Call a roofer who will document the roof. Then file the claim.
A roof insurance claim is not a phone call and a check. It is a sequence: photographs of the actual slopes, a claim number, an adjuster on the roof, a written estimate, and sometimes a second round of documentation when the first estimate is short. Homeowners in St. Louis, Kansas City, and the rest of the Midwest lose time on two mistakes. They wait weeks to look at the roof. Or they let a stranger in a truck file paperwork they never read.
John Beal Roofing has been family-run since 1947. We inspect after storms, we photograph what is there, and we meet adjusters on the roof when you ask us to. We do not file the claim for you. We do not pay your deductible. We do not sign anything in your driveway. This page is the order of work, in plain English, so you know what each step is for.
Roofer or insurance first?
Call a local roofer first when you can get someone on the roof the same day or the next day. You need photographs of the shingles, flashing, valleys, and penetrations before a tarp covers them and before weather changes the surface. Then call your insurance company and report the date of loss. Many policies expect prompt notice. Waiting until the next slow week is how a covered storm turns into an argument about age.
If water is in the house, that order flips for one task only: stop the leak. Call 1-800-564-6232 any hour. We tarp when a tarp is the right next step, and we photograph the openings before the tarp goes on. Then you file. A tarp is not a repair, and it is not a claim. It is a hold so the interior does not keep taking water while the claim is open.
Do not sign a contract, an assignment of benefits, or a “we handle everything” form in the driveway the night of the storm. You can have the roof inspected and photographed without hiring anyone yet. Hire after you have a written scope and you know who is doing the work.
What happens on the roof during the inspection
A useful inspection is slope by slope, not a glance from the driveway. The person on the roof is looking for hail hits on shingles and soft metal, wind-lifted tabs, broken seals, missing caps, dented vents and gutters, cracked pipe boots, and open flashing at walls and chimneys. Granule piles in the valleys and in the gutters are a clue. They are not, by themselves, a complete report.
What you should leave with is not a verbal “you need a new roof.” You should leave with photographs of each slope, close-ups of the damage, and a written note of what was found. That packet is what you send with the claim and what your contractor brings to the adjuster visit. If a company will not photograph the roof, they are not documenting a claim. They are selling a replacement.
We also say when a roof does not need to come off. Hail can bruise a shingle and still leave a roof that can be repaired. Wind can lift three tabs on one slope and leave the rest sealed. An honest inspection names the damaged areas and the undamaged ones. That is the opposite of a storm-chaser pitch, and it is the only way an adjuster has something real to review.
What gets photographed before a tarp goes on
Once a tarp is on, the insurer cannot see the opening the way it looked when the storm hit. That does not mean you should leave a hole open in the rain. It means the photos happen first, in this order:
- The roof from the ground, all sides, so the slopes are identifiable.
- Each damaged slope from the roof, with a wide shot and a close-up of the hits, lifted tabs, or missing shingles.
- The interior stain or drip, with a date if your phone stamps one.
- Soft metal — vents, drip edge, gutters, chimney caps — because hail shows there even when shingle hits are easy to argue about.
- The hole or split the tarp will cover, shot before the tarp is fastened.
Keep copies. Do not hand your only set to a contractor who is leaving town on Sunday. The same photos go to your agent, to the adjuster, and into the job file if the roof is approved.
The adjuster visit, and why your contractor should be on the roof
After you file, the insurer assigns an adjuster. That person has a schedule, a checklist, and a limited time on your roof. They are not your contractor, and they are not required to find every code item the replacement will need. A local roofer who already photographed the roof can walk the same slopes, point to the hits, and make sure the estimate is written against the roof that is actually there.
You do not have to have a contractor at the visit. It is the better visit when you do. Ask the roofer to meet the adjuster. Ask them to bring the photo set. Ask them not to argue. The job of that meeting is to put the damage in the file, not to win a debate on the ridge.
If the adjuster cannot get on the roof the first trip — pitch, weather, or time — reschedule. An estimate written from the yard is how whole slopes get left out.
What an adjuster walk often misses
Adjusters are not hiding damage. They are moving fast, and some of the work a replacement requires is not visible until shingles come off. These are the items that show up later and become a supplement, not a surprise change-order on your bill, if they are documented:
- Additional slopes. A rear hip, a porch, a dormer, or a garage roof that was not in the first count.
- Code-required underlayment and ice-and-water shield at eaves and valleys. Midwest winters make those layers part of a proper reroof, not an upgrade pitch.
- Flashing that has to come off with the shingles at walls, skylights, and chimneys.
- Ventilation. Ridge vent, intake, and replacements for boxed-in soffits that no longer breathe.
- Decking. Soft or wet plywood that only appears after tear-off. A good estimate carries a per-sheet allowance instead of a fight later.
