Roof Insurance Claims in Georgia
Most of the roofs we replace are paid for through a homeowner's insurance claim after storm, hail or wind damage. This page explains how that works in Georgia: what a policy usually covers, who does what, what the adjuster meeting is for, and what we can and cannot do on your behalf. Complete Roofing has worked in insurance restoration across Metro Atlanta and Central Georgia since 2008.
Does homeowners insurance cover roof replacement?
It depends on the cause and on your policy. A standard Georgia homeowners policy covers sudden, accidental damage from a named peril, and hail and windstorm are usually among them. It does not cover a roof that has simply reached the end of its life. That is the line every claim turns on: damage from an event, or wear over time. Your own policy wording decides what is covered, what is excluded, and what your deductible is, so the policy document is the thing to read, not anything a contractor tells you.
What counts as storm damage, and what counts as wear?
Hail damage on an asphalt shingle is a bruise. It is a roughly round spot where the granules have been knocked off and the mat underneath is exposed, and the mat feels soft if you press it. Wind damage is a crease, where a tab was lifted, folded back on itself and dropped again, breaking the seal. Both are impact marks, and both appear in scattered patterns across slopes rather than evenly. Wear looks different. It is uniform, it is worst where the sun hits hardest, and the granule loss is gradual rather than concentrated at impact points. The difference matters because it is the whole basis of the claim, and it is why documentation is worth doing properly.
Who files the claim?
You do. It is your policy and your contract with your carrier, so the claim is yours to open and yours to decide on. We do not file it for you, and in Georgia a roofing contractor is not permitted to represent or negotiate your claim on your behalf. What we do is the part that is ours to do: inspect the roof, document what is there, and be present and useful at every point where the condition of the roof is being assessed.
What does Complete Roofing actually do on a claim?
Four things. We inspect the roof and tell you what we find, including when we find nothing. We give you the documentation: high-resolution images, the damage we identified and where, and the date of loss if the storm can be established. We meet your adjuster at the property and go over the roof with them, so that the assessment is made with both sets of eyes on the same damage. And after the first estimate, we submit supporting documentation for scope items the estimate did not include, such as decking found soft once the old shingles are off. Then, if the claim goes ahead, we build the roof.
What happens at the adjuster meeting?
Your carrier sends an adjuster to look at the roof and write an estimate of what it will cost to put right. That appointment is the one that decides the scope, so it is the one we never miss. We walk the roof with the adjuster, point out what we found and where, and make sure the damage we documented is the damage being looked at. Two people assessing the same roof together produces a more complete picture than either doing it alone. We do not argue the claim for you and we do not speak for you on coverage; we are there about the roof.
What is a supplement?
A supplement is additional scope submitted after the first estimate, for work that is genuinely required but was not in it. Some of it cannot be known until the roof is opened up, decking being the usual example. Some of it is building code that applies to the replacement but not to the original roof. Some of it is simply detail that a measured estimate missed on a complicated roof, such as the waste factor on a cut-up roofline or the labour for steep or multi-storey access. We document those items and submit them with evidence. Whether they are paid is the carrier's decision.
What do RCV and ACV mean on my settlement?
Replacement cost value is what it costs to replace the roof today. Actual cash value is that figure minus depreciation for the age and condition of the old roof. On a replacement cost policy, carriers commonly pay the actual cash value first and release the remainder, the recoverable depreciation, once the work is done and documented. On an actual cash value policy there is no second payment. Which one you have is written in your policy, and it is worth knowing before you start rather than after.
What about my deductible?
Your deductible is set by your policy and you pay it. Georgia law prohibits a contractor from offering to pay, waive, absorb, rebate or discount a homeowner's insurance deductible as an inducement to sign, and it prohibits advertising that offer. We do not do it, and if another contractor offers to, that tells you something useful about how they work. Check your policy for whether your wind and hail deductible is a flat amount or a percentage of the dwelling coverage, because on a percentage policy the two can be very different numbers.
What if my claim is denied?
A denial is not always the end of it. Claims get denied because the damage was not found, because it was recorded as wear, or because the inspection did not cover the slopes where the damage actually was. None of those is a judgement that your roof is fine. We re-inspect denied claims and document what the first inspection did not, and you decide what to do with that. We cannot tell you a denial will be overturned, and nobody honestly can. There is more on that on our second opinion page.
How long does a roof insurance claim take?
The roof itself is usually one day, occasionally two on a large or steep one. The claim is the longer part. From inspection to a first payment is commonly three to six weeks, and supplements can add another two to four weeks after that. Permits go through your county or your city depending on the address, and we pull them and handle the inspection that follows. Timescales vary by carrier and by how busy the storm season is, so treat those as typical rather than promised.
How does the inspection work where I live?
Across Metro Atlanta an FAA-licensed drone operator flies the roof and captures high-resolution imagery of every slope. Nobody walks on your shingles and you do not need to be home. Across Central Georgia, including Greensboro, Eatonton, Madison, Milledgeville, Macon and Warner Robins, an inspector comes to the property and goes over the roof by hand, and also checks the decking where accessible and the attic. Either way you are shown exactly what was found, and either way it is free and there is no obligation.
Do you do repairs, or retail roofs?
No. Complete Roofing works in insurance restoration only. That means storm, hail and wind damage roof replacement funded through a claim. We do not take patch repair work and we do not sell cash retail roofs. If the inspection shows wear and no storm damage, we will tell you that plainly, and you are free to take our report to a repair contractor.
Had a storm come through in the last 12 months?
Get the roof looked at before you decide anything. The inspection is free, takes about 30 minutes, and if your roof is fine we will tell you that.
Book a free roof inspection or call (678) 885-9213. There is more detail on our roofing FAQ, and the cities we cover are on our locations page.