I would not trust someone who suggests falsifying an insurance claim...or anything else for that matter.

I live rural. Over the years I have had several roofers randomly stop by and offer a free roof inspection. So I suppose that is a common practice. I did have hail and wind damage after a storm two years ago. My longtime (well known) insurance provider turned down the first claim. A second claim settlement offer was much too low, almost an insult. I filed a 3rd claim. A roofing company employee was aggressive and the insurance company ended up covering an entire new roof less deductible. A side note. I had become discouraged after the second claim was so low, and changed insurance companies. The original insurance company was still obligated to pay as the damage occurred when I was covered by it. The new insurance company returned me part of my payment because I had a new roof.

'If it sounds too good to be true, it usually is' is an adage for a reason.

If not for the fact that this man is telling us that we can get our insurance company to completely cover the cost of replacement of our 20 year roof , I would find no obvious reason to not hire them.

Reputable companies generally don't go door to door looking for business. They're too busy servicing the legitimate business they already have. Good for you for looking them up, etc., but I would be willing to bet there are many good roofers in your area who don't have to resort to the tactics this company has. And they are tactics. (And we all know that people are often paid to leave positive reviews). No matter how tempting it is to save money, always do the right thing. And if you know in your heart that your roof doesn't need replacing because of the wind storm but really because of its age, that's just not the right thing to do.

Hubs says that we have nothing to lose by trying, but I think that there is a something wrong somewhere.

I disagree with hubs and think there's potentially lots to lose. First, if this guy is ever proven to be perpetuating insurance fraud and starts naming names, you're on the list. Secondly, if you ever DO have a catastrophic event and NEED your insurance company, you suddenly may find yourself deemed uninsurable and/or the recipient of very large premium increases. That happens all the time with people who make too many claims. You may very well get away with it and get them to pay a bunch of money, but it's not a risk I'd be willing to take.

Just my opinion, but it sounds like your gut is trying to tell you something. I'd listen.

I suspect the OP is in Florida. There are roofing companies here that specialize in this dubious scheme. As I understand it the homeowners sign over an assignment of benefits and the roofing company deals with the insurance company directly. They know how to work the system and often the insurance company settles rather than going to court. This is one of the reasons homeowners insurance is so expensive in Florida

I suppose you could call your insurance company and file a claim but if your roof isn't leaking then I don't see how damage could be assessed. Insurance companies aren't maintenance companies. Insurance fraud is one thing you don't even want to get near.

I am glad you understand, and unexpectedly the salesperson admits, that their company is an ambulance chaser. In our region it is common for hail storm events. Like ants crawling through neighborhoods. But lovey, it's free! Free I tell ya!! We don't have to do anything but sign the contract - they'll do all the legwork for us!!!

I have dealt with the aftermath of these roofing companies from family and friends that has fell for this sales tactic. There is a whole littany of items that are not in your favor and setup a poor outcome.

How is it insurance fraud or a scam if the insurance company sends an adjuster to inspect and approve?

Nothing in life is free my friends. And insurance companies do not pay claims out of the goodness of their hearts. The long and short of it is that if you file a claim, chances are high they will raise your rates and get all of it back that they paid out - and then some.

Whether your particular insurance company will pay - no one here can answer that. All I know is that if they do pay out, so will you.

Total scam. This guy does not work for the roofing company. He is trying to entice you to defraud the insurance company and therefore will not want you to contact them directly. He is going to ask for cash up front very soon. Then you will never see him again. Call the roofing company!

^^^ exactly! How does the OP even know this guy really works for this roofing company? Anyone can say they work for any company. He'll get their $$ and the OP will never hear from him again. Good suggestion to call the roof company directly and ask if this guy works for them.

Elizabeth, that is a pretty broad assumption you have made without any real foundation!! Especially if the homeowner's insurance company is involved from the start. Every insurance company handles things a bit differently and they might limit their contribution to only repairs rather than full replacement. But it certainly does not hurt to investigate the possibilities!

IME, any claim against your homeowner's policy can result in higher premiums or cancellation. We were victims of a serial arsonist who set fire to our carport and parked vehicles. We filed a claim and the insurance company took over, hiring companies to repair the carport and rid the house of smoke/smoke smell. We were there for the smoke removal but not for all the exterior repair work. While that was going on, someone (guess who!!) entered the house from a skylight only visible from the carport roof and burgled the place, stealing jewelry and electronics. While they did pay the claims, they immediately cancelled our policy, even though they likely (unintentionally) set us up for the burglary. And while none of this was our fault in any way, we could only qualify for very high premium, high risk homeowner's insurance for a period of 2 years.

