An Eighteen-Year-Old Roof and a Roofer Bearing Gifts
A 2004 shingle roof on a stucco home is the subject of a wind claim after a dry thunderstorm with a peak gust of 40 mph. Your inspection finds twelve lifted and creased tabs on the south slope, plus granule loss and thermal cracking across all slopes. The insured hands you a 2017 inspection report he had kept, which states 'end-of-life shingles, approximately 3–5 years of remaining service life.' The roofer who referred the claim has produced a $28,000 full-replacement estimate, offers to 'handle the paperwork' so the insured will not have to pay the $6,500 deductible, and expects to be the contractor on the job. The insured says: 'Just tell them the whole roof blew off.' The carrier has not yet inspected.
1. What goes into your estimate and report, and what stays out?
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Include: the twelve wind-created tabs on the south slope - fresh creases, mat transfer, and breaks that are not weathered at the fracture line, which is the signature of mechanical (wind) damage rather than age. Include any compromised decking under that area, and the repair scope reasonably necessary for that slope, including sealing and finish work.
Exclude: granule loss and thermal cracking across all slopes. Those are wear, tear, deterioration, and age-related failure - excluded causes, not wind damage. An eighteen-year-old shingle roof in Florida sun is at or beyond typical design life; asserting that it 'blew off' invites a carrier engineer to demonstrate the opposite and to question everything else you submitted.
Report: date, time, and direction of the event; measured gust data; photographs of each damaged tab with the fracture pattern visible; the remaining-service-life finding from the 2017 report (disclose it - the carrier will find it anyway, and you look far better producing it); and a clear statement of what portion is wind versus age.
If full replacement is genuinely warranted because the damaged slope cannot be repaired or matched, build that argument on evidence - shingle discontinuation, matching impossibility, manufacturer or installer statements - not on a roofer's assertion.
2. How do you handle the deductible offer and the referral relationship with the roofer?
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Both are problems, and they are the same problem: a contractor with a financial interest in the scope is directing the claim.
- Deductible waiver: 'handling the paperwork' so the insured never pays the deductible is an unlawful inducement. It is treated under Florida's unfair trade practice and insurance fraud provisions as absorbing the deductible to obtain the job, and it exposes the insured, the contractor, and you. Refuse in writing, tell the insured plainly that he owes the deductible and that this 'help' can void his claim and his contractor's license.
- Referral economics: if the roofer is compensated for sending you claims - directly or through 'marketing' arrangements - that is compensation to an unlicensed person for activity requiring a license, plus a conflict of interest that contaminates your estimate.
- Scope walks: the contractor can provide a bid, but he must not sit in on your scope walks or influence what you submit.
- Fix: new written fee arrangement, no per-referral payments, and a documented statement to the insured that he may use any contractor he chooses.
3. What is the realistic downside if you simply submit the full-roof claim as the insured and the roofer want?
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It is not a small risk, and it lands on you first:
- False or inflated claim statement under Florida's insurance fraud statute - submitting known age-related damage as wind damage, with a supporting estimate, is the core fact pattern.
- Unfair trade practice and public adjuster code of ethics violations, which mean license discipline, restitution, and administrative fines independent of what the carrier does.
- The claim itself can be lost. Policies contain concealment and fraud provisions; a carrier that proves a material misrepresentation can deny the entire claim, including the legitimate twelve tabs on the south slope. The insured ends up with nothing.
- Civil exposure and E&O. The insured is the first person who will sue you when the denial letter arrives.
- You cannot undo it later. Once the inflated estimate is in the file, every subsequent number you submit is discounted.