We asked five local roofing companies the same question. Their answers reveal something every homeowner in this neighborhood should know.
There is a version of this that plays out every year in Greenwood Village. Hail hits. Homeowners start calling. They make fast decisions under pressure, choose the wrong company, miss coverage they were entitled to, or pay more than they should have. By the time things go sideways, there is not much anyone can do.
The roofers who have been working in this neighborhood for years have seen it happen enough times to have strong opinions about where it starts. We asked five of them the same question: what is the biggest mistake homeowners make before they call a roofer?
Their answers are different. The pattern underneath them is the same.
Constantine Anest, Ethos General Contractors
The biggest mistake is not having a relationship with a roofing contractor before you need one. Most people wait until something happens. The roof is leaking or there is a hailstorm. Then they are in a mad dash. That’s the absolute worst time to select a contractor. You’re stressed, you’re under pressure, and a lot of people make decisions they shouldn’t make.
Anest’s recommendation is straightforward: talk to roofers when you do not need them. Build that relationship through routine inspections and maintenance. Then when the time comes, you already know who to call.
He also flags a financial consequence most homeowners miss. In a significant storm, a homeowner without a trusted roofer may get a new roof approved and think everything is fine, while missing tens of thousands of dollars in window, stucco, and siding damage that a thorough exterior contractor would have caught. Insurance adjusters are not typically trained to identify that damage. If no one advocates for it, it does not get paid.
George Gibson Jr., Frontier Restoration
I would say calling your insurance company before you talk to a roofer. You do not want to file a claim unless you know there is actual damage. If a claim goes in and the damage does not meet your deductible, it still sits on your record, and it can affect your premiums or your coverage.
Frontier does a significant amount of pre-claim inspection work for insurance agents for exactly this reason. Their advice: get a roofer on the roof first. Confirm the damage warrants a claim. Then make the call.
Kyle Shirley, Sol Vista Roofing
We find a lot of clients who call us already convinced they need a full replacement. But when we inspect the roof, we can often find that a repair will buy them another five years. If you go into the conversation assuming replacement, and you call the wrong company, you will get a replacement quote, whether you need one or not.
Sol Vista’s suggestion is a simple shift in how homeowners frame the initial call. Rather than asking for a replacement estimate, ask for an inspection and an honest assessment. A trustworthy roofer will tell you what the roof actually needs.
Jeff Brown, Colorado Superior Roofing & Exteriors
The biggest misconception is that people think they need to get three estimates on an insurance claim. Under Colorado law, if your insurance scope says twenty thousand dollars and you hire someone to do it for fifteen, the insurance company only pays fifteen. All you are doing is saving your insurance company money and getting a cheaper job.
Brown explains the mechanics clearly: insurance claims work from a specific scope with specific line items. The roofer’s job is to review that scope, identify what was missed, and advocate for what the homeowner is actually owed. A roofer working from the insurance company’s preferred vendor list has less incentive to push back. An independent roofer working for the homeowner does.
His other point: call a roofer before you file the claim. A premature claim, even one that goes nowhere, can affect your record.
Keith Jacob, Integrous Roofing & Restoration
File a claim without having a trusted roofer look at it first and you may have prematurely created a record that sits on your policy. A smart insurance agent will tell you to get a roofer out before you call the claims department. That is a timing thing. You really do not want to file unless you are confident it warrants one.
Jacob adds a second mistake worth noting: pulling the trigger on the first roofer who sounds compelling without getting at least one more opinion. The cheapest bid on an insurance claim should raise a flag, not win the job. If one estimate is significantly below the others, something is being cut: materials, code compliance, or corners on the scope.
His rule of thumb: if a roofer hesitates to provide proof of insurance and a copy of their current license in your jurisdiction, stop the conversation there.
The common thread
Five different companies. Five different answers. But every one of them pointed to the same underlying problem: homeowners make their worst roofing decisions when they are already in crisis mode, without a relationship, without information, and without time.
The roofer you trust should not be a name you find in a search after the storm. It should be someone you already know.