Your Policy Is a Contract. You've Been Paying on It.
Start here, because everything else follows from it. A homeowners policy is a contract. You pay a premium. In exchange, the carrier promises to put your house back the way it was, subject to the terms you both agreed to. Every year you paid, you paid for those terms.
Some of those terms cost extra, and a lot of homeowners don't know they have them. Replacement cost value versus actual cash value decides whether you get a new roof or a depreciated one. Matching coverage decides whether the carrier pays to replace enough shingles that the roof looks like one roof. And ordinance or law coverage, sometimes called code upgrade coverage, is the one most homeowners don't understand and most adjusters don't scope right.
Here's why it matters more than it sounds. Michigan Residential Code Section R905.1 says roof coverings shall be installed in accordance with the code and the manufacturer's installation instructions. Read that again. In Michigan, the manufacturer's spec is the code. So when your ordinance-or-law coverage says the carrier pays to bring the roof to code, that means ice and water shield at the eaves to Section R905.1.2, ventilation to Section R806, drip edge, and every requirement in the shingle manufacturer's installation manual: the underlayment they specify, the number of nails, the starter strip, the ridge cap, the fastener placement, the ice barrier coverage. Manufacturer specs are stringent, and they're not optional, because the code says they aren't.
If you're paying for that coverage, you're entitled to that roof. Not more. Not less. That's not a negotiation. That's the contract, and it's the code.
And know this: the coverage you carry changes what a "sufficient" repair means. On a cash job, sufficient means the leak stops. On a claim with the right coverage, sufficient means the roof is back to code, to spec, and matching. Those aren't always the same repair, and the difference is what you've been paying for.
How the Claims Business Changed
Here's history worth knowing. In the early 1990s, Allstate hired the consulting firm McKinsey & Company to redesign how it handled claims. McKinsey produced roughly 12,500 slides. They came out years later in litigation, and they've been written about extensively since, including in a book by Rutgers law professor Jay Feinman that gave the strategy its name: delay, deny, defend.
The core idea, in McKinsey's own framing, was that claims were a zero-sum game between the carrier and the policyholder. Claims departments had been the place where the company kept its promise. They became profit centers. Software set the offer. One slide was titled "Good Hands or Boxing Gloves": take the low offer and get treated well, push back and get a fight. Another showed an alligator with the words "sit and wait," the idea being that a claimant who's delayed long enough gets tired and takes less. Other large carriers adopted similar systems in the years that followed.
We're not telling you your carrier does this. We don't know your carrier. What we're telling you is that the industry has a documented playbook for paying less than the roof needs, and the tools in that playbook are delay, a low first scope, and making the homeowner prove things they shouldn't have to prove. Most homeowners have never been through it. Most get worn down. That's not an accident. That's the design.
Who's Actually Working for You
There are three kinds of adjusters, and only one of them works for you.
A staff adjuster is an employee of the insurance company. An independent adjuster is a contractor hired by the insurance company to work the file. Both are paid by the carrier and both work for the carrier. A public adjuster is licensed by the State of Michigan to represent policyholders, for a percentage of the settlement, under a contract the state has to approve. If your claim is large or in dispute, a public adjuster is the person who can legally negotiate on your behalf.
Now the part homeowners get wrong. Most people assume the adjuster is a roofing expert. He almost never is. Becoming a licensed adjuster takes a course and an exam. Weeks, sometimes less. Becoming a roofer who understands how a roof actually works takes five to ten years on the roof, under someone who already knows. An adjuster's job, most of the time, is to document what he sees and enter it into estimating software, usually Xactimate or Symbility, which prices the line items from a database. He's not there to understand your roof as a system. He's there to fill in the fields and close the file the way his company trained him to. That's not a knock on him. It's the job description. But it means the person deciding what your roof gets is often the person in the conversation who knows the least about roofs.
We've worked with hundreds of adjusters across Michigan. A few genuinely know roofing. Most don't, and most will tell you so if you ask. Their training is in claims, not in how underlayment laps, how a valley sheds water, why the manufacturer requires six nails, or what happens when the ice barrier stops six inches short. Those are the things that decide whether the roof is right, and they're the things that get left off a scope written by someone who doesn't know to look for them.
That's why who's standing next to the adjuster matters.
Why the Scope Is Where the Money Is
Here's what nobody explains. A roof claim isn't a yes or no. It's a scope: a line-by-line list of everything the roof needs to be put back to code and to manufacturer spec. Shingles, yes. But also underlayment, ice and water shield, starter, ridge cap, drip edge, step and counter flashing, pipe boots, ventilation, tear-off, disposal, and every code item your ordinance-or-law coverage is paying for.
