An Insurer's Preferred Roofer List Is Not a Choice Made for You

After a storm, a letter or a phone call from your insurer may include a list of roofing companies it calls preferred, approved, or network contractors. The list can look like a recommendation from the company that is paying part of the bill. Before you act on it, it helps to know what the list is, what it is not, and which decisions still belong to you as the homeowner.

What a preferred roofer list usually is

In most cases, a preferred or network list is a directory of contractors that have agreed to certain terms with the insurer. Those terms can include pricing arrangements, faster scheduling, or a shared set of paperwork. The list is typically a business tool. It tells the insurer which companies it has a working relationship with, and it does not tell you which company will do your roof well.

The list also does not usually reflect a full review of each company's work on your kind of roof. A company can be on the list and still have a short crew, a slow schedule, or a scope that leaves out items your roof needs. A company can be missing from the list and still be a careful, licensed-in-practice roofing business that writes clear proposals. The list is one fact among several, and it is not a quality rating.

What to check in your policy and your letter

Start with the policy itself and the letter that came with the list. Look for any sentence that says you must use a listed contractor, or that the claim will be handled differently if you do not. If the letter uses words like "required" or "must," ask the insurer to point to the policy language that says so. If the answer is a general statement with no policy citation, put the question in writing and keep the reply.

Also look at what the letter says the insurer will do. Some letters describe a direct arrangement between the insurer and the listed contractor. Others only mention that the homeowner may choose any contractor. Those two situations are different, and the difference matters for how you handle the next call from either party.

What Missouri law keeps out of a roofer's hands

Missouri law under RSMo 407.725 bars a roofing contractor from representing or negotiating a homeowner's insurance claim. A roofer also may not say anything about paying, waiving, or covering a deductible. This means a roofer may not offer to file your claim, manage your adjuster, or argue the insurer's numbers on your behalf. A roofer who makes any of those offers is stepping outside what the statute allows, and that is a reason to slow down.

What a roofer can properly do is document the damage, prepare a written scope with photographs and measurements, and give that scope to you. A roofer can also attend the adjuster's inspection as the contractor doing the work, while you remain the person who deals with your own insurer. Keys Roofing works on that basis. Keys documents damage, puts a written scope with photos and measurements in your hands, and attends as the contractor while you handle the insurer. Keys does not represent you to the insurer and does not negotiate your claim.

The questions to ask any roofer, listed or not

Whether a company is on an insurer's list or not, the questions you ask should be the same. Ask who will write the scope, and ask to see it before any payment is made. Ask whether the scope lists each slope, each vent, each flashing piece, and each item that is damaged. Ask how the company records its photographs, and whether you will receive the original files rather than screenshots.

Ask who on the crew will be on site, who answers the phone during the job, and what happens if the roof has a problem after the work is finished. If the company says it will handle the insurer for you, end the conversation there, because that is the activity Missouri law forbids a roofer from doing on your claim.

• Ask for the written scope and the photo file before you sign.
• Ask whether the proposal shows each item the insurer's estimate also shows.
• Ask who will attend the adjuster visit and what that person will do there.
• Ask the company to put in writing that it does not represent you to the insurer.

Keep the choice of roofer on paper

Once you pick a roofer, record the choice. Save the proposal, the written scope, and the contract. Save the letter from your insurer and any reply you send. If you call the insurer about the list, write down the date, the name of the person you spoke with, and what they said about whether a listed contractor is required. These notes do not need to be elaborate, but they should exist before a dispute starts.

A preferred list can be useful as a starting point for a phone call. It is less useful as a decision made for you. The roof over your house is yours to choose for, and the choice should rest on a written scope you have read, a crew you have asked about, and a contract that says what happens when the work runs into trouble.

When the list and your roof disagree

Sometimes a listed contractor's price or scope does not match your roof, and an insurer's estimate may differ from both. Compare the three documents line by line. Look for missing slopes, missing flashing, and any line that says something will be "to be determined." If the differences are large, ask the insurer to explain its numbers in writing, and ask your roofer to explain its numbers in writing as well. Then decide which scope fits the roof you actually have.

If you want a second look at your roof before you pick anyone, you can call Keys Roofing at (314) 220-2333. Keys will walk the roof, write the scope, and take photographs you can keep. The insurer conversation stays with you.