The four roles, and what each actually does
Your contractor. Documents what is on the roof, produces a dated photo report and a line-item estimate, and meets the adjuster on the roof so the scope and the damage are the same list. A contractor cannot negotiate your claim and should not offer to.
A public adjuster. State-licensed, works for you rather than the carrier, and is paid a percentage of the claim — commonly around ten percent, capped in some states. Worth considering on a large, complex or genuinely contested loss. On a straightforward residential roof claim the percentage often exceeds the difference they make.
Your state insurance regulator. Maryland has the Maryland Insurance Administration; Virginia has the Bureau of Insurance at the State Corporation Commission. Both take consumer complaints about claim handling, both cost nothing, and both are routinely skipped because people do not know they exist.
An attorney. For bad-faith handling, for a loss large enough that litigation is proportionate, or where a carrier has gone silent. Usually contingency on this kind of matter. This is the right call much less often than the internet suggests.
Why most denials are not legal problems
Look at the stated reason on the letter. "No damage found" is a disagreement about evidence. "Wear and tear" is a disagreement about cause. Both are answered with documentation tied to a dated storm event, which is a re-inspection request, not a lawsuit.
A policy exclusion in writing, supported by the policy language, is a different animal — no amount of photography changes it. That is where the regulator or an attorney becomes relevant, and where a contractor should say so plainly rather than keep selling.
The order worth working in
Get a dated photo report of the entire roof, whether or not you have filed. It costs nothing and it is the input every other step needs.
Request a re-inspection, with the report attached and the storm date named. Carriers reopen claims when new documentation arrives.
If the handling itself looks wrong — no response, an adjuster who never went on the roof, a scope that ignores what you sent — file with your state regulator. Free, and it generates a response.
Only then consider a public adjuster or an attorney, and consider which of the two the actual problem calls for.
Where we sit, stated plainly
We document and we build. You file and own the claim, your carrier decides coverage under your policy, and we are a licensed roofing contractor rather than a public adjuster — we do not negotiate or adjust claims on your behalf and we will not pretend the line is blurry.
On an approved claim your deductible is typically your out-of-pocket cost. Any contractor offering to make it disappear is proposing fraud with your name on the claim.
The inspection is free across Maryland and Northern Virginia, usually within twenty four hours, and the photo report is yours to keep whichever route you take.
Get it looked at, free
We inspect across Maryland — Montgomery, Prince George's, Howard, Anne Arundel, Frederick, Carroll and Baltimore counties. Free inspection, photo report within 24 hours, and the report is yours to keep whether or not you hire us.