What to Expect When You Are Filing a Roof Insurance Claim in Houston with Laura Cole
In this episode, Laura Cole, founder of Trueworks Roofing, a Houston roofing company, explains the process of filing an insurance claim for your roof in the Houston area and what to expect.
Laura lays out the roofing insurance claim process step-by-step.
Connect with Trueworks Roofing™
Request a FREE Roof Consultation
Follow Trueworks Roofing on Facebook
Follow Trueworks Roofing on Instagram
Follow Trueworks Roofing on Twitter
Subscribe to Our YouTube Channel
If You Would Like to Interview Joel or Laura for your podcast, send an email with more details.
If you would like to be a guest on Houston Roofer Podcast, send an email with your contact info and why you would make a great guest.
Transcript
are you considering investing in a new roof then?
Speaker:This podcast is for you.
Speaker:Welcome to the Houston ripper podcast, where we take a deep dive into the
Speaker:roofing industry and provide you with the latest industry trends.
Speaker:Interviews answer all of your roofing questions and provide a buyer's
Speaker:guide for your next roofing project so that you can be confident in
Speaker:the decision that you're making.
Speaker:Now, here's your host.
Speaker:Hi guys, welcome back to Houston roofer.
Speaker:And today I'm here with Laura Cole, who is one of the founders of true works roofing.
Speaker:And we're going to be talking about what to expect when you're
Speaker:filing an insurance claim.
Speaker:And Laura, I know that insurance is a big part of the roofing industry,
Speaker:because a lot of times when people are calling you guys, it's because, you
Speaker:know, there's been a storm and they have a damage on their roof because
Speaker:of hail or wind or even hurricanes.
Speaker:Cause.
Speaker:Houston has hurricanes.
Speaker:So, you know, I think it's really important to educate our consumers
Speaker:and clients on the whole process of when it comes to insurance.
Speaker:So, you know, let's get started.
Speaker:I want to talk to you first about what are some of the most common questions
Speaker:that you get when your phone rings, right.
Speaker:And there's a client on the other end and they want to know about, oh, well, my.
Speaker:Cover this right.
Speaker:Will my insurance cover a roof?
Speaker:Thank you so much.
Speaker:Yes.
Speaker:The advice that I'm going to give and the pointers that I'm going to also be
Speaker:giving out pertain to the day to day, what I get asked on the phone and.
Speaker:The biggest question, like you said, is what will they cover?
Speaker:You know, a storm can come through.
Speaker:It's very scary.
Speaker:It's very dramatic.
Speaker:It's, it's stressful on the homeowner.
Speaker:And then the next day they have to figure out what to do.
Speaker:You know, tree limbs might've fallen on the roof.
Speaker:They might have leaks that they didn't know they had before that a torrential
Speaker:downpour will have come to fruition.
Speaker:The biggest thing is, and especially right now, it's just such weird
Speaker:times that people really are turning to their insurance.
Speaker:As you know, Hey, can you be here for me in this time of need?
Speaker:And what we really do is we educate them.
Speaker:And the more simple fact that insurance will cover a onetime
Speaker:catastrophic basically event.
Speaker:So it doesn't have to be a hurricane.
Speaker:Obviously they will cover hurricanes, but any hailstorm or wind storm,
Speaker:typically over 60 mile an hour, 50 mile an hour, depending on your area.
Speaker:And that.
Speaker:What is actually under a lot of people's policy as an act of God.
Speaker:That's what it says on their policy.
Speaker:And so I use the metaphor of, you know, your car.
Speaker:So your insurance company, like your auto insurance, doesn't cover your oil changes.
Speaker:They don't cover your brake pads.
Speaker:When you need to replace them, they cover you when you're
Speaker:in an accident, a one-time.
Speaker:Uncontrollable issue.
Speaker:And that's whenever they're there for you to really cover the costs of that.
Speaker:And so it's same with your roof.
Speaker:So over time as there's wear and tear the insurance company, isn't really going
Speaker:to be covering that because that is a longstanding length of time of damage.
Speaker:This isn't a one-time storm of.
Speaker:Which can do substantial amount of damage in a very short amount of time.
Speaker:Yeah, absolutely.
Speaker:And I think that it is definitely a scary time, you know, and it's also
Speaker:like it's an emergency situation.
Speaker:And I think that right there.
Speaker:Consumers feel anxiety ridden.
Speaker:Right.
Speaker:And I think that it's really important to, and, and the other part of it is
Speaker:that they don't really understand how the whole insurance process works.
Speaker:What's involved in filing a claim for your roof, you know, for
Speaker:the damage and what's covered.
Speaker:They don't know all of those things.
