Filing a roof claim in Michigan, step by step

Michigan, line by line

When to tell your insurer

As soon as possible. DIFS gives no number of days. Keep notes of every call: date, representative's name, claim number and a summary.Your policy may set its own notice terms, and the statute leaves them to the policy, so read yours.

Before cleanup and repairs

Photograph and video all damage before cleanup and keep damaged items until the insurer says otherwise. Make only temporary repairs, such as covering the roof, until the insurer has inspected. Save receipts, which DIFS says may be reimbursable.

Time to sue

1 year after the loss, or the time your policy gives if that is longer. The time stops running from the day you notify the insurer until it formally denies liability.The text is the fire-policy provision, MCL 500.2833(1)(q). Applying it to a homeowners wind or hail claim is our inference, so ask an attorney how much time you have.

Proof of loss and payment

The insurer must tell you in writing, within 30 days of receiving your claim, what counts as a satisfactory proof of loss, and must pay within 60 days of proof. Late payment carries 12 percent simple interest.The statute makes late payment an unfair practice unless the claim is reasonably in dispute. DIFS adds that there is no time limit for the insurer to finish its investigation.

Your deductible

Know your deductible before the claim is paid, and compare it with a written repair estimate.We found no DIFS guidance on separate percentage wind and hail deductibles. Check your declarations page for whether yours is a flat dollar amount or a percentage of the home's value.

Actual cash value and replacement cost

Replacement cost pays to repair or replace with materials of the same kind, minus your deductible, up to your limit. Actual cash value is the replacement cost at the time of loss minus depreciation. If you do not repair or replace under a replacement cost policy, the insurer pays only the depreciated value.

Only the damaged part of a roof

If hail and high winds lift shingles, a homeowners policy covers the portion of the roof that was damaged, and DIFS says the insurer is not required to replace the entire roof. Policy wording still governs.We found no Michigan statute that requires an insurer to match shingles or replace a whole roof.

If you disagree about the amount

Either side may demand a written appraisal of actual cash value or the amount of loss. Each picks a competent, independent appraiser within 20 days, the two appraisers pick an umpire (15 days, otherwise a circuit court judge does), and agreement of any two of the three sets the amount. Each side pays its own appraiser and shares the umpire's cost equally.This is the statute's fire-policy text, and your own policy wording governs. The DIFS pages we read do not explain appraisal separately.

Code upgrades

Ordinance and Law coverage pays when a home cannot be rebuilt to its original condition because of changes in local building codes. DIFS says the insurer will not pay for the upgrades without it, and the standard limit is 10 percent of dwelling coverage.

Public adjusters

A public adjuster must be licensed by DIFS, the fee cannot exceed 10 percent of the settlement, and you are not required to hire one. A contract signed within 48 hours after the loss can be voided by you within 10 days.

Choosing your contractor

Your insurer may recommend contractors, but DIFS says you have the right to choose your own. Verify licenses, get written estimates, read contracts and never feel pressured into an immediate decision.

Warning signs DIFS lists

DIFS lists as warning signs a contractor who wants full payment up front, high-pressure sales, unsolicited door-to-door offers and requests to sign insurance checks over to the contractor. It lists offering to cover your deductible by raising the estimate or bill as fraud, and Michigan treats insurance fraud as a felony.

Door-to-door sales

If a seller solicits you at home and you agree to a sale over $25 there, you may cancel until midnight of the third business day after signing. A sale you started by calling a company after a general advertisement may fall outside the rule, and an emergency waiver needs a separate handwritten, signed statement.

Assignment of benefits and contingency contracts

Do not sign an assignment of benefits or a contingency contract before you have read it, and do not sign an insurance check over to a contractor. We found no Michigan statute that governs assignments of benefits for roofing, so we cannot say what one does legally here and your policy's own wording matters.What we can source is narrower: a contractor has no lien on a house unless the work is under a written contract that states the contractor's license number.

Where to complain

Try to settle it with the insurer first. Then file a DIFS complaint online or call 877-999-6442, Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.