05/27/2026
Storm season is upon us, so here are a few things you should know if you own a home, coming from a restoration contractor of 5+ years nowâŚ
I feel like this is important information to save you from headaches and scams should you ever need to put in a wind or hail claim.
⢠If your home gets caught in a hail storm, expect people to start knocking on your door. Like, a lot. đ
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If it was a hefty hail storm, i promise you there will be a LOT of contractors that stop by. . .
Itâs a very common practice to go door to door after a big storm. Iâve been doing it for years now and have hit literal thousands of doors. So one of those many people could be me for all you know. đ
Most of us are just trying to make a living and help people. Yes, there are some legitimately scamming or committing fraud, so vet your contractors before signing anything. (You should vet your contractor regardless of anything you do, but itâs particularly important with door to door salespeople.)
⢠If you do not want to be disturbed for a third, fourth, tenth, or twentieth time after a hail storm, please do us a favor and tape a piece of paper or sticky note to your door saying youâre all good specifically in regards to the hail storm. Unfortunately, you might need to leave it up for about a year, since most insurance companiesâ statute of limitations on hail claims is one year.
PLEASE put a note up on the door if you have sleeping babies, dogs that you donât want going berserk, or any other reason that would tick you off. Door knockers with ethics donât ever intend to bother people and we canât see through your walls and know if we are causing an issue by ringing a doorbell or knocking on the door.
We also donât always realize how many other contractors have already knocked on your door from other, independently owned businesses. So notes are helpful!
And if any contractor knocks on the door after putting that type of note up, it tells you what kind of person youâre dealing with đ pushy self-righteously disguised as âpassionateâ or âconvicted,â and willing to take advantage of you.
⢠If itâs a big storm that happened, there WILL be contractors from out of town, out of state, and sometimes from across the country. *Itâs normal*. While itâs great to want to support your local contractor, I promise you they do well when big storms hit in their backyard.
When big storms affect thousands of homes, your insurance company does the same thing. Inspectors and adjusters from all over the country will flock to the affected area to handle the volume of work. Contracting companies do the same thing since there are so many repairs that will need to be done.
Roofing and siding isnât something you need to get every day. Many companies need to have a large coverage area in order to sustain their business. Just because the contractor doesnât live 5 minutes away from you doesnât mean they do bad work.
Again, just vet your contractors and make sure they wonât disappear a month after the storm happened because they made their money. A good company will be close enough or have the network in place to take care of you and honor the labor warranties provided to you should you ever need a repair on work performed.
⢠âContingency Contractsâ are normal. A lot of insurance restoration companies will have a document for you to sign that says you will use their services IF they get you approved by insurance. This is to protect the contractors time because they do a lot of leg work and risk their lives by climbing your roof to provide thorough inspections and get you a big check from insurance to do the work.
While itâs a normal practice, do make sure you review your paperwork and ask the contractor questions on anything you donât understand. Itâs a common tactic to introduce this agreement early on in your interaction with the contractor. As long as you trust them and understand what youâre signing up for, itâs not a bad thing to sign these agreements.
What you need to watch out for is how the contractor behaves when you ask questions or express discomfort with signing. If they act really pushy and are dismissive of your questions, youâll want to be careful working with that kind of person. Usually ends in a lot of broken promises, subpar work that needs repairs, and a poor customer experience overall.
⢠Lastly, when and if you select a contractor, putting a yard sign up is a great way to support their small business and signal to the neighbors (who didnât get to read this post!) which contractors are trustworthy. As a bonus, yard signs usually act as âcontractor repellentâ so no one knocks on your door anymore!! đđ
Itâs a common practice in the industry to respect the houses that signed up with someone else. And, once again, the ones who break that unwritten rule are almost always the swindlers, scammers, and awful people to be around.
If someone warns you about a company whose yard sign is in your lawn, there better be information you can investigate or Google on your own to verify if the company youâre working with is shady.
I hope this post helps someone avoid an unpleasant experience if they ever go through a catastrophic storm!
What would you like to know about the home insurance industry? Do you have any questions about insurance claims or the contracting industry? đ
