When the insurance company sends an engineer, it usually means the claim is about to be denied or has already been shorted, and the engineer's report is going to be the reason. It is not the end of the claim.
An engineer's report is one opinion. It can be tested, and in our experience it often has to be. Here is what we do when one shows up.
Why carriers send engineers
Carriers bring in engineers on claims where the damage is disputed, the roof is expensive, or the carrier wants a written technical reason to deny. A report carries more weight with a claims manager than an adjuster's note does.
That does not make the report wrong. Plenty of roofs come back with genuine old damage, wear, or installation problems, and an engineer can find them. We tell homeowners that up front. We only see the denied claims, so we are jaded, and we try to be fair about it.
What the reports often look like
Reports vary a lot. Some are specific, with measurements, photos of individual hits, and a reasoned conclusion. Others are closer to a template.
The patterns we see in weaker reports:
- A causation checklist that reads almost the same on every roof.
- The phrase "no functional damage," used without defining what function was tested.
- Photos of the roof with no marks, circles, or scale.
- Little or no mention of storm data for the address.
- No response to the contractor's findings.
None of that is an accusation. Engineers are professionals, and some of their reports are good. But if a report ignores hail data a homeowner can pull from public sources, that deserves a question.
How we respond to a report
There are three steps, in this order.
Step one: ask for the report
Put the request in writing. Our standard request is for the full engineer's report, the photos and field notes, and any other document the carrier relied on to decide the claim. We frame it as the file the insured is entitled to see to understand why the claim was decided.
Carriers sometimes say no, or send only the conclusion page. We follow up. Having the full report matters, because the weak spots are often in the attachments.
Step two: test it against the evidence
Here is how we check a report.
Storm data. NOAA publishes hail and wind records by date and location, and they are public. If the report says no hail fell near the home and the record shows hail reports within a mile, that is a significant gap.
Photos. We compare the engineer's photos to ours. Hits that are circled in one set and absent in the other need an explanation.
Contractor and independent input. A roofer who has inspected the roof, and sometimes a separate expert, can write down what they found. Two opinions against one is a different conversation than one against none.
Age of the damage. Hail from a year or two ago is hard to date. Hail from five years ago is easier, with grayed hits and exposed fiberglass. A pre-purchase inspection report, if you have one, is strong evidence the roof was clean before the storm.
Our post on wear and tear denials covers the age argument in more detail, and our post on documenting storm damage explains what to photograph.
Step three: reinspection with us present
We usually ask the carrier for a reinspection, and we attend. The goal is for the adjuster or a different engineer to look at specific spots with our roofer pointing to them. A reinspection tends to go better when the person on the roof has to answer a direct question about a specific hit.
No one can promise the carrier changes its mind. Some do. Some do not, and then the next steps are escalation, appraisal, or an attorney. We explain those in our guide to appraisal.
What Minnesota law says about investigation
Minn. Stat. § 72A.201, subd. 8 lists claims practices that Minnesota treats as improper. Among them is "denying a claim without having made a reasonable investigation of the claim."
If a carrier relies on a generic report that did not address the storm data or the contractor's findings, we may argue the investigation was not reasonable. That is an argument, not a ruling. We are public adjusters, not attorneys. This is how the statute reads and how we use it; for legal advice talk to a Minnesota attorney.
What to do this week
If an engineer is coming, do three things. Take your own dated photos of the roof first. Ask whether you can have your contractor or public adjuster present. And ask for the report in writing afterward.
If the report has already arrived and denied the claim, do not respond in anger and do not accept it without a second look. The carrier has to give you the specific policy provision it relies on, and you are allowed to push back.
The honest answer
An engineer's report is a serious document, and it deserves a serious response. Sometimes it is right. Often it is thinner than it looks, and a request for the full file, public storm data, and a reinspection will show where.
Reports vary, and so do outcomes. We test them against the roof and tell you what we find, including when the engineer was correct.