Does insurance pay for a roof inspection?
A policy pays for sudden, accidental physical loss from a covered peril. An inspection is not a loss, so there is nothing for the policy to reimburse when you hire someone to look at your roof. In practice, though, most of the inspections that matter in a claim cost you nothing.
Who pays for each kind of roof inspection
- Storm damage inspection by a roofer: free from most established roofers, and the best way to learn whether you have a claim.
- Adjuster inspection after you file: paid by the insurer as part of handling your claim.
- Engineer hired by the insurer: the insurer pays. If you hire your own engineer to rebut that report, the cost is usually yours.
- Underwriting inspection: ordered and paid for by the insurer when it writes or renews a policy.
- Roof certification for a sale or a new policy: you pay, and insurance does not reimburse it.
- Appraisal: under the typical appraisal clause, each side pays its own appraiser and the two split the umpire's fee.
What insurance can reimburse
Once there is a covered loss, most policies pay reasonable costs to protect the home from further damage, such as an emergency tarp. Keep the invoice and photos, and read about your duty to mitigate so the tarp is handled correctly.
Watch the fine print on free
A free inspection should not require a signature. If a company hands you something to sign before or during the inspection, read it: it may be a contingency agreement or an assignment of your claim proceeds, and Georgia makes it an unfair practice for a contractor to take an assignment of insurance proceeds within one year of a declared natural disaster. When the inspection does turn up damage, the next step is filing the claim. If the insurer later sends an engineer, see how engineer inspections work.