adjuster visit go faster and leaves fewer gaps in the file.

  • Write down the date and time of the storm. Save weather alerts or local news reports for your area if you have them.
  • Take photos from the ground and inside: ceiling stains, wet insulation, broken tile in the yard. Date-stamped photos help.
  • Keep receipts for anything you spend to stop more damage, such as a tarp, a plumber or drying equipment.
  • Find your policy's declarations page. Note your deductible, whether the roof is covered at replacement cost or actual cash value, and any separate wind or hail deductible.
  • Look for a roof age schedule or a cosmetic damage exclusion. Some policies limit what they pay on older roofs or exclude dents that don't let water in.
  • Don't throw away broken tile or damaged materials until the adjuster has seen them, or at least photographed them.

What our inspection gives you

An estimator walks the roof, and the attic when it helps, and photographs every damaged area up close. Each photo is tied to where it is on the roof, so an adjuster can find the same spot. We note the roof type, approximate age, the condition of the underlayment where we can see it, and any damage that looks older than the storm.

You get a written scope of what needs to be repaired or replaced and our price for doing it. If we think the damage isn't from the storm, we say so. Filing a claim for wear can cost you time and a claim on your record for nothing, and we would rather you know before you file.

The adjuster visit

Your insurer sends an adjuster, either a staff adjuster or an independent adjuster the insurer hires. Both work for the insurance company. If you want, we can be on the roof at the same time to point out what we found and answer questions about how the repair would be done.

The adjuster writes up their own estimate. It often arrives days or weeks later and can look very different from ours, because it is built from the insurer's pricing and only includes what the insurer treats as covered. Ask for a copy of the full estimate, not just the payment amount.

Reading your settlement

Settlement letters use terms that change how much money you get and when. These are the ones that matter most on a roof claim:

  • Replacement cost value (RCV): the cost to repair or replace with similar materials today.
  • Actual cash value (ACV): replacement cost minus depreciation for age and wear. An older roof gets less.
  • Recoverable depreciation, or holdback: on many replacement cost policies, the insurer pays ACV first and releases the rest after the work is done and you send proof. Keep the final invoice and photos for this.
  • Deductible: subtracted from the payment. You pay it, no matter who does the work.
  • Mortgage company on the check: if you have a mortgage, the check is often made out to you and your lender, and the lender has to sign it. Larger amounts may be held and released in stages as work is completed, so call your lender early.

Line items worth checking

Compare the adjuster's estimate with ours line by line. Common gaps on Arizona roofs include underlayment and flashing under the broken tile, ridge and hip tile, pipe boots and roof jacks that have to be removed to do the work, and the cost to detach and reset solar panels. If something is missing, ask your insurer to explain why. Some items are left out by mistake, and some are left out because the policy doesn't cover them. Only the insurer can tell you which.

Damage we find once the work starts

Some damage can't be seen until tile or shingles come off. On replacements we tear off to the deck, and that is when we find soft or water-stained deck boards. We replace damaged boards as part of the job and photograph them before and after.

If the work is part of a claim, those photos go to you so you can send them to your insurer, or we can send them with your OK. Whether the insurer adds anything to the claim is its decision. You'll know about any extra cost before we do the extra work.

What Arizona law says about contractors and claims

Arizona has specific rules for roofing and repair contracts after a catastrophic storm (A.R.S. § 32-1158.02), and adjuster licensing rules in Title 20. They exist to stop the problems that follow big storms. You should know them, whoever you hire:

  • A contractor can't pay, promise to pay or rebate your deductible, or advertise that it will. We don't, and a contractor who offers to is breaking state law.
  • A contractor can't act as your adjuster or negotiate your settlement. People who negotiate claims on your behalf for pay must hold an Arizona adjuster license, and attorneys are the main exception. We document damage and price the repair. The negotiating is between you and your insurer.
  • A contractor can't tell you a claim will be covered. Storm contracts must state that the contractor made no promise of coverage.
  • For storm-damage contracts the law covers, you can cancel for any reason within four business days of signing, and within 72 hours after your insurer tells you the claim is denied.
  • The down payment on those contracts can't be more than half the contract price.
  • Work other than stopping further damage can't start until the insurer approves or denies the claim.

If your claim is denied or the payment seems low

Under Arizona's claims rules, an insurer must acknowledge your claim within 10 working days. It must accept or deny it within 15 working days after it receives a properly completed proof of loss, or tell you why it needs more time and update you every 45 days.

If the answer is no, ask for the reason in writing, with the policy language it relies on. Read it closely. A denial for wear and tear is different from one that says no damage was found, and each calls for a different response. If you believe damage was missed, you can ask for a re-inspection and send our photos and report. Many policies also have an appraisal clause for disputes over the amount of loss. In Arizona, appraisal settles how much the damage costs, not whether the policy covers it.

You can hire a licensed public adjuster or an attorney to represent you, and you can file a complaint with the Arizona Department of Insurance and Financial Institutions. Check your policy for a deadline to sue. Arizona law doesn't let a property policy set that deadline shorter than one year from the date of the storm.

Paying for what insurance doesn't

Not every storm leaves damage worth a claim. A few broken tiles can cost less than your deductible to repair. Most repairs we do cost $300 to $5,000. Tile underlayment replacement is about $10,000 to $22,000, shingle replacement about $8,000 to $15,000, foam roofs about $4,000 to $18,000, and full tile replacements about $15,000 to $35,000. An estimator prices your roof after inspecting it.

When a claim covers the storm damage but the underlayment is also worn out, many homeowners do both at once, since the tile has to come off anyway. Financing is available for your deductible and for work the claim doesn't cover.

Permits and HOAs on claim work

Claim repairs follow the same permit rules as any other roof work. Most Valley cities don't require a permit for repairs or a same-material reroof, some do, and switching to a heavier material, such as shingle to tile, generally needs one. Our city guides cover each city's rule, and where a city is unclear we confirm before starting.

If you're in an HOA, keeping the same tile profile and color usually avoids a review. If storm damage means changing the color or profile, get HOA approval before work starts. We can provide product details for the application.

Guides and cost breakdowns