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Someone knocked on my door after the storm. What should I do?

Slow down. Plenty of legitimate contractors work a neighborhood after a storm, so a knock by itself does not tell you much either way. What happens next tells you everything.

Ask these four things at the door

Where is your office? A real local address, not a P.O. box and not "we are working out of a hotel this month."
How long have you worked in Omaha?
Does your own crew do the work, or a subcontractor?
Where will you be in five years when my warranty matters?

Write the company name down and look them up before anyone climbs on your roof. A roof is a fifteen to twenty five year decision. None of it has to happen this afternoon.

What a storm chaser is

Storm chasers are out of state contractors who follow major weather events, offer fast deals, and are frequently gone before anything goes wrong. The work may be fine. It may not. You will find out in 2031, and by then there is nobody to call and the warranty is worth nothing.

Nebraska gets a lot of them, because Nebraska gets a lot of hail. That is not a reason to be rude to anybody at your door. It is a reason to check.

The pressure tells

Be careful with anyone who needs an answer today, who wants a signature before you have read the page, who cannot tell you where they will be in five years, or who offers to make your deductible disappear. That last one is illegal in Nebraska, and it is the clearest signal you will ever get.

What you should never sign at your front door

Anything you have not read, and in particular anything that signs your insurance claim over to a contractor. These are called assignments of benefits, and they are sometimes handed over looking like a simple permission slip to go up and take a look.

Signing one can give a contractor the right to deal with your insurer and collect your claim money directly, and it can be difficult to undo. Nebraska law puts limits on these and requires specific warning language in large capital letters, which is worth reading rather than scrolling past.

If a form comes at you on a clipboard and you are told it is just so they can take a look, that is exactly the moment to say you will read it and call them back.

If you already signed something

You may still have a way out. Nebraska gives you a written cancellation right on insurance funded work, and the window is short. Here is how that works and how long you have.

Want an inspection from somebody who is still here in five years?

We are at 1713 Cuming St in Omaha and we have been since 2004. Free in person inspection, and no clipboard at your door. We will reach out within one business day to set up your free in-person inspection.

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