It is a fairly safe assumption. Any scam artist can copy a companies logo from their web page and make a fake badge with their photo and fake name. Did he arrive in a company truck? ( I bet not )

No reputable insurance company sends out employees to scout a neighborhood for roof damage.

An insurance company is NOT going to pay to replace a 20 year old roof that has simply deteriorated.

Check him out with your insurance agent!

sounds really scammy. even folks in fla had to cough up deductibles.

Here's the litmus test: After the last storm, were you even considering calling your insurance company to file a damage claim on your roof, or did this not occur to you before this guy showed up at the door and put this idea in your head?

If not, there's nothing wrong with asking your insurer to send someone out to take a look at it and provide an opinion on whether there is recent storm damage they will cover. But be prepared to explain why you think your roof has recently become defective. Since insurance companies aren't insuring you for normal wear-and-tear, you will need to put forth a plausible argument.

We were ripped off like this after hail damage, I say "we" but a bunch of people were by the same company in our area. The company did in fact do a lot of roofs in the area but then I guess he spent all the money and then he didn't do any of the jobs he had lined up. He got insurance checks up front from many people. Anyway...after this happened to us, I would be a lot smarter and what I would do is I would contact MY INSURANCE company and have them come out and inspect the roof and YES they will replace old roofs for sure!!!!! Then I would go from there. I would choose a company to do the roof that has been in business for years and has good ratings and reviews! Don't trust this company! Absolutely don't sign a contract with them and for goodness sake, don't give them any money!

It’s insurance fraud. If you’re dishonest enough to go along with it then it will be hard to complain when you’re scammed.

There are lots of con men that go around after storms and trick people out of their money. I wonder if your con man isn't the same guy that conned a bunch of people in NE Ohio(he is supposedly in Florida now and is a wanted man!) after the hail storms. The damage was real and the insurance claim was warranted. Just don't trust a person that knocks on your door. Call your insurance company and tell them you think your roof is damaged from the wind storm and could they have it checked out. They will send a rep from your insurance company to see what they find. If the roof is old, they may give a prorated amount of money to you to have your roof replaced or they may give full value minus your deductible.

Get a claim from insurance company. The roofer may have helped you. There is nothing wrong with going forward, if insurance company finds it is not covered that is that,

" Hubs lets him up on the roof and, of course, he comes back down with the verdict that it needs replacing. We knew that. "

Since your roof is rather aged (~ 25 YO) he may have done more harm than any good by walking around up there, esp in the dead of winter if the temp was cold outside and the old shingles are brittle. Our roof is over 20 now and I'll do an inside inspection in the attic when there's a heavy rain storm to look for any leaks. The flashings around chimneys and air vents are usually the more vulnerable places for leaks to start. I'd call a reputable roofing company (or 2-3) to come out to visually inspect from the ground or use a drone for close up looks to get another evaluation and a replacement price offer if they say that you need a new roof.

Con man. I wouldn’t trust him an inch. But he’s so CHARMING, you say? Of course he is.

By the way, are you positive that the pictures of roof damage he showed you are actually your roof? Have you been up there? You keep saying your roof is old so you assume it needs replacing - the con man knows you think that. He can see that your roof is old by driving down your street. That’s why he came to your door.

Any stranger who knocks on my door offering me a service and telling me my insurance company will pay the whole bill, has the door swiftly shut in his face. ESPECIALLY charming ones.

If it sounds too good to be true, it is.

Fifteen years ago or so, signs were popping up all thru our neighborhood about insurance roof replacements. We had a hail storm that had caused damage. Now the time is close to expiring on making a claim, probably 50 to 75% of houses got new roofs. We called the number, sure enough we had damage, our insurance agreed, we paid the deductible and got a new roof. Our roof was 15 years old at the time but no where needing replaced. After we talked about how silly we would have felt if we had not checked into it.

Doubting it's in FL, because the home insurance industry here is a holy mess. And where I live, good roofers are extremely busy and hard to get hold of, so the idea that they would need to drum up business seems counterintuitive.

IMO, OP is right to be skeptical.

The difficulty with hail storms is as my insurance company explained when they replaced our roof shortly after we moved in is the small holes or indentations in the shingles can become larger or allow leakage into the house. Rather than stating that a roof does not need to be replaced because it is X amount of years old I would rather accept what the insurance company states. They replaced mine because they did not want a larger claim for interior damage years later.

