Hail damage roof inspection: what an engineer records and what an adjuster decides

After a hailstorm the same roof can be looked at by an adjuster, an engineer, a roofer and, if the house is for sale, a home inspector. Each records something different, and only the insurer decides what the policy pays. Nothing in this post is advice on a claim, and no inspection described here can promise its outcome.

The adjuster works the claim

Section 4101.001 of the Insurance Code defines an adjuster as a person who investigates or adjusts losses on behalf of an insurer, and section 4101.051 says a person may not act as an adjuster in Texas without a license. The adjuster's visit is part of the insurer's handling of the claim.

TDI's advice is to file the claim as soon as you can, be available for the adjuster's visit so the adjuster sees everything, take pictures and video of the damage, and keep a list of everyone you speak to at the insurance company. It also notes that a policy may pay for temporary repairs, and to save the receipts.

The engineer records conditions

Section 4101.002 excludes from adjuster licensing a person employed only to furnish technical assistance to a licensed adjuster, and it names an engineer among them. An engineer an insurer brings in is technical help to the adjuster, and the decision on the claim stays with the insurer.

What an engineer contributes is a record. Section 1001.003 of the Occupations Code includes evaluation in the practice of engineering, and section 1001.401 requires a license holder's report on a Texas project to carry the seal. A sound record shows each condition with its location, says what could not be observed and why, and states what the evidence supports and no more.

Where this firm's roof line stands

254 Engineering's roof line does no forensic or cause of loss work. Its protocol declines a roof with an open insurance claim where the letter would become a tool in that claim, and refers the owner to an independent firm. The difference between an inspection and a forensic report on cause is set out in inspection versus forensic report.

Storm damage reported in the last year, with no open claim, is a different case, for example after repairs and before a sale or a renewal. The engineer can then send the technician back to count hail impacts on a measured test square on each plane before deciding.

The roofer prices the work

TDI's rules for contractors are plain. A contractor who provides or may provide work on the property may not act as a public adjuster on its claim, may not offer to waive or rebate the deductible, and must include a deductible notice in a contract of $1,000 or more involving an insurance settlement. The department adds that an insurer may ask for proof the deductible was paid, and advises getting more than one bid or estimate. A roofer's side of this is in the guide for roofing contractors.

The home inspector reports, with a stated limit

In a sale, rule 535.228(c) requires the TREC inspector to report the roof covering, evidence of water penetration and previous repairs, and says the inspector is not required to identify latent hail damage. A clean roof section after a storm is not a finding that there was no hail damage.

Two things the policy decides, not the roof

TDI notes that a wind and hail deductible may differ from the deductible for other damage, and that an insurer will not pay for a new roof just because it is old or worn. How the peril and the policy interact on the coast is in hurricane damage and your insurance claim.

If the claim is closed and a buyer, a lender or a carrier now needs a sealed opinion on the roof's present condition, that is the engineer's letter. Start the roof certification online, or read what the sealed letter covers first.