The claim, step by step
- 1. Photograph everythingBefore anyone cleans up, before we arrive. The Department of Insurance says it first: "Take photos of the damage. This is very important if you must throw away or move items before the adjuster has seen them."
- 2. Stop it getting worseTarp, board, bucket. The Department: "Keep all your receipts (for tarps and a wet/dry-vac, for example) and document the time you spend securing your property." Call us and we will do the tarping. You keep the receipt.
- 3. Call us to lookWe come out, get on the roof, photograph every slope, and tell you what we see. Including when the answer is that the roof is fine and there is no claim to make. That happens.
- 4. You open the claimThe Department: "Contact your insurance company as soon as possible. Call your agent, the company's toll-free number or get in touch with the company's representatives in the area." You make that call. It is your policy and your name, and under Kentucky law a roofing contractor cannot negotiate a claim for you. We will never ask you to sign anything that lets us.
- 5. Our written estimateYou get it before the adjuster comes, so you have a number of your own to hold theirs against. The law allows a contractor to give you that estimate, and we give it in writing every time.
- 6. We meet the adjusterOnce your claim is filed, on the roof, with our photographs and the estimate. We walk them through what we found. What they approve is between you and them; we make sure they have seen everything.
- 7. The scope and the workYou compare the approved scope to our estimate. If the two do not match, we say where and why, in writing, before anything starts. Then the roof goes back on the way the weather page says it should, not the way it was. The Department: "Insist on a written contract that includes a description of the work, total cost and completion date."
- 8. Paying for itYour insurer pays you, and you pay us. Your deductible is yours, after the roof is installed, and Kentucky law forbids us to pay or rebate any part of it. We will never offer.
The quoted lines from the Kentucky Department of Insurance, Before and After the Storm, read 17 September 2026.
What we will not do
- Negotiate your claim for you, or ask you to sign anything that puts it in our name. KRS 367.628 bars a contractor from acting "represent, negotiate, or advertise to represent or negotiate, as a public adjuster or otherwise, on behalf of any insured on any insurance claim", and leaves that to you or a licensed public adjuster.
- Offer to cover your deductible. KRS 367.628 names it a prohibited act: "Offer to pay or rebate all or any portion of an insurance deductible or claims proceeds as an inducement to the sale of goods or services"
- Give you a gift card, a referral fee or a credit worth more than one hundred dollars ($100). The same law caps it there, and a roofer offering more is telling you something about the rest of the job.
- Ask you to sign your insurance check over to us.
- Tell you what your insurer will pay before your insurer has said.
- Knock on your door the morning after a storm and ask for a signature. If someone does, read the lines above first.
The Department of Insurance: "Don't be afraid to ask for identification, especially if money is changing hands, and proof of general liability and workers' compensation insurance." And: "Don't agree to a final settlement until you are satisfied that it is fair. You are entitled to obtain independent estimates if you wish." Its consumer protection line is 800-595-6053.
The contractor law, as published, KRS 367.628, Kentucky Legislature, read 17 September 2026.
The Department's lines from Kentucky Department of Insurance, Before and After the Storm, read 17 September 2026.
The consumer line from the Kentucky Department of Insurance, read 17 September 2026.
What counts as storm damage
- Hail bruising on shingles, granule loss, dents on vents, flashing and gutters.
- Wind creased or missing shingles, lifted ridge, torn underlayment.
- Tree strike, punctures, and the decking under them.
- Water in the attic or a ceiling stain that appeared after the storm.
- Siding, soffit and fascia the same storm pulled loose.
What does not count, and we will say so on the roof: wear, an old repair failing, a roof at the end of its life. An insurer can tell the difference and so can we. Claiming it as storm damage wastes your time and can cost you the policy.
The storms this roof has to be built for
The last nine the Weather Service logged for Louisville. Each links to the office's own report.
- 2 April 2024. An EF2 tornado at 120 mph out of Utica, across the Ohio into Prospect, lifting by the Sleepy Hollow golf course in Oldham County, 22 injured. A second EF2 at Buckner. Inch hail at Middletown. The report.
- 26 May 2024. Widespread damaging winds and several tornadoes across the area, in two waves of storms. The report.
- 4 July 2024. Two brief tornadoes over southern Indiana and the Louisville Metro. The report.
- 15 March 2025. Hail to an inch and a half in Shively and Meadowview Estates, two inch stones across the river, a 69 mph gust at the airport, and trees on houses on Halstead Avenue and in St Matthews. The report.
- 30 March 2025. An EF1 at 100 mph through south Louisville near Fairdale, one injured. The report.