Speaker:So what I would love to do is break it down.
Speaker:Like maybe Laura, like step by step, like what would be step one, let's say.
Speaker:And give you a hypothetical situation, which is a very
Speaker:realistic situation in Houston.
Speaker:You know, let's say that there's a big storm.
Speaker:Like the one we just had a few days ago and someone lives in a home and they.
Speaker:Got a ton of damage on top of it, a tree got knocked down and it hit their roof.
Speaker:So now they have more damage and they call you up and they say, oh my God,
Speaker:you know, a tree fell on my roof.
Speaker:You know, there's shingles on the floor.
Speaker:I don't know what my insurance will cover.
Speaker:I don't know what to do.
Speaker:What do you say to them?
Speaker:Step-by-step.
Speaker:Yes.
Speaker:So sometimes it happens either way.
Speaker:They've either already contacted their insurance company and they've
Speaker:recommended that they get a contractor out first or they call us first and
Speaker:we walk them through the process.
Speaker:So if they, if they haven't contacted their insurance company, And they're
Speaker:calling contractors to come get a free inspection, to just see the amount of
Speaker:damage what's happened on the road.
Speaker:Cause you can't see on top of your roof, you need to train professionals
Speaker:to get up there and take the photos, do a full inspection, bore
Speaker:you and come down and basically.
Speaker:Walk you through what they have found.
Speaker:So with hail there's, there's different inspections for different types of storms
Speaker:as a contractor with the best intentions for your client or potential client
Speaker:is to walk through the inspection like the insurance adjuster will be doing.
Speaker:So they're very thorough.
Speaker:They take 50 to a hundred, sometimes 150 photos, depending on the size of the
Speaker:home, the amount of damage that they find.
Speaker:So it's very extensive and you have to keep that mindset.
Speaker:So you start on the ground, you walk all the way around in a clockwise position.
Speaker:You look at everything on the ground.
Speaker:You look at Denson soft metals, like your downspouts, your gutters, chipping
Speaker:and windowsills, the beading that's that lines, those barbecue pits, you
Speaker:know, they'll have indentions on them.
Speaker:Potted plants will get busted.
Speaker:Fences will have algae knocked off of them.
Speaker:So they'll see that.
Speaker:And you need to really document all of that and I'll get to why.
Speaker:For a contractor and then you go on the roof and you're looking at all of
Speaker:the components that are on the roof.
Speaker:If they've got splatter marks, if they're dented up, if you have isolated
Speaker:granual loss on the shingle, you know, there's just so many different signs.
Speaker:So many places to look to prove if you have a substantial amount of hail and
Speaker:that would be covered by insurance.
Speaker:So really, and whenever I say that, cause that's kind of an iffy.
Speaker:Area too.
Speaker:It depends on the insurance company.
Speaker:It depends on your adjuster.
Speaker:It does also really depend on your contractor if they have your best
Speaker:interest in mind and you don't have it on every slope of your home, or
Speaker:it's just kind of sporadic or the hail size, wasn't big enough to really
Speaker:do substantial amount of damage.
Speaker:And you know that the insurance company is going to say that
Speaker:basically, then there's just no, And putting them into that process.
Speaker:Not that it's going to be hard working with a contractor that knows what
Speaker:they're doing, but putting a claim against your homeowner's policy.
Speaker:It's a big deal, you know, I mean, it's, it's time out of your day.
Speaker:It's something that goes on your policy record.
Speaker:You know, you're not buying an ice cream cone, you know, Whenever
Speaker:you get down off that inspection.
Speaker:And you're talking to the client, we have an app that we use that sends
Speaker:them a live link to all of their inspection photos that they get to
Speaker:keep, and we walk them through what we've found and how to move forward.
Speaker:So once that happens, Say we did find a bunch of damage, a substantial
Speaker:amount of collateral and on the roof, we would then suggest, and I like to
Speaker:just do it in person while we're there.
Speaker:And while we're talking about it is to do a three-way phone call
Speaker:to the insurance companies claim.
Speaker:Uh, department, and it's a quick three minute phone call.
Speaker:It's not extensive.
Speaker:And it's just better whenever the contractor's there.
Speaker:Even if you need a minute to think about it, whether you like you want to
Speaker:talk to your spouse or you just want.
Speaker:A little more into, Hey, do I want to file this claim at three-way phone
Speaker:call in person with that contractor or at a later date, either way.
Speaker:It's just great to have the contractor there on the line
Speaker:because they can describe to them.
Speaker:And they'll put that in the file of what type of damage they found.
Speaker:You can talk in a little more technical terms and also provide
Speaker:them with the storm date and, um, size of hail length of the storm.
