We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again…paperwork and consistency are essential when building a successful roofing business. Whether you use physical paper or digital doesn’t matter. What matters is staying consistent: having a procedure in place to ensure you have all the information necessary to understand if the job is able to be produced and supplemented.
So, without further ado, here are the documents you should have on your clipboard (or tablet):
- Inspection Checklist – Good contractors use inspection checklists on every job to make sure they document all the components of the project and what they may need to supplement. Don’t have one? Download ours here.
- Photo Checklist – As we often remind our contractors, photos are an extremely important part of the supplementing process. Adjusters won’t just take you at your word. You need to prove there is damage or that the project has access issues. And the only way to prove it is to show it. It’s good practice to use a photo checklist on every job so you make sure to get every photo you need the first time. You don’t want to have to drive back to the location because you forgot to take the 1 photo to prove your case. Download our photo checklist.
- Contingency Agreement – Using a contingency agreement is good practice so you don’t waste your valuable time selling to an uncommitted homeowner. (Consult with an attorney in the relevant jurisdiction before using this type of form.)
- Assignment of Claim – Also known as the AOC, this document will let you and any third party working on your behalf talk directly with a homeowner’s insurance company regarding his or her claim. This is a huge time saver when it comes to supplementing because many carriers won’t talk to us without authorization from the homeowner.
- Damage Report – It’s good practice to fill out a damage report when completing your roof or siding inspection. The reason is two-fold: (1) you can use it as a sales tactic to show the homeowner he or she has enough damage to warrant an insurance claim and (2) to document damage for yourself to make sure the adjuster doesn’t miss it on his/her walk through.
- Hail Swath / Storm Report – If you’re working a neighborhood that had a severe storm months ago, the homeowners may not remember the storm or think it was big enough to have damage. Having a storm report that says where the storm hit and the size of the hail/wind speeds will give credit to your claim that their house may have suffered damage.
- Building Codes – If you’re meeting with an adjuster who disagrees with you about an item you know is code in that area, it helps to be able to pull out the code and show it to him/her on the spot.
Watch as our owner and managing director, Mike, talks about how paperwork can make or break your business on YouTube.