What storm damage means for a LeakFREE® Roof Certification
A LeakFREE® Roof Certification records that a specific roof, at a specific address, on a specific date, met the published LeakFREE® criteria. Storm damage and third party damage happen after that date and change the roof the certificate describes. Both sit outside the standard certification, which is written around the condition of the roof assembly, not around future weather.
Insurance policies usually call this category acts of God. Hail, straight-line wind, a fallen limb, a hurricane. Third party damage is the other version of the same problem: a satellite installer walking a tile field, a solar crew fastening through underlayment, a neighbor’s tree.
Damage after certification is an insurance question
Sudden damage from a covered event is what a property insurance policy exists to handle. Wear, age and deferred maintenance are what an inspection and certification exist to address. Two different systems, two different documents.
Coverage, deductible and payout are determined by your policy language and your carrier. NRCIA is not a party to that policy and does not adjust claims. What the certification gives you is a dated, documented baseline of the roof’s condition before the event, which is often the hardest thing for an owner to produce after the fact.
What to do in the first week after a storm
- Photograph everything from the ground. All four elevations, plus interior ceilings and any staining. Date-stamped images from the day you noticed the problem carry weight.
- Slow water intrusion. Move belongings, catch drips, and arrange emergency tarping if water is entering. Keep receipts.
- Open the claim with your carrier. Do this before you commit to permanent repairs.
- Bring in an accredited NRCIA member. A member who holds DisasterGUARD™ accreditation performs insurance-related evaluations and can document the post-event condition against the pre-event report.
Stay off the roof. Wet decking, lifted shingles and hidden fractures make a storm-struck roof a genuinely dangerous surface.
Where the previous inspection helps
Claim disputes often turn on a single question. Was this damage caused by the storm, or was it there already? A LeakFREE® Roof Inspection Report from before the event answers that question with photographs and zone-by-zone findings rather than memory. Keep your report and certificate where you can find them, and send a copy with your claim.
Repairs and re-inspection
Repairs after a storm change the assembly, so the certificate has to catch up. Re-inspection is triggered when repairs are performed by anyone other than an NRCIA member. If your certification is still inside its term and you want it to remain accurate, have an accredited member either perform the repair work or re-inspect afterward.
Term is set by the findings, the slope, the materials and the condition, to a maximum of ten years, and the expiration prints as a date on the certificate. A storm does not extend it.
Find someone accredited before the next one
Find an accredited NRCIA inspector near you: /member-directory/
LeakFREE®, Forensic ROOF®, Mr. RoofCheck®, InspectionPLUS®, Today’s Inspection… Tomorrow’s Protection®, and Got Leaks?® are registered trademarks of Field Gate FLP, used by permission. RoofGUARD™, ForensicGUARD™, DisasterGUARD™, E3GUARD™, and Think Like a Raindrop™ are trademarks of Field Gate FLP.
