How does roof replacement work with insurance?
Short answer. Once the claim is approved, you choose a contractor, sign a contract based on the insurance scope, pay your deductible, and the contractor installs the roof funded by the first insurance payment and your deductible. After completion, the contractor sends a final invoice so the insurer releases any recoverable depreciation and approved supplements.
Approval is the midpoint, not the finish. Here is how the money and the work usually move from that point.
- Review the approved estimate with your contractor. Compare measurements, materials, and line items with what the roof actually needs. Missing items are flagged for a supplement.
- Sign a contract. In insurance work the price usually follows the insurer's approved scope, plus any upgrades you choose at your own cost. Georgia law lets you cancel a residential roofing contract that depends on insurance if the claim is denied, so read the cancellation terms in your contract.
- Deposit the first check. If your lender is on it, it goes through their process first. See mortgage company checks.
- Choose materials and schedule. Pick shingle color and style; materials are ordered and delivered.
- Install day. On a typical home, tear off and installation are completed in a day. Any rotted decking found under the old shingles is photographed and replaced.
- Final invoice and photos. The contractor documents completion and submits the invoice, plus supplement items like decking.
- Depreciation release. The insurer pays the withheld depreciation and approved supplements. See recoverable depreciation.
- Final payment to the contractor, after which you keep the warranty paperwork.
What you pay
Your deductible, any upgrades, and any non-recoverable depreciation on an actual cash value roof. No legitimate Georgia contractor will absorb the deductible, because doing so is illegal.