When a homeowner files alone, the scope is whatever the adjuster saw in the time he was on the roof and whatever the software prompted him to enter. The expensive items get missed. Not always out of malice. Often because the adjuster isn't a roofer, was on the roof for fifteen minutes, and doesn't know what a complete roof requires.
Under Michigan law, a roofing company can't negotiate your claim or interpret your policy. But we can inspect, document, write the scope of what the roof needs, submit that documentation to your carrier on your behalf, and be on the roof when the adjuster is. That's the legal line, and it's also where most claims are actually decided.
Two things make our documentation different, and you want both, not just one. First, our inspectors are Haag Certified in wind and hail damage assessment. Haag is who trains adjusters, so when we document a roof we do it the way the adjuster was taught to see it: test squares on every slope, bruise counts, collateral on every soft metal, correlation with the storm, photos of fractured mat and not just bare spots. That certification carries weight with a carrier because it's their standard.
But a Haag certificate on its own isn't enough, and you should know that. Plenty of people hold one who couldn't build a roof. What makes ours different is that the person holding it is a tradesman who's torn apart thousands of roofs. He knows what a complete roof requires because he's built them and rebuilt the ones that failed. He knows what the manufacturer's spec says because he installs to it. He knows what the code requires because he pulls the permits. So the scope he writes isn't just "what got damaged." It's "what this roof needs to be right, to code, to spec," which is what your policy pays for. A Haag Certified engineer knows what hail looks like. A Haag Certified roofer knows what hail looks like and what it takes to fix it. You want the second one.
Then we meet the adjuster on the roof. That matters more than it sounds. Adjusters are busy, and some will try to inspect alone and send a scope. Some carriers' first delay is simply not scheduling the visit when the roofer can be there. If you ask for your roofer to be present, and the roofer shows up with a written report and photos, the adjuster is looking at the whole roof instead of a slice of it, next to someone who can point at a bruise and explain why it's a bruise, point at the eave and explain what R905.1.2 requires there. We don't negotiate. We don't have to. We show him what's there and what the code says about it.
In our experience, the difference between a scope written from a fifteen-minute walk and a scope written from a Haag Certified tradesman's inspection is real, and it shows up in the number.
Who Not to Let on Your Roof
After every big storm, out-of-town roofers flood West Michigan neighborhoods. Some are legitimate. Many are not. Some inflate scopes and chalk damage that isn't there. Haag's own paper on hail damage has a section on people who make fake hail marks with a ball-peen hammer. Some collect a deposit and disappear. Some have no overhead, no warranty, and no plans to be here when the roof leaks.
Trust your gut, and then check. Look them up. Do they have a real address, a state builder's license you can verify, a track record you can find, a hundred Google reviews, BBB accreditation, a gallery of actual jobs? If you can't find them, don't let them on your roof. Michigan doesn't allow a roofer to waive your deductible or pay it for you, so a roofer offering that is telling you how he plans to bill your carrier. And no legitimate roofer needs you to sign anything on the porch before anyone has been on the roof.
How to Handle a Storm Claim, Step by Step
- Step 1
Document the storm.
Note the date and time, the reported hail size or wind speed if you can find it, and photograph what you can see from the ground: gutters, downspouts, siding, screens, AC fins.
- Step 2
Get a Haag Certified inspection before you call your carrier.
Get the roof documented by someone qualified, with a written report and photos, so you know what you're filing for. Free.
- Step 3
File promptly.
Your policy sets the deadline, and it's often shorter than you'd expect. Read it. Waiting also makes it harder to tie the damage to the storm.
- Step 4
Ask for your roofer to be present at the adjuster inspection.
You're allowed to. Schedule it so we can be there.
- Step 5
Get the scope in writing and read it.
If it's missing the code items you're paying for, or missing damage we documented, you have the right to ask for a reinspection or a supplement. If it's a large disagreement, that's when a public adjuster or an attorney is the right call, and we'll tell you so.
- Step 6
Don't sign anything you don't understand.
Not with us, not with anyone.
On a Claim, That's the Wrong Question
Everywhere else on this site, we tell you that if it's a repair, we'll say repair. That's true when you're paying for the roof. On an insurance claim, the question changes, and most roofers don't tell you that.
When you're paying cash, the question is: what does the roof need? A repair is often the right answer, and we'll do it and warranty it.
When you're on a claim, the question is: what does the policy owe? And that's decided by three things. What the damage actually is. What the code requires. And what your policy says the carrier has to pay for. If you have replacement cost coverage, ordinance-or-law coverage, and matching coverage, you've been paying for a roof that's brought back to code, to manufacturer spec, and to a uniform appearance. Whether a repair can technically stop the leak is a different question from whether a repair delivers what you paid for.
