7 ways to protect yourself from storm chasers

Education

Verify they are local:

Remember this is a full time job for these guys, so they are good at hiding the fact they are from out of town. Here are a few ways to vet them.

Ask Questions:

ask conversational questions to get an idea if they are local. There is a good chance the roofing sales person is local, but the company may not be. E.g., How long have you been with the company, where is the office, etc.

Check license plates:

if it’s out of state, that may be a clue

Ask for local references:

make sure you get at least three local references and ensure the number of the reference is local.

Verify Online Presence:

whether they show locally on Google Maps and Yelp. You can also look at some of their Facebook posts to see if they appear to be local. You can also check their website, but remember, that is commonly edited before they come into a new area.

Check their reputation:

whether you use Yelp, Google Reviews, Homeadvisor, eLocal, or another review platform, make sure they have good feedback.

Make sure you are there for the inspection:

while this sounds a little outlandish, unethical roofers have been known to simulate storm damage with hammers or golf balls.

Verify their insurance:

Before signing a contract, call the insurance carrier (not the agent) and verify the contractor’s policy status is active. Because roofing insurance is one of the more expensive types of commercial insurance, many discount roofing companies may provide paperwork for a lapsed policy, fraudulent paperwork, or do not carry insurance at all.

Read your contract:

we cannot stress this enough. A very common practice is to have binding provisions and significant cancellation penalties written in the language.

Verify Permit:

If a permit is required, verify the company’s name is the same on the permit as it is on their paperwork.

Get a lien waiver:

when the job is complete, make sure you get a lien waiver before you write your final check. It is normal for the waiver to have a contingency clause that says the waiver is only valid if final payment is made.

Protect yourself from storm chasers