Storm Season: How to Handle Insurance Jobs Without Getting Burned

The insurance job opportunity

After a significant hail or wind event, a wave of legitimate repair work flows into the market. Homeowners with damage need contractors fast. Insurance companies are paying. The jobs are real and the revenue is significant.

For roofers, siding contractors, and restoration specialists, storm season is peak season. Done well, insurance jobs are some of the most profitable and professional work in the trade. Done badly — through poor documentation, misaligned customer expectations, or improperly handled supplements — they become disputes, delays, and bad reviews.

Understanding how insurance jobs actually work prevents the common mistakes.

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How the insurance payment process works

When a homeowner files a storm damage claim, their insurer sends an adjuster. The adjuster assesses the damage and issues an Xactimate estimate — a line-item breakdown of what the insurance company will pay to restore the property to its pre-storm condition.

The insurer's Xactimate estimate is not a final number. It's a starting point.

The homeowner receives a cheque for the Actual Cash Value (ACV) — the replacement cost minus depreciation. When the job is complete and the contractor provides documentation, the insurer releases the Recoverable Depreciation, bringing the total payment to the Replacement Cost Value (RCV).

What this means for you: The homeowner often receives less than the full RCV upfront. You need to understand the two-payment structure before you discuss the project with them, so you can explain why they need to submit the Completion Certificate to release the remaining funds.

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The supplement

Xactimate estimates often miss line items — ridge cap, starter strip, ice and water shield, code-required upgrades, or items specific to the property's configuration. A supplement is a formal request to the insurance company for additional line items that were omitted from the initial estimate.

Most experienced storm contractors supplement every job as a matter of course. The supplement process involves:

1. Documenting the missed items with photos and a written scope
2. Submitting the supplement to the insurance adjuster
3. Waiting for approval before including those items in your work scope

Never do work you haven't been approved for and then try to collect it later. If it's not in the approved scope, it doesn't get done without a signed change order from the homeowner for the out-of-pocket cost.

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Your estimate vs. the insurance estimate

Your written estimate should reflect the actual scope of work you're performing. It should reference the insurance claim number and align with the approved Xactimate scope.

Do not inflate your estimate to exceed what insurance will cover without the homeowner's explicit written authorisation — this creates liability. Do not discount your estimate below your actual costs to win the job — insurance jobs have thin margins if you're not careful about scope.

The legitimate way to structure insurance jobs:

1. Insurance approves scope X at $Y
2. You estimate the same scope at $Y (or submit a supplement for additional items)
3. Homeowner signs your estimate covering the approved scope
4. You complete the work, provide a Completion Certificate
5. Insurance releases depreciation; homeowner pays your invoice from combined ACV + depreciation

The deposit conversation is slightly different on insurance jobs: collecting the ACV payment as your deposit when work begins (the homeowner forwards the insurer's cheque to you) is standard practice for most trades. Clearly explain this in advance — it's how the job is funded.

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The documentation standard

Insurance jobs require better documentation than most other work:

• Photo evidence of damage before any work begins — comprehensive, dated, from multiple angles
• Written scope matching the approved Xactimate items exactly, plus any approved supplements
• Signed change orders for any work outside the insurance scope
• Completion documentation — photos of the finished work for each approved line item, plus the Completion Certificate the homeowner submits to unlock depreciation

The scope and change order practices that protect you on standard jobs are doubly important on insurance jobs. There are three parties — you, the homeowner, and the insurer — and any gap in documentation creates a claim dispute.

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The reputation that matters most in storm season

In storm season, your reputation in the market determines whether you're in the first wave of calls or the third. The contractors who handle insurance documentation professionally, communicate clearly about the two-payment process, and deliver clean completion documentation get referrals from satisfied homeowners to their neighbours whose properties were also damaged.

One handled well. One that leads to five more. That's how storm season works for the contractors who are ready for it.