Why it matters
The Saturday-evening hailstorm
A hailstorm passes on Saturday evening and a water stain starts spreading across a bedroom ceiling. The homeowner finds two roofers online. One website has a phone number that goes to voicemail. The other has a form that promises a reply within one business day.
On Sunday morning a crew knocks on the door, offers to “handle the insurance” and says the deductible won't be a problem. The homeowner signs.
Your website could have answered on Saturday night: safety first, the address and leak details taken as urgent, and your own published words on how you work with insurance claims.
- 1 in 35insured homes filed a wind or hail claim each year, on average, from 2018 to 2020.Triple-I, homeowners insurance facts (ISO data, 2018-2020)
- 25,307residential roofing contractor locations had paid staff in the US in 2024, with 135,211 jobs between them.US Bureau of Labor Statistics, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, 2024
- $10,000per violation is the most Florida can fine a contractor who breaks its rules on deductible waivers, gifts for inspections or claims, and coverage advice. What anyone does on the contractor's behalf counts as the contractor's own act.Florida Statutes 489.147, 2026
Example conversation
A leak by the ceiling light at 11pm
- Water is dripping through my bedroom ceiling right next to the light. Can someone come tonight?
An active leak gets safety advice before anything else
- Please don't touch the light or anything electrical that's wet. Switch off power at the main breaker only if you can reach it without standing in water; otherwise call an electrician or the power company. Stay out of the room if the ceiling is sagging, and please don't go up on the roof or a ladder. What's your name, number and address, so we can call you straight back?
Safety first, then details taken as urgent
- Chris Walker, (555) 010-0174, 18 Maple Drive, 75201. Will my insurance pay for this? Another roofer said they'd take care of my deductible.
- Your insurance company decides what's covered, and the deductible is yours to pay; we can't cover or waive it. Our website says we inspect the roof and give you a written itemized estimate you can share with your insurer. Is insurance involved: yes, no or not sure?
No coverage promises, no deductible deals, insurance asked only as a flag
- Not sure yet.
- URGENT · Chris Walker · (555) 010-0174 · Water coming through bedroom ceiling now, 18 Maple Drive, 75201 · Tonight
Emailed to you in seconds; the insurance flag is on the lead in your dashboard
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Sample Roofing Co.
SampleA sample roofing contractor, made up for this demo.
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What customers ask
What homeowners ask before they book
- My roof is leaking right now in this storm, can someone come?
- Do you do free roof inspections?
- Will my insurance pay for a new roof?
- Can you help with my insurance claim?
- How much does a new roof cost?
- Are you licensed and insured?
- What warranty do you give?
- Do you work in my town?
It answers these from your own website, and hands over any it can't.
What it does
What it does for you
Puts safety first on an active leak
Water near lights or outlets, a sagging ceiling, a downed power line or a gas smell gets safety advice first. Then it takes the details and sends you an urgent alert.
Answers insurance questions carefully
It says the insurance company decides coverage, never offers to pay or waive a deductible, and describes your claim work only in the words your website uses.
Takes inspection and estimate requests
Address, what's wrong, whether water is coming in and whether insurance is involved, checked against the service area on your website. List the ZIP codes and towns you work in and each lead's alert says inside or outside your area.
Books the inspection
Sends estimate and inspection requests to your booking page. With Google Calendar connected, it offers open slots at the inspection length you set instead, so a homeowner can pick Thursday at 10 while you're on another roof. Active leaks are sent to you rather than booked.
Rules it follows
Safety and insurance rules it follows
Safety first on an active leak
If water is near lights, outlets or the panel, it says not to touch wet electrical equipment and to switch off power at the main breaker only without standing in water, otherwise to call an electrician or the power company. It says to stay out of a room where the ceiling sags, stay away from downed power lines and call the power company, leave and call emergency services if they smell gas, and call 911 for anyone who has had an electric shock. That follows CDC and Ready.gov safety advice. It also asks them not to go up on the roof or a ladder and leaves that to your crew. Details come after.
Coverage is the insurer's decision
It never says insurance will pay for, cover or approve anything, never estimates what a claim is worth, and never says whether or how to file, what to claim or what a policy means. Florida Statutes 489.147 and Minnesota Statutes 325E.66 bar contractors from advising on coverage or interpreting a policy unless they're licensed public adjusters.
