Filing a roof insurance claim in Georgia, step by step

• Step 1: Make the house safe and document the damage
• Step 2: Get the roof inspected
• Step 3: Report the loss promptly
• Step 4: The adjuster's inspection
• Step 5: Understand the money
• Step 6: Supplements and disagreements
• Mistakes that cost homeowners

Step 1: Make the house safe and document the damage

Start inside: stop water where you can, move valuables, and take photos and video of every stain, drip and wet spot. Outside, photograph shingles or debris in the yard, dented gutters and anything the storm broke. Your phone records the date and time, which ties the damage to the event.

If the roof is open, get it tarped. Covering an opening protects the house and the claim, and insurers expect reasonable steps to limit further damage. Keep the receipt and the before-and-after photos.

Step 2: Get the roof inspected

Before filing, many homeowners have the roof inspected so they know whether the damage is actually storm-related. Most Georgia homeowner policies cover hail and wind as causes of loss and exclude wear and age, so a report that separates the two is the backbone of the claim. A good inspection includes slope-by-slope photos, test squares for hail, and damaged metal such as vents and gutters.

Step 3: Report the loss promptly

Most Georgia policies require prompt notice of a loss, and many set a window of one to two years from the date of loss. Waiting risks the claim and makes it harder to show the damage came from a specific storm. When you call, give the storm date, a short description, and whether any temporary repairs were made.

Step 4: The adjuster's inspection

The insurer sends an adjuster to inspect the roof. It helps to have your roofer there, with your permission, to point out each marked hit, lifted tab and dented vent, and to share measurements. The adjuster decides what the policy covers; the roofer's job is making sure nothing is missed because it was hard to see.

Afterward, you receive a scope of loss, the list of work and prices the insurer agrees to pay for. Read it line by line against your roofer's estimate.

Step 5: Understand the money

Your deductible is yours to pay. Beyond it, how the insurer pays depends on your policy: some pay replacement cost, often in two payments with depreciation released after the work is done, while others pay actual cash value, which subtracts wear. Ask your insurer which applies and whether your policy includes ordinance or law coverage, which can matter for code-required items such as drip edge or Atlanta's cool-roof rule.

Step 6: Supplements and disagreements

Some needed items only show up once work starts, such as rotten decking found at tear-off. Those are documented with photos and submitted to the insurer as a supplement. If you disagree with the insurer's scope, your policy describes the options; get the reason for any denial in writing, and keep your photos and reports organized.

Mistakes that cost homeowners

The most common are waiting too long, climbing onto a wet roof to take pictures, signing a contract on the spot with a door-knocker after a storm, and letting a small leak go until the interior damage is bigger than the roof damage. The claim is yours. A roofer can document and repair, but you stay in charge of every decision.