How to vet a roofer after a hail storm

Sample client post. Ponderosa Peak Roofing & Restoration is a fictional contractor. This checklist is what a client engine delivers when a homeowner requests it. The legal points quote Colorado statute and are not legal advice; when in doubt, ask a lawyer or the Colorado Division of Insurance.

Before anyone gets on your roof

• Find the company in the Colorado Secretary of State business search. No entity, no deal.
• Confirm the registration with your building department. Roofing is registered locally in Colorado, not by the state: Douglas County (covers Highlands Ranch and all unincorporated areas), Castle Rock, Parker, Castle Pines, Littleton contractor licensing, Centennial contractor licensing, Arapahoe County contractor licensing, Jefferson County contractor licensing.
• Ask for the certificate of insurance, both general liability and workers' compensation, and call the insurer listed on it.
• Get the scope, materials, approximate dates, and approximate costs in a written contract before any work starts. On an insurance claim, the price usually follows your insurance company's estimate, not an up-front bid from the roofer, so ask how they handle anything the adjuster missed.
• Ask for two references from your own area, and call them.

What Colorado law gives you

Colorado's residential roofing law (C.R.S. 6-22-101 through 6-22-105) sets rules for any roofer paid from an insurance claim. In the statute's own words:

• A written contract, signed by both sides, is required before work starts. It must state "the scope of roofing services and materials to be provided," "the approximate dates of service," "the approximate costs," and the roofer's "physical address, electronic mail address, telephone number." (6-22-103)
• The roofer "shall not advertise or promise to pay, waive, or rebate all or part of any insurance deductible." (6-22-105) The contract must say so in writing. (6-22-103)
• If your insurer denies the claim "in whole or in part," you "may rescind the contract within seventy-two hours" of the written denial, and the roofer must return "any payments or deposits" within ten days. (6-22-104)
• The contract must carry, in bold, a statement that the roofer "shall hold in trust any payment from the property owner until the roofing contractor has delivered roofing materials at the residential property site or has performed a majority of the roofing work." (6-22-103)
• A roofer "shall not claim to be or act as a public insurance adjuster." They may discuss the scope of repairs with your insurer once you have a valid contract, but they do not adjust your claim. (6-22-105)

Red flags at the door

• Pressure to sign on the spot.
• An offer to cover, waive, or "take care of" your deductible.
• A request to sign an assignment of benefits or an insurance form before any inspection has happened.
• Out-of-state plates and no local address.
• Cash only, or a large payment before materials arrive.
• "We work with your insurance company" offered instead of "here is what we found."

Five questions that make a storm chaser leave

• What is your county or town registration number?
• Can I see the certificate of insurance and call the carrier?
• Where is your office, and can I stop by?
• Will you put the scope, materials, and dates in writing before I sign?
• What happens to my deposit if my insurance company denies the claim?

Sources

• Colorado Revised Statutes 6-22-103, 6-22-104, 6-22-105 (6-22-103, 6-22-104, 6-22-105)
• Colorado Division of Insurance, after a hail storm FAQs

Dana, Ponderosa Peak Roofing & Restoration
We live here too.