A Proof of Loss Form Is a Sworn Statement. Read It Before You Sign.

After a roof claim is opened, the insurer may send you a proof of loss form to sign. It is a sworn statement that usually includes a date of loss, a description of the damage, and a dollar figure for what you are claiming. Once it is signed, those figures are the ones you have stated under oath. Many homeowners see the word sworn, set the form on the kitchen table, and sign it in a hurry because they want the process to move. That is the wrong reaction. Read the form before the signature, check each line against what you can show, and ask your insurer about any line you cannot support.

What a proof of loss is, and what it is not

A proof of loss is the form where you state what you are claiming. It is separate from the adjuster's estimate. The adjuster writes an estimate of what the repair should cost under the policy. The proof of loss is your own statement of the loss. The two documents often disagree on size, scope or price, and the difference between them is usually where the questions start.

The request letter that came with the form should state a due date and say who must sign it. Keep that letter with the form. If the letter does not give a date, or the date is unclear, ask the insurer in writing before you assume anything. The policy wording sets the rules on timing and on what the form must contain, so the policy is the document to read alongside the form. Some forms ask for a notary's seal. Check whether yours does before you go looking for one.

The lines that deserve a second look

Start with the date of loss. For a hail or wind claim, the date should match the storm you can document, not the day you noticed a stain in the ceiling. For a leak after a freeze, the date may be harder to pin down, and the form should not carry a date that the weather record does not support. If you do not know the exact date, write what you know and ask the insurer how it wants an uncertain date handled.

Next, read the description of damage. It should match the photos and the written scope in your hands. If the form says the north slope was damaged and your photos show only the east slope, the form and your evidence disagree. Do not sign a description you cannot point to in a photograph or a measurement. A short sentence that is accurate is worth more than a long one that overreaches.

Then check the figure. Find out what the number covers. Some forms ask for the full replacement figure, and others ask for the amount the insurer has already accepted. Some include interior damage such as a wet ceiling, insulation, drywall or a damaged light fixture, and others cover only the roof. If the figure includes items that are not on your roof, ask the insurer to show you the basis for those items in writing before you sign.

Finally, look at any line for personal property. A leak can ruin a rug, a shelf of books or a box of photographs, and those items are often listed separately. Make a list with rough values and the room where each item was. A proof of loss that leaves out a damaged item may close off a claim for it later, so ask whether the form covers personal property before you assume it does not.

What your roofer can supply

Keys documents the damage it finds and puts a written scope with photos and measurements into your hands. That material is yours. You can attach it to the file, compare it against your insurer's estimate, and use it as the basis for the figures you write on the proof of loss. Keys can also explain any measurement or photo in plain terms, so you know what each one shows. If you want the roofer's measurements sent to you in writing, call the Keys office at (314) 220-2333.

Keys attends as the contractor while you deal with your own insurer. That means the roofer can be present at an inspection, answer questions about the work, and show the damage to the adjuster in the presence of the homeowner. The homeowner stays the one who speaks for the claim.

Missouri law (RSMo 407.725) bars a roofing contractor from representing or negotiating a homeowner's insurance claim, and it also bars a contractor from saying anything about paying, waiving or covering a deductible. In practice, that means a roofer cannot fill in the proof of loss as your representative, cannot argue the figure with the insurer on your behalf, and cannot tell you who pays what. The homeowner completes the form and signs it. A roofer who offers to do those things is stepping outside the statute.

A short check before the signature

Use this list before you sign anything the insurer sends.

1. Confirm the due date in the request letter and write it on the form.

2. Match the date of loss to a storm you can document, or to the date you can support.

3. Compare the description of damage to your photos and the written scope.

4. Ask what the dollar figure covers, including whether it includes interior damage or personal property.

5. Check whether the form needs a notary, and whether the policy requires any attachment.

6. Keep a full copy of the signed form and the cover letter.

If a figure is wrong

If a line on the form is wrong, do not sign it and hope it can be fixed later. Ask the insurer in writing how to correct the figure before you sign, and keep that question and the answer in your file. A corrected form usually costs little time compared with a dispute over a number you signed under oath. If the insurer will not explain the basis for a figure, write down what you asked and when, and keep the reply.

Keep the proof of loss with the policy, the adjuster's estimate, the roofer's written scope and the photographs. Those are the papers that show what you claimed and why. A home inspection, a roofer's measurement sheet and a photo log can each support a line on the form, but none of them replaces the form itself. The form is the statement you are making, so the homeowner should be the one who reads it closely and signs it.