No deductible deals
It never offers, agrees to or hints at paying, waiving, absorbing or rebating a deductible. Asked, it says the business can't do that and the deductible is the homeowner's to pay. Texas Business and Commerce Code 27.02, Florida 489.147, Colorado C.R.S. 6-22-105, Minnesota 325E.66 and Kentucky KRS 367.628 all bar deductible promises of this kind.
No gifts or rewards tied to a claim
It never offers gifts, gift cards, cash, discounts or referral rewards tied to an inspection, an insurance claim or an insurance-paid job, even if your website mentions one. Florida 489.147 and Minnesota 325E.66 bar inducements like these, and Kentucky KRS 367.628 bars any worth more than $100.
Never “we'll handle your claim”
It never says you'll file, handle, negotiate or fight a claim, or speak for the homeowner with their insurer, even if your website says so. Where your site says it, it may say you inspect, give a written itemized estimate the homeowner can share with their insurer, and can talk to the adjuster about the repair once the homeowner has filed. Texas Insurance Code 4102.163 bars contractors from advertising to adjust claims, and Kentucky KRS 367.628 bars representing or negotiating for the owner on an insurance claim.
No cancellation deadlines
It never states a deadline or says whether a contract can be cancelled. It says the contract and your business explain cancellation rights, which depend on the state and how the contract was signed. The FTC Cooling-Off Rule and several states' roofing laws set different windows with different triggers.
Prices, payments and promises as you publish them
It quotes a repair or replacement price only if your website publishes one, since a roof price depends on an inspection. It never tells anyone to pay before an insurance decision or to pay in full up front, and the FTC advises homeowners not to pay in full until the work is done. It invents no storm specials or limited slots, and gives license numbers, insurance and warranties only as published.
Insurance asked as yes, no or not sure
It asks whether water is coming in right now and whether insurance is involved, only as a flag for you. It never asks for the insurer, policy number, claim number, deductible or claim amount. The flag matters because insurance-funded jobs can bring notices you have to give, such as the deductible notice Texas requires in contracts of $1,000 or more expected to be paid from a claim.
What reaches you
What reaches your inbox
The email carries who, where, what's wrong and when, marked urgent for an active leak. The insurance flag and the full conversation are on the lead in your dashboard.
- Urgency
- Emergency, active leak
- Name
- Chris Walker
- Phone
- (555) 010-0174
- Address
- 18 Maple Drive, 75201
- Job
- Leak through bedroom ceiling after the storm
- Water coming in now
- Yes
- Insurance involved
- Not sure
- When
- Tonight
Your tools
Works alongside your roofing software
- JobNimbus
- AccuLynx
- Roofr
- Jobber
Questions
Common questions
How does it compare with a roofing answering service?
A roofing answering service picks up your phone. This answers homeowners who find you on your website, at any hour and from your own pages, and emails you the lead. It doesn't take calls, so if most of your storm work arrives by phone, keep the answering service and add this for the website.
How much does it cost, and how long does it take to set up?
There's a free plan with 100 customer messages a month and no card, and paid plans start at $19 a month. Paste your website address and it reads your service, area and insurance pages in about a minute. To go live, add one line of code to your site or install the WordPress plugin.
What if a homeowner says another roofer will cover their deductible?
It says the deductible is theirs to pay and that you can't cover or waive it, and it says nothing about the other roofer. The full set of insurance rules it follows is above.
Does it help against storm chasers knocking on doors?
It gets your answer in front of the homeowner the same night, but it won't criticize anyone. It answers the questions the FTC tells homeowners to ask after a storm, such as whether you're licensed and insured and whether you give a written contract, from what your website publishes. So put your license number, insurance and warranty on the site.
Can it handle storm leaks after hours?
Yes. It gives safety advice first, takes the details as urgent and sends you an email alert straight away. Turn on “Wake me for emergencies outside business hours” and, overnight too, an urgent lead nobody has answered gets one reminder after 5 minutes, then your backup contact is told; it's on by default if your site advertises 24/7 or emergency service.
Will it quote roof prices?
Only prices your website publishes. Otherwise it says the price depends on an inspection and takes the details. You can switch price quoting off entirely in your settings.
Will homeowners know they're talking to an AI?
Yes. The chat window is labeled as an AI assistant for your company before anyone types, and a “Talk to a person” button sits under every reply. Asking for a person sends you an alert with what they wanted.
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