I had a supposedly reputable 15 year old company replace mine a couple of years ago and had all kinds of difficulty. Just because a company has a good rating or has been in business for a long time does not mean much. Many good ratings are done immediately after the work when problems have not had time to show up.

Good point, maifleur. Years ago, we had a terrible experience with a local company that a friend recommended, and people seemed to love in the reviews. We lucked out of paying them for the botched repairs because they never gave us anything to sign.

We’re talking about insurance fraud here. He is asking you to file a fraudulent claim. Don’t do it. It’s a crime.

So how is wind damage from a storm considered a "fraudulent claim"? Lora? If her roof has damage they aren't going to pay for anything without sending out an agent to inspect the roof. If they find damage, then they will pay if it's included on their policy.

Scenarios like this were a huge problem in FL. He wants you to sign assignment of benefits directly to him. They inflate the bill and keep the profit, and do shoddy work.

Arkansas Girl, it’s fraud because the wind didn’t cause the damage.

I live in Florida... roofing scam is a big problem here. My insurance is literally "through the roof"!!

If this roofer files the claim on your behalf they will ask you to sign an Assignment of Benefits/AOB form which means ALL the money goes directly to the roofer NOT YOU. You will still have to pay your deductable.

The roofer could further cut corners by using cheaper less expensive roofing materials than promised, then pocket the difference.

I had a new roof last year and at delivery of supplies I made sure they matched what was quoted.

I also paid for this myself as it was an old leaking roof, 24 years old and some insurance companies are canceling policies with older roofs

Lora, how do you know they didn't get wind damage? That's why your insurance company sends someone out to inspect for damage! Where we live, over the Christmas holiday, we had gusts to 50 mph! That definitely can damage a roof.

Arkansas Girl: This is very obviously a scam.

I agree the person that came to their house is a con man but that doesn't mean they don't have any storm damage.

This is perfectly normal where I live. Contractors go up on the roof, look for hail or wind damage. If found, they'll contact your insurance company and they'll look together. Insurance may agree to pay part or all of replacement. it's not just roofs. Siding, gutters and shutters too. I got my last new roof this way. You'll end up paying for it over the next 20 or so years when they increase your rates, but you may get lucky and die in 5 years, so everyone takes them up on the offer. Roofs are more likely to be covered because roof failure can lead to much more expensive interior damage.

Arkansas Girl: I suppose you are right that there could be wind damage on their very old roof. This man is a con man, though.

I sure hope that Claudia and her husband did not sign anything. Once you sign, you are held hostage especially if it's a scam! They will hold you to that contract and you will not be able to do anything about it. Then you'll have to get legal help to cancel the contract.

The person that scammed a whole lot of homeowners in NE Ohio had nothing but positive reviews about their company too. It ended up he even burned some contractors and also our local supply company that they never paid.

So, for an update.

We took the most common advice and have gotten written estimates from three roofers.

We went ahead on our own and filed a claim with the insurance company.

They sent an adjuster out yesterday and he tells us that the insurance is going to cover the replacement cost to replace the roof!

This is straight from from the insurance company's own adjuster!

He has sent me the details in an email that I have not opened yet.

I am still not convinced that there is not some negative consequence to be felt, but I have since heard about and talked to a few who have done this. The word on the street is that it did NOT result in an increase in their insurance payments. Even if that should happen, we will probably not be in this house for another few decades , as we have been.

I will keep you updated as to if I find the dead bug in this bowl of soup. Gonna have to move all the tasty things around and take a look at what is on the bottom of the bowl.

.I suspect that it is hiding in there somewhere.

Hoping it all goes well as a new roof would be a great upgrade when we go to sell in the near future.

The person who came to our door, initially had a hard sell that was focused more on the process of getting the insurance to pay up and not so much on the product or the quality of work that is promised. So, that got me more than a bit suspicious. Actually, I was very suspicious, not just a bit.

I wanted to file my own claim and deal with it through the insurance company on my own. I felt that I was being railroaded or taken by that approach.

I think that to NOT be suspicious and skeptical would have been foolish on my part. We all know how smooth talking a con man can be.

Updates to follow.

We are not in Florida. We are in the midAtlantic region.

There are flipped up shingles on our roof that we could not see from the ground, and yes the photos ARE our roof.

The insurance adjuster used a drone to get up there and take photos! I am not filing a fraudulent claim. It is up to the insurance company to approve, or not. And, they did approve.