Speaker:How many houses were affected by.
Speaker:I want to talk a little bit more about that.
Speaker:Cause I think what you shared Laura is so important having the contractor on
Speaker:the phone when you're calling insurance, I think that's really critical because
Speaker:if they're trying to do it on their own.
Speaker:I think again, they're not going to know how to communicate exactly
Speaker:what the extent of the damages.
Speaker:They're not going to know how to use the right terminology.
Speaker:And on the other flip side of that, they may not even understand
Speaker:some of the terminology.
Speaker:That the insurance company is presenting to them.
Speaker:And that can create a little bit of a problem because then if they're not able
Speaker:to communicate effectively the extent of damage, I think it could probably,
Speaker:which I'll ask you is it can probably impact the outcome of what amount is
Speaker:getting approved by the insurance.
Speaker:That's going to be covered for their damages.
Speaker:I mean, have you seen instances where, you know, a homeowner
Speaker:decided to handle it on their own.
Speaker:And they didn't get a contractor involved.
Speaker:And in reality, when you guys came out, maybe after the fact, the number that
Speaker:the insurance company gave them and said, this is what we can get you for.
Speaker:Your roof damage was an actuality, not the number that you would.
Speaker:Done.
Speaker:It should be based on the damage.
Speaker:Does that happen?
Speaker:That actually has happened a lot.
Speaker:People who have gone straight to their insurance company and didn't
Speaker:get a contractor involved and it's kind of a unbeknownst thing.
Speaker:You've never dealt with a claim before just trying to kind of handle it.
Speaker:And I, I get it.
Speaker:Some, some people have told me truthfully, that they were weary about.
Speaker:Calling a contractor first, because of all of the horror stories you hear
Speaker:about people just getting in it for the insurance deals and using bad material
Speaker:and keeping homeowners money that isn't to the roofer for their work,
Speaker:because the paperwork is so confusing, you know, it's just a sales tactic.
Speaker:It's very sad to hear that because then they file these claims and then they
Speaker:get denied or they get approved for like a little bit over their deductible.
Speaker:And they're like, I need my whole roof replaced place.
Speaker:Like it's, it's in bad shape.
Speaker:You know, I just, I don't know what to do.
Speaker:And that's when we come out and we do the same thing as if they were
Speaker:to have called us the first time we do that thorough inspection.
Speaker:And so.
Speaker:That's where I want to touch on that of why in the first place, whether
Speaker:you call us first or second, why we do that thorough inspection is
Speaker:because those photos that we have, if we ever run into a denial, we
Speaker:can always ask for a re-inspection you're typically allowed to inspect.
Speaker:Per claim and that's just to help with an unbiased opinion and they
Speaker:don't send out the same person twice and to really make sure to put the
Speaker:homeowner at ease if they get denied.
Speaker:And they're like, no, I still, I still want somebody to come out because
Speaker:I believe I have enough damage.
Speaker:You can get a re-inspection.
Speaker:And so if you have a contractor.
Speaker:To help you with that?
Speaker:The contractor, we actually do it all the time for clients.
Speaker:We send it in for them and send them our hundred, hundred and 20 photos,
Speaker:educated photos of the property and the.
Speaker:Desk adjuster then looks at that and then decides if they want to send
Speaker:somebody back out for re-inspection.
Speaker:And so it just does nothing but help the homeowner of getting approved.
Speaker:So yes, you know, it's unfortunate.
Speaker:Sometimes the insurance companies will take care of the homeowners
Speaker:and they'll get approved.
Speaker:And then they'll kind of shop around for retail quotes.
Speaker:And that's a, that's a kind of a different subject in itself because you'll get dicey
Speaker:people and you don't want to just go low.
Speaker:My theory is by nice, not twice.
Speaker:And with a roof.
Speaker:It is the second, most important thing in your house, besides your foundation.
Speaker:And especially when you have the opportunity to only have to pay for your
Speaker:deductible instead of a full retail quo and deductibles can be very high mind
Speaker:you, we offer payment plans to help with that, but to be able to offset that.
Speaker:That's whenever a research should be done to its highest is I need a roof.
Speaker:Now I know I don't have to pay this crazy full retail amount that roofs
Speaker:are nowadays, just because of raw material prices, just skyrocketing
Speaker:and making sure that they're choosing the right contractor.
Speaker:They're choosing the right shingles.
Speaker:They're they're doing their due diligence.
Speaker:And really just, it's just such a missed opportunity from homeowners a lot.
Speaker:Whenever they just go the cheapest route and.
Speaker:Kind of offset.
Speaker:You have to think your insurance is a for-profit company, and they're not
Speaker:going to write you an estimate for more than what's on your roof right now.