- 2 April 2025. An EF3 at 145 mph through east Louisville, from Watterson Trail to Long Run Road, nine and a half miles, across the I-265 and I-64 interchange, in the same week as the historic flooding. The report.
- 15 March 2026. Multiple EF1 tornadoes and straight line wind damage across the area, structures damaged at Mount Washington. The report.
- 18 June 2026. Trees through houses in Shively and southwest Louisville, water rescues at Hurstbourne Parkway and Six Mile Lane, an EF2 across the river. The report.
- 16 August 2026. A tree on a house on Terry Road in Valley Station. Trees on homes and roof damage in Shepherdsville. The report.
Reports from the National Weather Service, Louisville, read 17 September 2026.
The storm checklist. Print it now, before you need it.
Twenty things, in the order they happen. Stick it inside the pantry door. The first eight are the ones that decide the claim.
- Everyone safe. Downed lines and a wet roof both kill; neither one is your job.
- Photograph the roof from the ground, every side, before anyone touches it.
- Photograph the ceilings inside, every room, stained or not.
- Photograph the yard: shingles, gutters, branches, where they landed.
- Photograph the hail itself beside a coin or a ruler, and note the time.
- Photograph the cars, the fence, the AC unit, the mailbox. Same storm, same claim.
- Video, one slow walk around the house, narrating what you see.
- Write down the date and time the storm hit. Insurers ask.
- Tarp or bucket anything leaking. Keep every receipt.
- Do not throw anything away, even wet drywall. Pile it, photograph it.
- Find your policy. Know your deductible before you call anyone.
- Call your insurer or agent and open the claim. Write down the claim number.
- Call us. We come and look and tell you if it is a claim at all.
- Do not sign anything at the door. Not a contingency, not an assignment of benefits.
- Nobody pays or waives your deductible. In Kentucky that is against the law for the contractor.
- Get the adjuster visit date. Tell us. We meet them on the roof.
- Ask for the adjuster report in writing and read the line items.
- Compare the approved scope to our estimate. Ask about anything that differs.
- Sign a written contract with a description of the work, the total cost and a completion date.
- Your insurer pays you. You pay the contractor. The check never changes hands unsigned.
Items 2, 9, 10, 12, 15 and 19 follow the Kentucky Department of Insurance's published storm advice and KRS 367.628, linked above. The rest is what the roofs taught us.
Questions people ask
How long do I have to file?
Your policy says. Read it, or call your agent and ask, and do it in the first week rather than the first month. We cannot answer this for you and anyone who does is guessing.
Will my premium go up if I claim?
Ask your agent. A storm claim is not the same as a claim for something you did, but the answer depends on the company and the policy, and we do not sell insurance. The Department of Insurance consumer line is 800-595-6053.
Can you meet the adjuster without me?
We would rather you were there. If you cannot be, we will, with the photographs, and you get the same written estimate we hand them.
What if the adjuster approves less than the roof needs?
We show you where the approved scope and our estimate differ, in writing. You can ask your insurer for a re-inspection. We will attend it. What we will not do is pad the scope to close the gap.
Do you work with every insurer?
We work with you. Your insurer is whoever it is. We have met adjusters from most of the companies that write in Jefferson County.
Questions people ask
A storm just came through. What do I do?
Call (502) 915-9758 or text a photo of what you can see from the ground. We come out, get on the roof, photograph everything, and tell you straight whether it is a repair, a claim or nothing at all. The inspection is free, every time.
Do you handle the insurance claim?
We do the part a roofer is allowed to do, and all of it. We photograph the damage, give you a written estimate, and once you have filed we meet your adjuster on the roof and walk them through what we found. Kentucky law leaves the negotiating to you or a licensed public adjuster, and we would not have it any other way. How a claim goes, step by step.
What does the free inspection cover?
The whole roof, the flashing, the vents and boots, the gutters, the siding, the soffit and fascia. You get the photographs and a plain answer. Unlimited, year round.
What shingles do you install?
GAF, CertainTeed and Owens Corning. Our inspectors carry certifications from all three.
Is the inspection really free?
Yes. Every time, all year, and there is no catch. If the roof is fine, you hear that too.
I already have an estimate. Will you look at it?
Bring it. We look at the roof and the estimate and tell you straight.
Where do you work?
Louisville and the area around it. Not sure if that's you? Call and ask.
Who shows up?
Deonta Simpson, Louisville. Lightning Louisville Roofing and Renovation. He is the one on the roof in the pictures.
Also
Storm damage and the nine storms · The free inspection · Replacement · Built for Louisville weather