After a storm damages a roof, record the visible damage and contact your insurer promptly. A roofer can assess the building and describe proposed repairs; the insurer handles coverage under the policy. Those are separate parts of the job: understanding the condition of the home and working through the claim for the loss.
Make one damage record for the claim
Photograph or video what you can see before cleanup or repair work changes the scene. Include the affected exterior area and any interior signs of water entry, with notes about when you noticed them. Stay off a wet, steep or visibly damaged roof. Safe ground-level views and interior photographs can provide a starting record without putting you at risk for a closer image.
Pennsylvania Insurance Department’s Natural Disaster Insurance Guide advises making only immediate repairs needed to prevent further damage, and waiting for insurer approval before permanent repairs. Follow the insurer’s instructions for your specific policy and loss. When reporting the claim, confirm the required documentation and inspection arrangements. Keep the instructions, contact names, work descriptions and receipts in the same claim file.
Have the assessment cover the affected exterior
Impriano Roofing & Siding Inc., based in Blue Bell, lists storm-damage restoration among its services. Its Blue Bell assessment includes the roof, siding, windows and other exterior elements. The company describes work ranging from replacing missing shingles to repairing damaged siding and leaky windows.
Impriano’s storm-repair services also include gutters and downspouts, and its roof assessment looks for visible and hidden damage. Its advertised repairs also address structural damage. Ask the roofer to connect each proposed repair with the condition observed in that location.
Compare estimates on the same work
When practical, obtain more than one estimate. Read the proposed repair or replacement, materials, affected areas, cost and timing together. If one estimate includes a component that another omits, resolve that difference before treating their totals as comparable. The purpose is to understand what you would authorize, not simply to find the lowest number.
The existing roof system belongs in that discussion. Impriano offers shingle, metal and flat roofing, so identify the roof type and the affected sections when describing the request. For shingle roofing, its listed brands include CertainTeed and GAF; identify the proposed product in the written estimate. Its online project portfolio can be filtered by location and project type and includes photographs and customer reviews. Use relevant projects to discuss the contractor’s experience with similar work, then ask for references you can contact about the service they received.
Before hiring, verify the contractor’s registration and insurance. Pennsylvania’s guide says home-improvement contractors doing more than $5,000 of business per year in the state must register with the Attorney General’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. Ask for the Home Improvement Contractor (HIC) number and verify it through the Attorney General’s contractor lookup.
Turn the selected proposal into an agreement
Once you select a contractor, put the specific work, total cost, schedule and any offered guarantees in writing. Read the completed agreement before signing and resolve blank or unclear sections. Make the payment schedule part of that discussion, including what will have been completed at each stage. That gives you identifiable milestones for following the project, instead of relying on an informal understanding of when work should be finished.
Impriano says it works with insurance adjusters to document storm damage and coordinate repairs. Agree on who will handle project communications and who will send updates to you. Before accepting the finished job or making final payment, walk through the completed work against the agreement and identify anything that still needs attention.
Know the next step if a claim is denied
A denied claim requires a coverage review, rather than simply another contractor estimate. The Pennsylvania guide advises checking the policy to understand what is covered and says a policyholder may appeal to the insurance company’s claim manager. If questions remain, the department’s Consumer Help Center provides a further point of contact. Keep that review separate from authorizing a contractor to begin work: choosing a repair proposal does not resolve a coverage dispute.