Speaker:And that's to literally take it off and put it back exactly the
Speaker:way it is now, the way it is.
Speaker:Is not hail resistant because you have damage the way it was.
Speaker:Isn't when resistant, because you have missing shingles, you're saying
Speaker:if it was hail resistant and if it was wind resistant, then they would
Speaker:not have had that damage because.
Speaker:It would have been foolproof through the storm because it was
Speaker:that type of roofing material.
Speaker:Right.
Speaker:But because they have a roof that is maybe it's an older roof, maybe it's
Speaker:more basic and it's not hail resistant.
Speaker:It's not a storm resistant that it does have damage, but the insurance
Speaker:provider is only going to pay for the.
Speaker:Necessity is what you're saying.
Speaker:And, you know, you shared, so you get on the phone together with the client and
Speaker:the contractor and the insurance company.
Speaker:And that was step one.
Speaker:So walk us through, you know, what happens after.
Speaker:So it happens after that between 24 to 48 hours.
Speaker:After that initial claim is filed, insurance will reach out and they will
Speaker:schedule a time that's best for you or a representative, either third party
Speaker:or somebody that actually does work for the company to come out and do a full
Speaker:inspection, write up a report and see if you're eligible for a full replacement or.
Speaker:Repairs or anything over your deductible or maybe not.
Speaker:And whenever that happens, we, as a company, urge our clients, as soon
Speaker:as they get that phone call to call us and let us know, Hey, I've got an
Speaker:adjuster coming out Monday at 9:00 AM.
Speaker:I need you guys to be here and we may get top price.
Speaker:That if it's not us personally, as a sales represent one of our very
Speaker:trained insurance inspection field employees are out there to make sure,
Speaker:to really like, give a sense of that.
Speaker:You're well-represented, you know, that you have somebody on
Speaker:your side, that's trained and can answer all the hard questions and.
Speaker:Really helped you out, um, with the things that you don't know as a homeowner.
Speaker:And so whenever those adjusters come out, I mean, I've met so many and
Speaker:they're so great, you know, they're just, it's, you have to keep this
Speaker:mentality that everybody's a person, you know, and everybody's doing a job.
Speaker:And a lot of these adjusters, they really love their job.
Speaker:They do.
Speaker:I've, I've just met.
Speaker:Some of the best people.
Speaker:I've met a lot of women adjusters as well, which is always great.
Speaker:Whenever, you know, you both show up and you're both girls and
Speaker:you're like, oh wow, this is great.
Speaker:You know, it's kind of random, but you know, they get these
Speaker:adjusters get yelled at.
Speaker:Bye roofers, because they're not approving roofs that don't have substantial amount
Speaker:of damage because these roofers are having all these homeowners calling
Speaker:claims and just hoping to flip a coin and hopefully they'll get it approved
Speaker:and we take the complete opposite, you know, as keeping that sense of you're
Speaker:a person you're up here doing your job as a trained professional, we know
Speaker:what's expected of you from your job.
Speaker:I'm not going to, if you say, there's no damage, I'm not going to argue with you.
Speaker:I'm going to be respectful and professional.
Speaker:We're going to come down.
Speaker:We're going to talk with the homeowner and then we'll figure out how to
Speaker:move on from there to go back to the initial adjuster inspection, we are
Speaker:really there to assist as needed.
Speaker:I like to give them their distance.
Speaker:Some of them like us to be very involved.
Speaker:Some of us don't like us to be involved at all, but it's just
Speaker:great to make a presence to show.
Speaker:That they have a contractor.
Speaker:They have somebody that dirty working with it does help with the process.
Speaker:And we can put our name on file with the adjuster so that the
Speaker:insurance company knows, Hey, they're working with a roofing company.
Speaker:They're working with people that have experience doing this.
Speaker:And sometimes our name is recognizable and they're like, oh
Speaker:yeah, I've seen that company before and okay, good to see them again.
Speaker:And so you do the adjuster meeting and they can't really give you what.
Speaker:Report is going to say they typically have to turn it into the desk adjuster.
Speaker:It can take anywhere between a week to three weeks.
Speaker:Sometimes if it's storm season, and they're just completely bombarded
Speaker:with paperwork, but the homeowner will get the estimate back.
Speaker:And we always strive to tell them, you know, would you like to meet at the home?
Speaker:And we can go over this estimate together because.
Speaker:The estimates that get sent out.
Speaker:It's not a one-page estimate with a total and that's it.
Speaker:It is 15 pages.
Speaker:It's in a form typically about 90% of the time in the form
Speaker:of a program called Xactimate.
Speaker:And it is so granular and there's so much terminology.
