How to Choose a Roofing Contractor in DFW (Without Getting Burned)

DFW is one of the busiest hail markets in America. After every big storm, the metro gets flooded — not just with insurance claims, but with contractors looking to grab a chunk of them.

Some are excellent. Plenty aren't. Here's how to tell who's who.

Start with insurance

Before anything else, ask for two documents: a current certificate of general liability insurance (at least $1M per occurrence for residential work) and a current workers' comp certificate. Any legitimate contractor will have these and will send them without hesitation.

If a worker gets injured on your property and the contractor doesn't carry workers' comp, that liability can fall on you as the homeowner. General liability covers damage to your property during the job. These aren't formalities — they're protection.

Ask for the certificates. Verify they're current. If there's hesitation, move on.

Local vs. storm chaser

After a big storm, out-of-state crews from Oklahoma, Louisiana, Florida set up shop in hotel conference rooms and start pounding doors. A year later when a seam starts leaking, good luck finding them.

A local contractor has a real office, a local number, and a reputation that existed before the storm and will still exist after. They're accountable because they can't leave.

Ask:

• Where's your office? (Not a PO box)
• How long have you been working DFW?
• Can I see three references in my zip from the last year?

Read the contract

Some contracts — especially the clipboard-special ones chasers hand you — let the contractor walk away if the approved amount comes in lower than their estimate. That leaves you with a half-done roof. Others use Assignment of Benefits language, which hands your insurance proceeds straight to the contractor and puts the legal risk on you.

Before you sign, know:

• What happens if the claim gets denied?
• What if you change your mind before work starts?
• Who handles supplements?
• What's the warranty, and who's actually behind it?

A legitimate contractor will walk you through every one of those in plain English.

Insurance work is its own skill

There's a real gap between a roofer who can install a roof and one who knows how to document damage, write a scope, sit with an adjuster, and push a supplement when the carrier lowballs the first offer.

Ask straight up: do you attend the adjuster meeting? Do you supplement? Can I see an example of a supplement you've filed?

If the answer is "we just install the roof once the claim's approved," you're leaving money on the table. Possibly a lot of it.

Manufacturer certifications

Owens Corning, GAF, CertainTeed, TAMKO, Atlas — they all run contractor certification programs. Training requirements, volume minimums, sometimes third-party inspections. Certified installers can issue enhanced warranties (some go up to 50 years, full system) that non-certified shops simply can't offer.

Ask who they're certified with. If nobody, ask why.

Red flags

Walk away if:

• They want you to sign before they've inspected anything
• They're pressuring you to sign the day they knock
• There's no written estimate or scope
• They can't provide current insurance certificates or local references
• No real DFW address
• They offer to "waive" or "eat" your deductible (that's insurance fraud in Texas and it's a felony)
• They dodge warranty questions

What a legitimate process looks like

A real storm restoration contractor will:

1. Inspect your property before they ask for anything

2. Document damage in writing and share the file with you

3. Walk you through the contingency agreement before you sign

4. Show up for the adjuster meeting

5. Supplement for anything the adjuster missed

6. Install once the scope is approved and material is on the ground

7. Do a final walkthrough with you

That's it. If somebody's skipping steps, ask them why.