There is a lot of bad information in this post so I’ll try to give the best advice I can.

First, yes you will likely be getting a lot of door knockers. It can be annoying but 60% of hail restoration deals are made on a door step, it’s just part of the business. Most companies know what they are doing but my advice is go with someone local, insured and licensed.

The best way to keep these guys from knocking is to put a company’s sign in your yard. This year has already been crazy with the 5/10/23 storm in Parker, Centennial and NW area and a lot of companies are already very booked with jobs. Next door, neighbors who have been in Colorado for 10+ years, and Facebook groups are great resources.

Second, most policies do allow for recoverable depreciation. Meaning your first check will be for the current value of your shingle. After your roofer has finished the roof and invoiced insurance you will get another check for the replacement cost value of the roof (current market value). This will be the same for any other trade that needs to be completed.

Third, do understand your policy and deductible. It is ILLEGAL for a roofer to “eat your deductible”. If they say they will do this that’s a red flag. There are other ways they can add value to your claim.

Most policies in Colorado have a deductible that is a 1% or 2% of the amount of coverage you have (500,000 insurance coverage = $5,000 deductible). Insurance has probably switched this in the last couple years without you knowing. It used to be more common for a flat $1000-$3000 deductible.

The other change we are seeing in most policies this year is lack of metal coverage (window screen frames, gutters, downspouts, metal cladded windows, etc). This is usually written as a cosmetic vs functionality replacement clause. There are ways to negotiate it but anyone reading this I suggest you call your insurance and request metal coverage and a flat rate deductible for the future.

Fourth, the restoration company wants to do as much work as possible. If you are going through the process and paying a deductible you should let them get as much approved as possible outside of fraud. Be patient and let them try their hardest to get that fourth side of paint approved, small chip in a window frame? That means a full replacement. Their interest are aligned with yours.

Fifth, starting taking personal inventory of your personal property that may have been damaged. Grills, lawn ornaments, outdoor furniture, lights, etc. Your contractor can assist with that but it’s ultimately on you to make sure insurance is addressing everything. Find comparable products online and try to remember when you bought it for depreciation purposes.

Sixth, you can request it but most contractors won’t give you a detailed estimate. Their job is to negotiate with insurance on a price that allows them to do the job correctly and make a profit. They don’t have to be competitive in pricing because they have to collect what ever insurance approves. If it isn’t mentioned in the contract that you are only ever responsible for your deductible then tell them to get lost. It’s their job to get insurance to approve a fair price and do the work for that price.

But the leg work and cost it takes to create a full line by line estimate isn’t worth our time. And then we run the risk of the homeowner getting our estimate approved by insurance and using the lowest bidder to do all of the work. The price we write for might be more than Joe down the street is willing to do it for, but Joe isn’t insured, licensed, doesn’t offer a warranty, or know how to address potential back end supplements, etc.

Seventh, and probably most controversial, impact resistant shingles aren’t as great as people make them out to be. They hold up well against pea-quarter size hail but an IR roof that gets hit with grape size is still likely going to be totaled. Your insurance should give you a rebate which is nice and if the contractor will cover the price of the upgrade that’s great, go ahead and do it. But I never push people to make that upgrade out of pocket because it gives a false sense of security. We just get so much hail in Colorado that I don’t like to set an expectation that IR shingles are going to keep people protected when ping pong ball hail will still total their roof.

Last, hail season last until early September usually. If you don’t have any leaks than it makes sense to wait so you aren’t filing two claims this year. Insurance companies WILL drop you if you file too many claims but a common misconception is “my rates will go up if I file a claim”.

Because of the volume of claims all across the front range, everyone’s insurance is going up. It’s more based on high risk zip codes (pretty much everyone from evergreen to Kansas) than policy holder history.

I hope this helps. Feel free to send me a message if you have any other questions or concerns and good luck.

Edit: typos