Speaker:That there is no reason why a homeowner would be able to actually look at
Speaker:that and go, okay, I understand that.
Speaker:And I mean, we have to go through extensive training.
Speaker:I have to train all of my, my salesman on how to read this so they can
Speaker:teach the homeowners how to read it.
Speaker:And once you build that trust with them and you let them
Speaker:know, Hey, I'm here to help.
Speaker:I'm here to really be transparent with you about these numbers.
Speaker:Let's go over this together.
Speaker:You know, we can do a zoom call.
Speaker:You can email it to me, or I can come in person.
Speaker:We can talk this over and really just give them a grasp of their coverage, what to
Speaker:expect and what they're responsible for.
Speaker:And with an approved claim, you know, a hundred percent of the
Speaker:time we'll get into this is you are responsible for your deductible.
Speaker:That is the one thing that you're required as a homeowner to do.
Speaker:And this insurance process, you basically pay for the first part of this claim
Speaker:and insurance pays for the rest of it.
Speaker:Laura, further listeners, like what is an average deductible?
Speaker:I know it varies a lot, but maybe you can give us a range, just so homeowner's
Speaker:going to have an idea of what other homes.
Speaker:You know, or paying for deductibles in the Houston area.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:So it will vary on the dwelling of your home.
Speaker:That's on your policy.
Speaker:You can always find it in your policy.
Speaker:It'll either be completely written now under a hail or wind event, unnamed storm.
Speaker:So it's not a hurricane hurricanes usually have their own different deductible, but
Speaker:what you're seeing on average now is a 2% of the entire dwelling of your home.
Speaker:If they're getting up there, they're getting to be pretty
Speaker:high and it's actually.
Speaker:Just not a great thing to see, because I think personally it's happening
Speaker:this way because of roofers in the past waiving deductibles, because
Speaker:deductibles used to be like $500, $300.
Speaker:And insurance would pay for the rest.
Speaker:And then this whole insurance, you know, roofer scam thing, you
Speaker:know, just started happening.
Speaker:So prevalently that now when you sign up for insurance, it's just, there's a bare,
Speaker:you know, typical 2% that they stick, you.
Speaker:If you do a 1% deductible, you're going to be paying way higher
Speaker:premiums every month, either way insurance is going to get their money.
Speaker:You're going to pay for that roof before you need to replace it.
Speaker:It's just how it's going to happen.
Speaker:So it is typically a 2% deductible on the entire dwelling.
Speaker:This is two.
Speaker:Really deter fraudulent activity and an insurance claim because it was easy for
Speaker:roofers to pay for $350 deductibles.
Speaker:It's really hard to start paying for $6,500 deductibles.
Speaker:And that's pretty average it's anywhere between like a 3000
Speaker:and I'd say a safe range of.
Speaker:7,000.
Speaker:So yeah, it's, it's a big amount and it's very tempting to have somebody
Speaker:say, we can get you a new roof for completely free and you go as a homeowner,
Speaker:you're like, look, it that's nice.
Speaker:But you know, it's just whenever we get the chance and somebody calls us and they
Speaker:say, What can you do about my deductible?
Speaker:And I say, I can help you with payment plans.
Speaker:That's what I can do.
Speaker:That's why my company offers it.
Speaker:That's why we pay contractor fees.
Speaker:If you want to pursue it, like we pay a little bit more for you to
Speaker:be able to finance your deductible legally and do the right thing.
Speaker:Huge advantage Laura, because you know, for some homeowners, they don't
Speaker:have four to $10,000 sitting around because they're sending their children
Speaker:to college and, you know, maybe.
Speaker:They're out of work, maybe they're retired and they need to spend
Speaker:their money very carefully.
Speaker:So I think that's, you know, that's great because that really helps
Speaker:somebody who wasn't expecting for a bad event to happen.
Speaker:A catastrophic, you know, storm comes in and now they have all this damage.
Speaker:And that's the thing about insurance is people don't plan for it.
Speaker:Right.
Speaker:But when they need it, that's why it's there.
Speaker:So let's say.
Speaker:The insurance company, approves their claim and give some a number.
Speaker:And what happens next in terms of the process of working with let's
Speaker:say true works roofing or any other contractor, like what would happen?
Speaker:What are some of the next progression of steps?
Speaker:So.
Speaker:We basically review the quotes.
Speaker:We make sure that everything is up to date and the measurements are correct.
Speaker:The tax bracket is correct.
Speaker:The waste factor is correct.
Speaker:All the penetrations are there because when, especially when you
Speaker:get in storm season, I mean, they fly through these desks and it's great.
Speaker:And the insurance company actually likes it.
