When choosing a contractor for your storm damage needs in Colorado, it is imperative to understand who you are hiring or thinking about hiring when choosing a contractor for the job. Because Colorado is such a hail prone state, there are 3 main types of contractors that you will find. Read below to learn more.
The Professional Contractor has the consumer’s best interests at heart. They get the majority of their clients through referrals from past clients, although some can knock doors or get leads from places such as Home Advisor, Thumbtack and Facebook.
They care that your entire roof system is replaced rather than replacing just a few new pieces on your damaged roof. Professionals have no interest in installing a partial roof. They are honest, competent and reliable.
You can depend on a professional to be there promptly to fix any issues if you have problems after your new roof is completed. They work for you and make sure that all the work is performed by reliable and skilled tradesmen.
Professionals have liability insurance to protect you and your home and take extra time to train their crews and salesmen to offer the best support and trades possible. Professionals never eat deductibles or play rebate or ‘sign in the yard’ games, because in the state of Colorado - this is a CRIME.
The claim representatives from your insurance company REALLY don't like professional contractors because the insurance company's priority is is to keep claim costs down, while the professionals job is to make the most of your claim and see to it that you are fully restored with excellent workmanship in a timely manner. Claims adjusters are routinely trained by these managers to tell homeowners that the professional’s scope of work (or estimate) is unreasonable and their prices are way too high. This is because the vast majority of the time, adjusters are dealing with storm chasers and double-agent contractors who routinely preform work at a low-ball price.
The Storm Chaser is basically a gypsy – moving from city to city and storm to storm. These contractors are often referred to as the ‘Chuck in a truck’ (a guy who's got a truck and a hammer, so apparently that means they’re a contractor).
Storm chasers often pop up overnight when a storm hits. They get the vast majority of their clients through door knocking or telemarketing. Some professionals will set up offices in cities when a large storm event occurs (other than their home city), but they conduct business the same no matter where they operate.
The Storm Chaser, due to their sly way of business, puts their own interests before the consumer’s. They really could care less if all of your property damage is accounted for and included in your claim unless it benefits them. They don’t care if your entire roof system is replaced – their goal is to get in, make some money, and get out. All they care about is getting the roof on (no matter how bad the deal you were given was) and collecting the check.
You cannot depend on the storm chaser to be there promptly to rectify any issues if you have problems after your new roof is completed. They are predictably less than honest, have marginal competence and reliability. They hire any tradesmen they can get, as long as the tradesman will work cheap.
In other words, they hire desperate workers, with no background checks or references. Storm chasers rarely carry liability insurance to protect you and your home. Many times though, they do have fake certificates of insurance to fool consumers into believing that they do.
Sometimes, they will pay a down payment to get a valid certificate of insurance, never make the monthly premium payments and pass off the certificate as valid. Always call the agent listed to verify that the policy is valid and in force.
Storm chasers routinely eat deductibles; hoping he never gets caught by the law. Insurance claims managers like storm chasers a lot because these guys work for their low-ball price helping them keep claim costs down. This arrangement is an obvious disaster waiting to happen and should be avoided at all costs.
The third type of contractor is the Double-Agent Contractor. The insurance industry refers to these contractors as MRP’s (managed Repair Programs) or simple as preferred service providers (PSP’s). This is because the carrier certainly prefers them (through the carrier’s referral network) to the professional contractor that is going to cost them more money.
The Double-Agent contractor works for your insurance company. Your insurance company is the one who feeds them their work. They know very well not to bite the hand that feeds them the work through referrals. Therefore, their loyalty is not to you, but to the carrier.
The Double-Agent will appear to be a professional contractor but has an incentive to turn a blind eye to any damage that they find that is not on the adjuster’s estimate. They don’t care if your entire roof system is replaced. They routinely cut corners because they are performing the work for the carrier’s low-ball price.
Their reliability is spotty, and their warranty work is not as dependable as the professional, although, it could be better than the storm chaser’s.
Their honesty is questionable because they pretend to be working for you when their true client is your insurance carrier. Like the storm chaser, they are forced to hire any tradesmen that will work cheap to make thin profit margins working for low-ball prices. In other words, they hire desperate workers.
There is little to no difference between captive contractors and storm chasers when it comes to eating deductibles. Insurance claims managers love their double-agents because these guys will do just about anything they are told to do. This arrangement is an obvious conflict of interestand should be avoided.
A true professional contractor will make sure that the repair/replacement is up to industry standards and meets code requirements regardless of what the adjuster or your carrier says. So who would you prefer to hire?
How can you tell one contractor from another?
Ask to see a prospective contractor’s certificates of insurance and call the agent listed on the certificate to check that the policy exists, is valid and is in force. Rarely will any contractor, other than a professional, have insurance.
Ask the contractor if they will eat your deductible. If they say yes, or the start talking about sign allowances or rebates, etc., they are not a professional. Choose wisely, because there are consequences to your choices.
Here at Roper Roofing, as a professional and local contractor, we have serviced the Denver metro area for many years through many storms and will continue to do so. We are a Denver CO roofing contractor with more than 15 years of collective professional experience and knowledge. We love building relationships with our customers and because of this, year after year our clients keep coming back and providing new referrals (family and friends) to us because they love the work we provide and the people on our team. Give us a call today for your storm damage needs!
