Within days of a significant Puget Sound windstorm, unfamiliar trucks appear in neighbourhoods and someone knocks on your door offering a free roof inspection. Some of these operations are legitimate contractors expanding capacity after a weather event. Many are not, and the ones that are not follow a recognisable script.
Knowing the script is most of the defence.
The neighbour anchor. The opening is almost always a variation of: we are already working on roofs on this street, and we noticed yours. This establishes social proof and local presence in one sentence, and it is frequently untrue. It is also easy to test — ask which house, and check.
The free inspection. Genuinely free, and genuinely an inspection. The problem is what happens on the roof, out of sight. In the worst cases, damage is created rather than found. In the more common cases, ordinary wear is photographed and presented as storm damage. Either way, you are shown images of your roof by someone you did not know an hour ago, with no way to verify when or where they were taken.
The urgency. A finding of serious damage, a warning about the next storm, and an offer that requires signing today. Legitimate roof damage does not require a decision within the hour. A tarp handles the interim, and any contractor unwilling to let you think has told you why.
The deductible offer. Some version of: we can waive your deductible, absorb it, or work it into the paperwork. This is insurance fraud. It is also a strong indicator that the estimate submitted to your carrier will be inflated to cover the amount being waived. Crucially, participating exposes you, not only them — you are the policyholder and the party to the claim.
The paperwork. Presented as routine authorisation to inspect or to work with your insurance. This is where an assignment of benefits can appear.
An AOB transfers your rights under your insurance policy to the contractor. Once signed, they can negotiate with your carrier directly, receive payment directly, and in some arrangements pursue litigation in your name.
The legitimate rationale is that it saves the homeowner administrative work. The abuse pattern is that it removes you from the process entirely — you lose control of scope, of settlement, and of whether work is done to your satisfaction before payment is released.
Read anything presented as standard paperwork. Look for the words assignment, benefits, or authorisation to negotiate. You are entitled to decline an AOB and still hire the contractor.
Unsolicited door-knocking immediately after a storm. Out-of-state vehicles and licence plates. No verifiable local address, or an address that turns out to be a mailbox service. Pressure to sign during the visit. Large payment demanded up front before materials are delivered. An offer to waive or absorb the deductible. Reluctance to provide written scope. A company name you cannot find any local history for. Cash-only or unusual payment arrangements. And a subtle one: quoting a price before your carrier has assessed anything, which suggests the number is designed around what carriers typically pay rather than around your roof.
Contractor registration. Washington requires contractors to be registered, bonded, and insured, and registration status is publicly verifiable. Check the exact legal name on their paperwork, not the name on the truck.
Insurance, direct from the insurer. Ask for a certificate of insurance sent to you by the insurance agency rather than handed over as a photocopy. Photocopied certificates are trivially forged, and expired coverage is common.
Workers' compensation. Confirm coverage. An uninsured injury on your property is a problem that can become yours.
Local history. Ask for three references from work completed within the past year, within a reasonable distance. Then call them. Ask specifically whether the final price matched the estimate and whether anyone came back for warranty work.
A physical address. Look it up. A yard, an office, a place where the business demonstrably exists.
They are comfortable with every one of the checks above and often volunteer the information. They provide written scope before asking for money. They accept a reasonable deposit rather than demanding most of the contract value. They will wait while you get a second opinion. They tell you when damage does not warrant a claim. And they are still findable in two years, which is the entire value of a workmanship warranty.
The practical rule after a storm: nobody who knocks on your door gets a decision that day. Take the card, do the fifteen minutes of verification, and call two local companies yourself. Real damage will still be there tomorrow, and a tarp costs very little compared to what a bad contract costs.
This post is part of our in-depth coverage of roof repair & leak detection in Seattle.
Emergency Tarping & Storm Response → Roof Repair & Leak Detection →
No. Offering to waive or absorb a deductible is insurance fraud, and it usually indicates the estimate submitted to your carrier will be inflated to cover it. As the policyholder, participating exposes you as well as the contractor.
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