Speaker:You're almost like they're double checker and it's less
Speaker:paperwork for them to do after.
Speaker:Build the roof.
Speaker:So it's called supplementing on the front end.
Speaker:So that's what we do.
Speaker:If we find anything that insurance has left off or bad calculations, we
Speaker:go ahead and present them with the proper calculations and make sure that.
Speaker:This homeowner is gonna get this roof put on with, at no extra cost
Speaker:to them because it's not going to be above their insurance estimate.
Speaker:So once that happens and everything we've done, the shingle color presentation,
Speaker:we typically like to get HOA approval.
Speaker:Where needed.
Speaker:Absolutely.
Speaker:And we do that for the customer.
Speaker:If we're able to, if it's not an online portal, we'll fill out all the paperwork,
Speaker:we'll have them sign it, we'll send it off to their HOA and we'll check on the HOA
Speaker:and really kind of expedite that process.
Speaker:Cause they can take up to 30 days.
Speaker:Sometimes they only review it whenever they have a meeting once a month.
Speaker:So once their HOA approved and we'll get them put on the schedule
Speaker:and bill day is the next step.
Speaker:So you will be getting a insurance check.
Speaker:Oh, I should backtrack to that.
Speaker:You will be getting an insurance check.
Speaker:That is for the actual cash value of your home.
Speaker:This number is on your estimate and it's something that we go over with
Speaker:you that you have an understanding.
Speaker:So with that check, if you have a mortgage company, mortgage company will be listed
Speaker:on there, it's kind of the snail mail process of fortunately we have a system.
Speaker:We use that helps take care of all of that for the homeowner.
Speaker:They don't have to worry about mailing it off and waiting for the mortgage
Speaker:company and all that back and forth.
Speaker:We, we, we provide that type of concierge service for them, so
Speaker:they don't have to mess with it.
Speaker:It's just schematics and it's annoying.
Speaker:And so, yeah.
Speaker:So once the ACV, which is your actual cash value check comes in, we will go ahead
Speaker:with your build day, the bill day process.
Speaker:We use our own crew and we have a large enough crew that we can
Speaker:do, basically majority of our builds are done within a day.
Speaker:So that's really great to the homeowner too, because this is big construction,
Speaker:because if you think about it, you know, construction is not something people
Speaker:want in their home for weeks and weeks.
Speaker:They want it done as soon as possible so that they can get back to the comfort of
Speaker:their home and some sense of normalcy.
Speaker:So, I mean, a day, I think that is phenomenal.
Speaker:I love that.
Speaker:And that's, that's keeping that consumer mentality of how can we make
Speaker:this a less stressful experience?
Speaker:Cause big construction, no matter how you put it as stressful on the homeowner,
Speaker:especially nowadays with people working from home, you got banging all day.
Speaker:People's pets.
Speaker:And so bringing it down to one day and giving them that kind of satisfaction
Speaker:and comfort and going okay, that's over.
Speaker:It's okay.
Speaker:You know, even though it's, it looks beautiful at the end.
Speaker:So we make sure that we have enough of our crew dedicated to the property.
Speaker:We have an onsite property manager that oversees everything through the
Speaker:entire process of the whole build, taking photos, observing the property,
Speaker:making sure materials are correct.
Speaker:Going and getting any, if we need any extra and just maintaining a sense of
Speaker:stability and comfort to the homeowner and some of the homeowners like to be a
Speaker:lot really involved, some of them don't at all, but that's what that project
Speaker:managers, therefore ours has over 30 years experience in the industry.
Speaker:So he's a bucket of knowledge and runs a very tight ship.
Speaker:So, and we have, we have the best crew.
Speaker:I know everybody says that, but we really do so that.
Speaker:Uh, the whole install is done usually within the day.
Speaker:And at the end, we have a walkthrough with the client, with our project
Speaker:manager to go over everything.
Speaker:This is what was done.
Speaker:These are things we found.
Speaker:This is fixed now to show that we've cleaned up accordingly.
Speaker:We typically like to say, we like to leave our homes cleaner than we found them.
Speaker:And that's at the very end.
Speaker:That's when we collect payments.
Speaker:So we don't get anything up.
Speaker:We don't ask for deductibles up front.
Speaker:We don't ask for percentages upfront.
Speaker:We don't want to accept money until the work is complete and you're satisfied.
Speaker:And that's how money works in any other way.
Speaker:You don't pay a little bit for the ice cream before you buy
Speaker:it, and then you pay the rest.
Speaker:You know, it's not, it's not like that.
Speaker:So we'll collect the.
Speaker:The actual cash value check and the deductible.
