The Adjuster Is Running Late: What to Do During the Wait

A roof adjuster who is running late does not cancel the claim. The days between the storm and the visit belong to you, and they are the easiest days to lose evidence. Loose shingles keep moving in the wind, a tarp keeps flapping, and rain keeps working through any opening that was missed. What you do during the wait decides how much of the damage is still readable when someone from the insurer finally stands on the slope.

Keep the roof in the state the storm left it

Most homeowners want to start fixing things the day after a storm. Some repairs are needed to stop water, and a tarp or a temporary seal is the usual first step. But every repair changes what the adjuster sees. A torn shingle that has been pulled and replaced is no longer a torn shingle when the inspector arrives. Before anyone climbs the roof, photograph each damaged area from the ground and from a safe position, with the date kept in the original file. Keep any loose pieces, such as a shingle fragment, a bent flashing or a broken vent cap, in a sealed bag with a note of where it came from.

When a tarp is necessary, document the tarp too. Photograph the roof before the tarp goes on and again after, showing the anchoring and the edges. Ask the crew to write the date, the area covered and the materials used on the invoice, so the tarp charge stands on its own line when the file is assembled later. Keep the tarp in place until the permanent repair starts, and do not pull it back to look without taking new photos first.

Winter waits are different

If the storm hit in the cold months, the wait can run through a freeze. Water that gets under a damaged shingle in the afternoon can freeze overnight and lift the tab, so the next morning the damage looks bigger than it did the day before. Ice damming at the eave is the common case in St. Louis, where a warm attic melts snow on the roof surface and the meltwater refreezes at the cold overhang. Photograph the eave, the gutter line and any icicles from the ground in daylight, and note the air temperature on the day you took the picture. A thaw can also leave a stain that looks new when it is months old, so write down the date you first saw each stain, not only the date you photographed it.

Do not chip ice off the roof with a metal bar. The bar cuts the shingle surface and leaves marks that look like impact or wear, which makes the evidence harder to read. If ice has to come off to stop an interior leak, ask the roofer to photograph the area before and after the removal and to write down the method used.

Insurance claim

Missouri law (RSMo 407.725) bars a roofing contractor from representing or negotiating a homeowner's insurance claim. That means the company you hire to fix the roof cannot call the insurer on your behalf, cannot argue the scope with the adjuster, and cannot promise that the claim will pay. What a legitimate contractor can do is document the damage, put a written scope with photos and measurements in your hands, and attend the inspection as the contractor while you deal with your own insurer.

During the wait, your job is to keep your own log. Write down every call to the insurer with the date, the time, the name of the person, the claim number and what was said. Keep the confirmation email or letter. Note when the adjuster said they would come and whether the appointment moved. A rescheduled visit without a written confirmation is a fact you will want to be able to point to later.

Watch the weather while you wait. Late fall and early spring in St. Louis bring freeze and thaw cycles that open small cracks in aging shingles and push water under the tabs. If another storm hits before the inspection, photograph the new damage separately and date it separately. Do not let new photos overwrite the old ones. A second storm can belong to the same file, but it needs its own folder so the two events do not blur together.

Keep the file in one place

By the time the inspection happens, the file may hold photos from your phone, a tarp invoice, a roofer's notes, insurer emails, a voice memo or two and a stack of paper from the mailbox. Put them into one folder on a computer or drive, keeping the original photo files exactly as they came off the phone. Do not rely on screenshots or resized copies, because a file that has been cropped or compressed loses the data that shows when it was taken. Name the folders by date and by area, such as north slope, garage eave or master bedroom ceiling.

Keep a short running list on paper and update it every day you are waiting. Each line should say what you saw, where, at what time, and whether anything changed since the day before. A paper list does not depend on a battery or a password, and it gives the adjuster a plain timeline if the inspection is late. Do not write conclusions in the list, only what you observed. Saying the storm caused the damage is a question for the inspection, and your notes are most useful when they stick to what was seen.

Mail from the insurer goes to the policy address, which is not always the house you are standing in. If you rent the home out or if the policy was written before a change of ownership, check the address on the policy now. A letter that went to an old address is a delay nobody planned for.

What it costs

Waiting usually costs less than homeowners fear, but it is not free. Interior damage can spread while a roof sits open. Wet insulation in an attic can grow mold within days, and a ceiling stain under a dripping leak can soften drywall before anyone notices. Those are costs of the wait, and they belong in your photo file too, with the date each area was first seen.

Ask any roofer who gives you a temporary repair quote to put that charge on its own line, separate from the permanent replacement. Ask whether the price assumes a single trip or repeat visits. Ask whether a permit is needed for the temporary work in your municipality, since some county and city permit desks treat a tarp differently from a full tear-off. No price is given on this page, because a number written without a roof in front of anyone would be a guess.

What to ask

Before the adjuster arrives, ask your roofer for a written scope with dated photos of each slope, the measurements behind each line, and a list of the openings that were sealed. Ask whether the crew will be on site during the inspection and whether they will walk the roof with you. Ask who will keep the photo originals and the notes after the visit.

Ask your insurer for the name of the adjuster, the date of assignment and the expected date of inspection. Ask whether a temporary repair needs approval before it begins. Ask the insurer to put its answer in writing. If the answer comes by phone, write it down the same day.