How to File a Roof Storm Damage Claim with Your NJ Homeowners Insurance

If a storm damages your roof, the moves you make in the first 72 hours determine whether you get paid fairly. Here's the playbook we walk our customers through.

Hour 0–24: stop the damage

If water is actively entering the house, get a proper emergency tarp on the roof. Carriers will reimburse "reasonable mitigation expenses" — meaning a tarp, a tarp install, and any indoor water cleanup. Keep every receipt.

Do not — repeat, do not — perform any permanent repairs until your adjuster has inspected. Photo-document everything before you so much as move a shingle.

Hour 24–72: document

Get photos. Lots of photos. From the ground, from the upstairs windows, from inside the attic. Pay special attention to:

• Missing or displaced shingles, with reference points (a chimney, a vent) so location is clear
• Hail strikes on shingles, gutters, downspouts, and AC condenser fins (hail almost always hits AC fins — adjusters know this)
• Interior ceiling stains, dated and labeled
• Debris in the yard (storm-damaged shingles, fallen branches, etc.)
• Date and time of the storm event from a credible source (Weather.gov, NewsChannel, etc.) — save a screenshot

Day 3–7: file the claim

Call your carrier's claim line, not your local agent. You want the claim formally opened with a claim number same-day.

Tell them: date of loss, type of loss (wind, hail, tree impact), and that you'd like to schedule an adjuster visit. Do not yet commit to a scope of damage on the phone — that's the adjuster's job and the carrier may try to pre-scope based on what you say.

The adjuster meeting — have your roofer there

This is the single most important step and most homeowners do it wrong.

When the adjuster schedules the on-site, call your roofer and ask them to be there too. Reputable local roofers do this for free — it's part of being trustworthy. We're on adjuster meetings every week.

Why it matters: the adjuster will walk the roof, count damaged shingles, document hail strikes, and write a scope-of-loss in industry-standard Xactimate line items. If they miss damage, you get under-paid. Your roofer's job is to walk it with them and make sure the count is honest.

What if the adjuster low-balls?

Common. A low estimate doesn't end the conversation — it starts a supplement.

If the scope-of-loss the carrier writes doesn't match what your roofer documented, your roofer writes a supplement (additional line items with photo backup) and submits it to the carrier. Most legitimate supplements get paid. The carrier's claims handler doesn't actually want to fight an honestly-documented supplement.

If the carrier digs in, you have the right to invoke the appraisal clause in your NJ policy — both sides hire an appraiser, the two appraisers agree on scope or pick an umpire, and that's binding. Most carriers settle before appraisal.

What NOT to do

Don't sign an Assignment of Benefits (AOB). It hands your insurance proceeds to a contractor and takes you out of the loop. Reputable roofers do not ask for this — only the storm-chaser crews do.

Don't let anyone offer to "waive your deductible." It's illegal in NJ and creates fraud exposure for you, not just them.

Don't accept the first check as the final number. NJ policies almost always have an Actual Cash Value (ACV) payment up front and a Replacement Cost Value (RCV) recoverable depreciation payment after the work is completed and proven. The depreciation is your money — you just have to do the work to claim it.

Bottom line

An honest carrier and an honest contractor get to a fair number quickly. A dishonest contractor pushes AOB and inflates scope. A dishonest carrier under-pays and hopes you give up.

Get the photos, get a reputable local roofer at the adjuster meeting, and don't waive your deductible.