Speaker:And next, after that, we provide another concierge service, which is we file the
Speaker:certificate of completion and send it into the insurance company because that
Speaker:is needed in your insurance claim to.
Speaker:One close it out and to issue your back into check, which is basically
Speaker:the depreciation amount on your home.
Speaker:So, and to go into that, we take a before and after photos and attach
Speaker:them to our letterheads certified document of letter certificate of
Speaker:completion, a copy of your contract.
Speaker:And then we also take photos of your actual cash value check
Speaker:and your deductible front and back because it is required.
Speaker:By all insurance companies.
Speaker:Now they will not close your claim unless they see a photo
Speaker:of that payment or some type.
Speaker:If you're financing it, they need all the loan documents.
Speaker:If you paid credit card, but you have to give them a very
Speaker:extensive printout of that.
Speaker:The run of that card, there is no ways around.
Speaker:Anymore.
Speaker:I'm sure people are still finding ways, but it's just why even do it.
Speaker:So when, especially when we're going to take care of everything,
Speaker:all the paperwork for you.
Speaker:So we send all of that in a tie with a nice little bow and send it to your.
Speaker:Adjuster who really appreciates that because they just get information
Speaker:scattered everywhere all day.
Speaker:And that way it expedites the process of closing your claim out and getting
Speaker:that depreciation check reissued.
Speaker:So then you'll typically wait about a week or two for that last check
Speaker:to come in and then whatever's.
Speaker:Based on the contract, we would pick up the remainder and then you'd be all
Speaker:set to go at the very, very end, what we do with all homes, whether it's
Speaker:insurance or retail out of pocket, we do put together a premium savings package.
Speaker:Our office administrator is amazing at this.
Speaker:It goes to your insurance agent.
Speaker:So the type of shingle that we put on is a 40.
Speaker:Shingles.
Speaker:So it's an upgrade from what you had and we give you that free upgrade.
Speaker:Basically we have upgraded items that we put on the roof
Speaker:as well, just as good practice.
Speaker:It's not something that these older roofs are going to have on them, but we do that.
Speaker:And it's another, it's another incentive to really take advantage.
Speaker:Of this insurance approval is when else are you going to be
Speaker:able to get a free upgrade?
Speaker:You know what I mean?
Speaker:So you're just responsible for the deductible and we put on a 40 year shingle
Speaker:and that you didn't have on there before.
Speaker:So our 40 year shingle is class three, hail rated.
Speaker:The highest you can go as class bore.
Speaker:We do offer that as.
Speaker:But our standard is three.
Speaker:And if you turn that information into your agent, there's special deductions,
Speaker:basically in your annual premium for having a hail resistant basically roof.
Speaker:And so your premiums will actually on average between
Speaker:10 to 12% annually go down.
Speaker:And so instead of having the homeowner have to deal with all
Speaker:that, we send it to the agent.
Speaker:We CC them and they get to see automatic savings.
Speaker:And also we buy all their lifetime shingle warranty for them.
Speaker:So they're not paying for that.
Speaker:They're not having to do all the paperwork for that.
Speaker:They just get a beautiful certificate and their email that is transferable.
Speaker:So if you say you put the roof on and then you want to sell it.
Speaker:You know, either immediately five years later, 10 years later,
Speaker:it's a transferable warranty.
Speaker:And so is our workmanship warranty.
Speaker:So you've got all these nice little packages where you don't
Speaker:really have to find them everywhere everything's put together.
Speaker:And for those instances, when you have life changes like that, It makes it a lot
Speaker:easier and we're still there helping you.
Speaker:I love that you're making it something that could be a very
Speaker:stressful and difficult situation and time for a homeowner.
Speaker:You're making it a very smooth and seamless process where you're literally.
Speaker:In a way, holding their hand for the entire process and just guiding
Speaker:them, you know, where they need to go, what they need to do, how they
Speaker:need to fill out the paperwork, what documentation they're going to need.
Speaker:And then you are putting the toppings on ice cream cone where you're
Speaker:like, oh, on top of it, we're going to take 150 photos on top of it.
Speaker:We're going to.
Speaker:Give you some extras for your roof so that, Hey, you had something more basic.
Speaker:Now you're getting something that's even more durable when it comes to
Speaker:weathering the next storm and all of that.
Speaker:And also the fact that you're not, you know, requiring them to pay up front.
Speaker:I mean, and in most home improvement type of businesses and companies, like
Speaker:they always would take money up front.
Speaker:I mean, I I've worked with them for years and that just was a
Speaker:norm for like, you know, vacuum.
Speaker:And the eighties and nineties, and that's the norm.
