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Should You File a Roof Claim, or Get It Inspected First?
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Get it inspected first. Not because a claim is a bad idea, but because you cannot make a sensible decision about filing until somebody has told you whether there is damage and roughly what it would take to put right. And in Oklahoma you are not in a race: the statute at 36 O.S. 1250.5 requires a policy that sets a time limit on wind or hail roof damage to allow filing up to 24 months after the date of loss where the damage is not evident without inspection, which is the ordinary situation with hail. Arrowhead Roofing has inspected roofs in northeast Oklahoma since 1987, and the honest version of this answer is that we will tell you when there is nothing worth filing on.
Note: this is a general explanation of how the decision is usually approached. It is not advice about your policy or your claim. Arrowhead Roofing is not a licensed public adjuster and we do not negotiate claims. Whether to file is your decision and your carrier is the authority on your coverage.
Four things change between inspecting first and filing first, and only one of them is about speed.
| Question | Inspect first | File first |
|---|---|---|
| Do you know whether there is damage? | Yes, before anything is on record | No, and the adjuster finds out with you |
| Do you know roughly what it would cost? | Yes | No |
| Can you compare it against your deductible? | Yes, which is the whole decision on a small loss | Not until later |
| Are you running out of time? | Generally no, see the statute above | The same clock applies either way |
The Short Answer
A claim is a record, and a roof inspection is information. Getting the information first costs you nothing and changes what the record says.
The two facts that make this straightforward in Oklahoma are both published. The filing window for roof damage from wind or hail runs to 24 months from the date of loss where the damage is not evident without inspection. And a separate clock, the one for bringing an action on the policy, is much shorter and runs from the occurrence rather than from any denial. Both are covered in does homeowners insurance cover roof replacement in Oklahoma?
So the pressure most homeowners feel after a storm, that they must call the carrier today, is mostly manufactured. Some of it is manufactured by people knocking on doors.
What We Will and Will Not Tell You
This company has published the same position since long before this page existed, and it is worth stating plainly because it is unusual.
We will not recommend filing a claim unless damage exists and is covered under your policy. That sentence comes from Arrowhead’s own archive and it still governs. There is a version of this trade that treats every storm as an opportunity to generate claims, and it is bad for homeowners, bad for the carrier and eventually bad for the contractor.
What we will do is get on the roof, photograph it, and go over the photographs with you off the roof, with a straight answer about whether there is damage. If there is not, we will say so, and that is the end of it.
When Inspecting First Clearly Wins
Three situations, and in all three the inspection settles it before anyone picks up a phone.
The damage might be smaller than your deductible
This is the common one and it is pure arithmetic. If the work costs less than the deductible, filing achieves nothing except putting a claim on your record. You cannot do that arithmetic without knowing the scope, and you cannot know the scope without an inspection.
Bear in mind that wind and hail may carry their own deductible, separate from the one on the declarations page you remember, and that it may be a percentage of the dwelling coverage rather than a flat figure.
You are not sure the storm did it
Age and wear are not covered anywhere, and the difference between weathering and impact damage is a question somebody answers on the roof rather than from the ground. How can you tell old hail damage from new hail damage? covers the single best field test, which is colour.
A door knocker told you to file
After a hail event, people who do not live here will knock on your door. Some are competent. The tell is what they ask you to do first. Somebody who wants to look at the roof and show you photographs is behaving normally. Somebody whose first move is to get a claim filed has an interest that is not identical to yours.
Two things worth checking on anyone who knocks, and both take a minute: how do you check that an Oklahoma roofing contractor is registered and insured?
When Filing Is Obviously the Right Call
The page would be dishonest if it only argued one way.
If a tree is through the roof, if water is coming into the house, or if a whole slope has lost its covering, the damage is not in doubt and the sequence stops mattering. Make the house safe, document what happened before anything is disturbed, and call the carrier. An emergency repair to prevent further damage is a normal part of a claim rather than something that prejudices it.
The same applies where an entire neighbourhood clearly took the same storm. At that point the question is not whether there is damage, it is what the scope is.
What Changes the Answer
Three things move a borderline case.
Whether you have filed before
Oklahoma protects a first claim specifically, and the protection does not extend to the second. That is worth knowing before you decide, and it is covered in will filing a roof claim raise your rates?
How old the roof is
Age does not decide whether damage is covered, and it heavily decides what the claim is worth, because most policies here settle the roof on a depreciated basis. On an older roof the arithmetic against your deductible can change completely.
Whether the shingle is still made
If it is not, a repair may not be possible at all, which changes the scope from a patch to something larger. What if my shingle is discontinued and cannot be matched? covers the documented route.
What We Do, and What We Do Not Do
Stated precisely, because this cluster attracts vague promises.
Arrowhead Roofing is not a licensed public adjuster. We do not negotiate insurance claims. We provide roof inspections, document storm damage, and meet with insurance adjusters to support the inspection process.
Practically: we can tell you whether there is damage and what it would take to put the roof back, and we can be there when the adjuster inspects. Whether to file is your decision, and what your policy pays is between you and your carrier or the Oklahoma Insurance Department.
Related Questions
Is my roof covered at all?
Usually for storm damage and not for age, and how it is paid is the part that surprises people. Does homeowners insurance cover roof replacement in Oklahoma? covers both halves.
What happens once I do file?
Documentation rather than argument, and the order of operations matters. How do you get insurance to pay for a roof replacement in Oklahoma? covers what gets recorded and when.
What if they say no?
There is a defined route, and wear and tear is the most common reason given. Why do insurance companies deny roof claims, and what comes next? covers both.
See Also
The two answers closest to this one are what an adjuster is actually looking at, and what filing does to your premium.
Find Out What Is Up There First
We have inspected northeast Oklahoma roofs since 1987, and we will tell you when there is not enough damage to be worth a claim. Book a free roof inspection and we will go over the photographs with you off the roof.