Dealing with damage to your roof after a severe storm can be very stressful. Between making sure that everyone in the household is okay, working with the insurance company and trying to find someone who can do the repair work at a reasonable price, the entire process can end up being quite overwhelming. Customers in our area must be particularly careful in their search for a roofing contractor in Central Florida, as a recent trend has arisen in which scandalous roofers have teamed with up with unethical companies to scam both homeowners and insurance companies.
The roofing scam
Because Florida is often beaten up by storms that have the ability to leave a wake of damage behind them, some roofing contractors and unethical companies will attempt to use this as an opportunity to get one over on innocent homeowners. Some dishonest roofing companies convince homeowners that their roofs have sustained substantial storm damage, and that they might be able to do the work for free if the homeowner allows them to utilize the assignment of benefits (AOB) clause in their insurance contracts.
Once they have secured these AOB contracts from homeowners, they bill the insurance company for much more than the actual costs of repairs, and in some cases for damage that never existed in the first place. Some of these dishonest contractors will also team up with lawyers to sue the insurance companies, roping unsuspecting homeowners into deceitful legal proceedings as well.
How can homeowners protect themselves?
Although there are many reasonable and upstanding contractors that are willing to work with you to get your repairs done, there are very few home improvements that are completely available for free, and a contractor telling you otherwise should set off your internal alarm signals. The best way to protect yourself is to do your research on any potential company you want to work with. Take the time to meet with several different contractors and compile a list of various estimates before you make the final decision on whom to hire to do the work. This process may seem like a pain, but it will be well worth it in the end when you have found a company that you can trust and rely on to do quality work that will hold up over the long term.
Although these types of scammers are prevalent in the area, it is still possible to find contractors that will provide you with quality service in an above-board manner. Here at Winter Springs Roofing & Repair, we have built our reputation over the last 35 years on honest hard work, and our goal is to help every single one of our customers get the roofing services they need at affordable rates. We keep a small staff, and pride ourselves on being able to give you the type of one-on-one, personalized service that has become so rare in the industry. For a roofing contractor in Central Florida that you can trust without reservation, give us a call today.