Storm damage and roof insurance claims in Kentucky, without getting worked over

The first 48 hours

1. Make it safe, then stop. Tarp an active leak, move belongings, photograph everything before you touch it. Keep receipts for the tarp and any emergency work; reasonable temporary repairs are usually covered.
2. Document from the ground. Photos and video of the roof from every side, the gutters, the downspouts, the siding, the fence, the AC unit, and any hail on the ground or dents in soft metal. Date them. Do not get on the roof.
3. Call your insurer, not a roofer. Report the claim directly and get a claim number. The adjuster inspects; your job is to have the evidence ready.

What Kentucky law says a roofer cannot do

Kentucky wrote a statute specifically for storm roofing. Under KRS 367.628, when the work is expected to be paid from an insurance claim, a roofing contractor may not:

• Negotiate or represent you on the insurance claim. They can give you an estimate and point out damage during the adjuster's inspection. They cannot “handle the claim for you.”
• Offer to pay, rebate, or absorb your deductible, or discount the job to cover it. “We'll eat the deductible” is insurance fraud, and it exposes you, not just them.
• Cause damage to the roof to increase the scope of the claim.
• Pay you anything over $100 as an inducement to sign.

Any roofer who opens with one of those has told you everything you need to know.

Your right to cancel after a denial

Under KRS 367.624, a roofing contract that depends on an insurance claim must tell you in writing that you may cancel before midnight of the fifth business day after your insurer notifies you in writing that all or part of the claim is not covered, with no penalty. The contractor must hand you a cancellation form with the contract. If you signed before the adjuster ruled and the claim comes back denied or reduced, you are not stuck.

Separately, if the contractor came to your door and you signed at home, the general 3-business-day home solicitation cancellation (KRS 367.420) also applies.

How the claim money works

• Deductible. Many Kentucky policies now carry a separate wind and hail deductible, sometimes a percentage of the dwelling coverage rather than a flat amount. Know yours before you talk to anyone.
• ACV vs. RCV.Actual cash value pays the depreciated value up front; replacement cost value pays the rest (the “recoverable depreciation”) after the work is done and invoiced. If your first check looks low, that is often why. Read which kind of policy you have.
• Slow insurer.Kentucky's unfair claims settlement rules set timeframes for acknowledging and acting on a claim, and delayed payments can accrue interest. If you have heard nothing within a few days of filing, call the Kentucky Department of Insurance consumer line in the sources below.
• Matching. Kentucky regulation addresses matching of replacement materials. If matching shingles or siding are genuinely unavailable, ask the adjuster directly how the policy handles it rather than accepting a patchwork answer.

Picking the roofer

1. Prefer a company with a physical address in this part of Kentucky. Warranties from a truck that leaves next month are worth what you paid for them.
2. Get a certificate of insurance and call the agent listed on it.
3. Get a written scope that matches the adjuster's line items: squares, underlayment, ice and water barrier, drip edge, vents, flashing, haul-off.
4. Never sign a contract that assigns your claim or your insurance benefits to the contractor.
5. Pay the deductible yourself, by a method that leaves a record. It is the law, and it is also the test.

If something goes wrong

Claim handling problems go to the Kentucky Department of Insurance, Division of Consumer Protection. Contractor fraud goes to the Kentucky Attorney General. Both take complaints online. Keep every text, estimate, and receipt; the paper trail is what gets resolved in your favor.