Here's where it gets specific. Michigan code says install per the manufacturer's instructions. So look at the manufacturer's instructions. Some shingle manufacturers publish a repair procedure for storm damage. Many don't. They publish an installation spec for a new roof, and that's it. If your shingle has no manufacturer repair spec, then a repair on that roof can't be "to manufacturer spec," which means it can't be "to code," which means it may not be what an ordinance-or-law policy is paying for. Add matching: if your shingle is discontinued, or weathered enough that new ones won't blend, a repair leaves you with a roof that doesn't match, and matching coverage may owe you more than a patch.
Is a repair sufficient? Usually, in the sense that it'll stop the water. Is it what you're entitled to? That depends on the damage, the code, the manufacturer's spec, and the paper you've been paying on. Those are the things we document, in writing, so the scope reflects the roof the policy owes and not just the roof that'll hold for a while. If it's a repair, we'll say so. If it's more, we'll show you why, with the code section and the manufacturer's spec attached.
Michigan Roof Claim Questions
Will Stellar Roofing Company handle my insurance claim?
We can't adjust or negotiate it, and be cautious of any roofer who says he will. Under Michigan law, only a licensed adjuster can do that, and a roofing company can't hold itself out as one. What we can do, and do on every storm job, is inspect the roof to Haag standards, document everything in a written report with photos, write the full scope of what the roof needs to code and manufacturer spec, submit that documentation to your carrier on your behalf, and meet your adjuster on the roof to walk through it. That's where most claims are decided, and it's completely within the lines.
What's the difference between the adjuster and my roofer?
The adjuster works for the insurance company and prices what the policy covers. We work for you and price what a complete, code-compliant roof costs. Those numbers should match if the scope is complete. When they don't, it's usually because the adjuster's scope is missing items. That's what our documentation is for.
What is ordinance or law coverage and do I have it?
It's coverage for the code-required upgrades a new roof has to include that the old one didn't: ice and water shield, ventilation, drip edge, current fastening, and, because Michigan code points to the manufacturer's instructions, everything the manufacturer's spec requires. Many Michigan policies include it or offer it as an add-on, and homeowners pay for it in their premium. Check your declarations page. If you have it, the scope should include those items.
The adjuster says a repair is enough. Is it?
Maybe. It depends on what "enough" means under your policy. If the shingle manufacturer publishes a repair procedure and your damage falls within it, a repair may be exactly right. If the manufacturer has no repair spec, then a repair on your roof can't be to manufacturer spec, which under Michigan Residential Code R905.1 means it can't be to code, and if you have ordinance-or-law coverage, that matters. Same if your shingle can't be matched and you carry matching coverage. We check all three, the damage, the manufacturer's spec, and what your policy covers, and we document what we find so the scope reflects what the policy owes.
Should I get a Haag Certified inspection before filing?
Yes. It gives you a documented picture of the damage before the adjuster arrives, written by someone trained the way adjusters are trained, and if it's one of ours, by someone who's also a roofer and knows what the roof needs to be right. That's the difference between filing blind and filing informed.
Can my insurer drop me for filing a claim?
Michigan law limits how and when a carrier can non-renew, and a single storm claim on its own is generally not grounds. Multiple claims can affect rates or renewal. If you're worried, an insurance agent or DIFS can explain your specific policy. That's outside what a roofer can advise on.
What if my claim gets denied or lowballed?
You can request a reinspection, ask for the adjuster's report, submit our documentation as a supplement, and, if it's a real dispute, hire a licensed public adjuster or an attorney. Michigan's Department of Insurance and Financial Services (DIFS) also takes complaints. We'll give you everything we documented to support any of those, and we'll tell you honestly if we think the carrier got it right.
What This Page Cites
- Michigan Insurance Code, MCL 500.1222 (adjuster licensing required), MCL 500.1226 (public adjuster contracts), MCL 500.1224 (adjuster affiliation with repair contractors prohibited)
- Michigan Residential Code, Section R905.1 (roof coverings shall be applied per manufacturer's installation instructions), Section R905.1.2 (ice barrier), Section R806 (attic ventilation)
- Feinman, Jay M., Delay, Deny, Defend: Why Insurance Companies Don't Pay Claims and What You Can Do About It (2010); Berardinelli, David, From Good Hands to Boxing Gloves (2008); McKinsey & Company Allstate claims documents disclosed in litigation, as reported by Bloomberg and the Sarasota Herald-Tribune
- Marshall, Herzog, and Morrison, Haag Engineering Co., "Hail Damage to Asphalt Roof Shingles," on hail assessment methodology and intentional damage. haagglobal.com
- Xactimate (Verisk) and Symbility (CoreLogic), property claims estimating platforms
Michigan's Department of Insurance and Financial Services takes consumer complaints — michigan.gov/difs. For the damage itself, see hail damage repair, wind damage repair and storm damage.