I am not commiting fraud of any kind .The company, itself, has agreed to replace. I have no influence or control over that. They approve and they write the check.

I am familiar with the AOB situation.I think that there is some unsavory business going on in Florida. Our son , in Florida, is involved in doing this right now and the bid for roof replacement is way out of porportion! Yes, something sure seems to be going on down there with that. There is some move afoot to deal with AOBs in Florida, but I dont really understand the nuances of it.

We were not asked to sign an AOB, but there was another agreement that he wanted us to sign and I did not sign anything or make any commitments.

I was skeptical and will still be looking for that dead roach in the soup until all is said and done.

It has been obvious to us that our roof needed replacing for some time now. I did not need anyone to prove that to me!

Yeah, don't look a gift horse in the mouth! Where we live, there are many many people getting their roofs replaced from storm damage! That is why we have insurance is it not?! Unfortunately, we just got scammed by an unscrupulous contracting company. Just recently there was a story in the local news again about a guy ripping off people, taking their money and never doing the work. This guy got arrested though because he was scamming people by using their credit card information to make purchases also in addition to taking their money and never doing any work.

Well I hope it all works out for you!

Well todd, she has had her insurance company come and look and they have determined that it has sufficient storm damage for the insurance company to pay for replacement.

When I had my roof replaced, I asked my insurance company about the contractor and they said they do a lot claims with them without complaints. Might be worth asking your insurance company.

Hello Claudia
I hope the insurance company replaced your roof. Can you update us?
Thank you for sharing
Best,

I posted a new thread about this and, yes, we did get a new roof and the insurance company did pay for it. We went directly to the insurance company and by passed the slick salesman.

We just got it all rounded up and taken care of this week. So far, all is good.

I would never have believed it!

I too just had a new roof put on & my Insurance Co. paid for it. We had a terrible storm come through N. TX & it did a lot of damage to my roof & the roof next door. Wind more than anything although there was some hail also. I made a call to the Insurance Co. they sent someone out and sent a check. I bought this house 6 months ago & it is only 8 years old so I was not expecting something like this to happen so soon.

EPDM, surely you dont expect an elderly women to climb up on the two story roof and spread stuff over it, do you? Really? Or, most home owners, for that matter. It looks as if you may be promoting your product, but who wants to do that? Not I. I just wanted a real new roof and some strong and capable guys with tool belts and ladders to do it. That sounds like something that you might use for a shed or an out building of some sort, but not on your house. Good grief! NOl

Also, it was not a fraud. It was all completely above board and legit and all with the complete approval and co operation of the insurance company. I hired a local roofer that we had used before.

I thought I'd chime in with an update: Here in Colorado we have had a LOT of BIG hail. Roofing claims are off the charts!

*-My insurance deductible AND depreciation were deducted from the total damage estimate.

*-They cut me a check....for about a third of what the total damages came to. I think their estimate was low.

*-I then scheduled a NEW roof.

*- Will take photos of the roof just before they're done, with the roofing estimate paperwork...send that in to the Insurance company and they will reimburse me the depreciation.

If I don't repair the huge double redwood deck(needs sanded & stained), cedar fence/dents or gutters/dents, I will have enough to pay for the roof.

So in essence....YES....I'm getting a new roof free and clear from the insurance company....but I'm using the money alotted for the deck, fence & gutters repair to do that.

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Everything went as the OP said....except....there were other damages that were paid out, but only had enough to pay for the roof.

nicole, different companies pay out differently depending out what sort of policy you bought. We recently changed insurance companies to find a better rate and found lots of differing coverages and had to choose what we wanted. There were even policies that did not cover roof damage AT ALL!

We had a major hailstorm a couple of months ago. Our siding now needs to be painted, and our 20+year old roof surely sustained some damage. DH, though, won’t put in a claim because it will raise our premium. Well, it will go up anyway! Nearly every house in the neighborhood is getting a new roof, this is the summer of hammering!

arkansas girl....I've spent a LOT of time shopping for insurance...and I was a claims adjuster for AAA at one time. I didn't believe the average policy with a deductible would pay anything for a roof over 20 years old, they're pro-rated. I was wrong! But...it didn't exactly pay for it's FULL replacement either. On the other hand...I'm THRILLED.

bpath....I agree. Roofing claims ALL over the place will raise my rates anyway. It's the perfect time to put a NEW roof on THIS house and I'm going to up-grade it to a class 4. No dents.