- Soft metal and accessories — pipe jacks, off-ridge vents, drip edge — that hail dented and the first walk treated as cosmetic.
None of that is a reason to pad a claim. It is a reason to write down what the roof actually needs so the file matches the house. See our repair-or-replace guide when the question is whether the roof should come off at all, and our insurance-paid vs. out-of-pocket article when you already know who is paying.
What a roofing supplement is
A supplement is not a second claim. It is additional documentation on the claim you already opened, sent when the first estimate did not include work the roof requires. The contractor writes what was missed, attaches photos or code notes, and the insurer reviews it. Some items are approved. Some are not. The homeowner still owns the deductible either way.
Supplements happen most often after tear-off, when decking or hidden wet sheathing shows, and after a first estimate that counted squares short. They also happen when a shingle color or line has been discontinued and a matching repair is no longer possible, which can turn a partial approval into a full slope or a full roof. That is a product fact, not a sales move, and it should be in writing.
If the claim is denied, or only part of the roof is approved
A denial is not the end of the file. Read the letter. If it says wear and tear, ask whether the photos of hail hits and creased tabs were in the file. If it says the roof was too old, ask your agent how your policy treats actual cash value versus replacement cost. If the adjuster never got on the roof, say so and ask for a reinspection.
A local contractor can return for a reinspection with the original photo set and any new close-ups. We will say when we do not see covered damage. We will also say when the first walk missed slopes that are in the pictures. What we will not do is invent hits, coach you to misdate a storm, or offer to “take care of” the deductible so the job feels free.
Partial approvals are common. One slope is paid, the rest is not. Sometimes that is correct. Sometimes the line they drew does not match the roof. A second visit with both people on the same slope is how that gets settled. Multiple estimates from different companies are allowed. Three wildly different numbers usually mean three different scopes, not three prices for the same job. Compare line by line.
Your deductible, and what Missouri and Illinois actually prohibit
On a covered claim you pay the deductible. A contractor who offers to waive it, rebate it, or “cover it in the supplement” is asking you to take part in a false statement to the insurer. That is illegal in Missouri and illegal in Illinois. We will not do it. The longer explanation is in waiving your deductible is against the law.
How the rest of the money moves depends on your policy. Some policies pay actual cash value first and release recoverable depreciation after the work is finished. Some pay differently. Read the declarations page or ask your agent before the adjuster arrives so you are not hearing it for the first time on the lawn.
What “we handle the insurance” should actually mean
A useful contractor on a claim does five things: inspects, photographs, puts a written report in your hands, meets the adjuster when you ask, and installs the roof that was approved — including legitimate supplements. That is insurance-claim help. It is not public-adjuster work, and it is not a promise that the insurer will pay.
What to look for in an insurance restoration roofer is the same list we use on every other job. They answer the phone. They are still in this market after the storm week ends. They carry the manufacturer credentials for the shingles they install. They back the work with a workmanship warranty that outlasts the storm. John Beal Roofing is an Owens Corning Platinum Preferred Contractor and a CertainTeed SELECT ShingleMaster. We back the install with a limited lifetime workmanship warranty. We have been in the Midwest since 1947. Call 1-800-564-6232. Someone answers at 2 a.m. when the roof is open.
The first 72 hours, in order
- Keep people off a wet roof. Look from the ground.
- Photograph interior drips and any missing shingles you can see without climbing.
- Call a local roofer for an inspection and, if water is entering, for a tarp after photos.
- Call your insurance company and report the date of loss. Get a claim number.
- Ask your contractor to meet the adjuster. Put the photo set in that meeting.
- Do not sign a contract you have not read. Do not sign away the claim.
For hail-specific signs from the ground, use our hail inspection guide. For the replacement itself once a claim is approved, use roof replacement, step by step.
Frequently asked questions
Should I call a roofer or my insurance company first?
Call a local roofer first when you can get photographs of the roof before a tarp goes on. Then file the claim. If water is in the house, stop the leak first, photograph the opening, tarp, and file the same day.
What is a roofing supplement?
A supplement is extra documentation on an open claim when the first estimate missed work the roof requires — extra squares, code layers, flashing, or decking that only showed after tear-off. It is not a second claim.
Can my contractor meet the insurance adjuster?
Yes. Ask them to. Bring the photo set. The meeting is to put the damage in the file, slope by slope, not to argue on the ridge.
What if insurance denies my roof claim?
Read the letter. Ask for a reinspection if the adjuster never got on the roof or if slopes in your photos were not in the estimate. A local contractor can return with the original photographs. No one should invent damage or offer to waive your deductible.
Can a roofer waive my deductible?
No. The homeowner pays the deductible. Waiving or covering it is illegal in Missouri and Illinois.