Speaker:And I think that what people who are listening, our listeners and our
Speaker:audience and our homeowners, like I think they really need to realize
Speaker:this is how true works roofing provides exceptional customer service.
Speaker:And they live up to their tagline, true to our word, true to our work because every,
Speaker:every other company is not going to do all of those things, you know, and Laura.
Speaker:Just laid it out for you in so much detail of the entire process where you
Speaker:can rest assured that if you call to works roofing, you're going to be in good hands
Speaker:because they know how to navigate this space effortlessly and they know how to
Speaker:make it a smoother transaction for you.
Speaker:And they know that when they come into your home and they repair or
Speaker:replacement, And then they leave.
Speaker:You're going to be getting an upgrade.
Speaker:You're going to be getting a much better roof than you had.
Speaker:And that's going to give you that sense of security.
Speaker:It's going to give you that sense of like, okay.
Speaker:Home, sweet home.
Speaker:And after you've been through something, you know, difficult
Speaker:because a storm, especially if there's a lot of damage, it can be quite
Speaker:traumatic and devastating, especially if like, you know, trees are not.
Speaker:Your roof and your shingles come off and, and then you have more damage.
Speaker:It's, it's a very stressful time.
Speaker:And Laura, I just love that you shared the entire process about filing a
Speaker:claim and what's involved and what are some key things to look for?
Speaker:So this has been such a great episode and, you know, I just want to tell our
Speaker:audience to share it with other homeowners and share it with their friends,
Speaker:because you know, this is so insightful.
Speaker:So thank you.
Speaker:So.
Speaker:Absolutely.
Speaker:And really, and just recap, if you think about it, w I was really explaining
Speaker:everything that our company does for the entire process, and really the homeowner
Speaker:gets to receive all the information.
Speaker:We are able to provide, so the homeowner gets to basically, you know, follow along,
Speaker:but we do all the grunt work for you.
Speaker:We provide all of that because we know from start you're stressed,
Speaker:whether it's finances, whether it's.
Speaker:Deal with this right now.
Speaker:I'm going through so much other stuff in my life.
Speaker:There's so much that happens in life.
Speaker:And to tag that on as a homeowner and you're like, oh, not another thing.
Speaker:Everybody knows as a homeowner.
Speaker:It's all.
Speaker:If it's not one thing it's another, and it really is as how we want it to be.
Speaker:We want you to.
Speaker:To call us and know that it just, it keeps getting smoother and smoother
Speaker:and smoother through the process.
Speaker:And then at the end, you have a beautiful roof.
Speaker:You have savings on your insurance premiums.
Speaker:You've got a lifetime shingle warranty and you've got a company that cares
Speaker:and has, and gives you a 15 year workmanship call us in 16 years.
Speaker:We'll be there.
Speaker:We'll help you out.
Speaker:Okay.
Speaker:It's always good to have that contact, especially with such a big investment
Speaker:like that when you want referrals and you know, whenever you're out at someone's
Speaker:house and they they're like, man, I got the slate and you're like, I have the
Speaker:company for you because it feels good.
Speaker:It feels good to be able to have.
Speaker:Other people when you can.
Speaker:And that's where we come from.
Speaker:And I know that every homeowner feels that way as well.
Speaker:So I'm glad, I'm glad I'm in this industry.
Speaker:And glad me, my husband started this.
Speaker:I never, in a million years, we really thought roofing, but we've always been
Speaker:in hospitality and customer service.
Speaker:And there's a great feeling of being able to offer somebody the knowledge
Speaker:that you have to make their day and potentially life better because of it.
Speaker:Absolutely.
Speaker:Absolutely.
Speaker:So you heard Laura.
Speaker:Give them a call.
Speaker:All the information is going to be in the show notes and share this episode
Speaker:with all of the Houston homeowners that you know, and the ones in the suburbs
Speaker:as well, because true works roofing goes to all of the surrounding suburbs in
Speaker:the Houston Metro area, and they will be listed in the show notes for you guys.
Speaker:So thank you so much, Laura.
Speaker:And we'll see everyone on the next episode.
Speaker:Thank you everybody.
Speaker:Thank you for listening to the Houston rougher podcast.
Speaker:If you found this episode valuable, please subscribe to the show.
Speaker:So you never miss an episode and take a moment to share it with your friends.
Speaker:Visit our podcast website to listen to all the latest episodes at www dot Houston.
Speaker:Rooper podcasts.com.
Speaker:And follow two wrecks or being on social media.
Speaker:Our handle is true.
Speaker:Works roofing and check out our website.
Speaker:Www dot true works.
Speaker:roofing.com or call us at area code seven one three nine oh three roof.
Speaker:To schedule a roof repair or roof replacement consultation.
