Nine questions. Ask number three and watch what happens

1. What is your Florida licence number?

Roofing requires a state certified or registered licence — CCC for roofing, CGC for general contracting. Verify it yourself at myfloridalicense.com. Check the name on the licence matches the name on the contract, because “working under” someone else’s licence is illegal and extremely common after storms. Ours is CCC1337211.

2. Can I see your certificate of insurance, naming me?

General liability and workers compensation. Ask for the certificate to be sent directly from their insurer with your property listed. If a worker is injured on an uninsured crew, the exposure can land on your homeowners policy.

3. Will you cover my deductible?

The single best screening question in roofing. The correct answer is no — it is insurance fraud and a felony in Florida. Anyone who says yes has told you exactly how they run their business, and it is your name on the claim, not theirs.

4. Who pulls the permit?

They should, in their name, with their licence. A contractor asking you to pull an owner-builder permit is transferring all liability to you and is usually doing it because they cannot pull one themselves.

5. What exactly is in the scope?

Tear-off or layover. Deck re-nailing. Secondary water barrier. New pipe boots, vent hoods, valley metal and drip edge, or reused. Underlayment type. A vague scope is where the cheap bid hides.

6. What is the per-sheet price for rotted decking?

Ask before you sign. Every roof over 15 years old has some. A contractor who will not price it in writing up front will price it after they have your roof open.

7. What warranty do I get, in writing?

Two separate things: the manufacturer material warranty and their own workmanship warranty. Ask how long each runs and what voids them.

8. How long have you been at this address?

Storm chasers have a truck and a phone number. Ask where the shop is, and how long it has been there. In three years, when a flashing needs attention, one of those answers matters.

9. Can I see local references from this year?

Not testimonials on a website — addresses in your county from recent months. A local contractor can produce them in an afternoon.

Normalise to the same scope first

Get all three onto tear-off vs layover, same underlayment, same deck re-nail spec, same new accessories. You will frequently find the cheap bid is cheap because it is a different job. Ask each contractor to price the same scope and watch a couple of the numbers move.

Price per square, not total

A roofing square is 100 square feet. Dividing the total by the squares gives you a comparable unit price and instantly exposes a bid that measured the roof differently. If two contractors disagree on your roof size, one of them has not been on it.

Check the accessories line by line

New pipe boots, vent hoods, valley metal, drip edge and ridge vent, or reused? Reusing 15-year-old rubber boots under a brand-new roof is the single most common corner cut, and it means a leak in three years on a roof that is otherwise fine.

Confirm the decking allowance

A per-sheet price, in writing, before work starts. Bids with a vague “deck repairs as needed” line are bids with an open cheque in them.

Look for the code items

In Indian River, St. Lucie and Martin counties that means secondary water barrier and metal cap nails for underlayment attachment — mandatory at our 150 to 160 mph design wind speeds. A bid priced around staples is not priced to pass inspection.

Ask what the deck re-nail spec is

8d ring-shank at 6 inches in the field and 4 inches at perimeters and corners earns maximum roof deck attachment credit on your wind mitigation form. Omitting it saves a little and costs you a credit worth far more. See our wind mitigation guide.

Payment schedule tells you about cash flow

Reasonable: deposit, progress payment at dry-in, balance at completion. Unreasonable: most or all of it before material arrives. A contractor who needs your money to buy your material is a contractor operating on someone else’s float.

How do I check if a Florida roofing contractor is licensed?

Search the licence number at myfloridalicense.com. Confirm it is active and that the business name on the licence matches the name on your contract exactly. Roofing requires a CCC (certified roofing) or CGC (general contractor) licence. Leeward is CCC1337211.

Is it legal for a contractor to cover my deductible?

No. It is insurance fraud and a felony in Florida, and the homeowner is exposed because the claim is in your name. Any contractor offering it is telling you how they operate. It is the single best screening question you can ask.

Should I sign an assignment of benefits?

Be extremely cautious, and never at a first meeting. An AOB transfers control of your insurance claim to the contractor, and you may lose the ability to direct your own repair or settle the claim yourself. We do not take AOBs.

How many quotes should I get?

Three is sensible. The important part is normalising them to the same scope first - tear-off vs layover, same underlayment, same deck re-nail spec, same new accessories. Quotes that look wildly different are usually pricing different jobs.

Why is one bid so much cheaper?

Material costs roughly the same for everyone, so a bid 30 per cent below the others has something missing. Usually the tear-off (a layover instead), the deck re-nail, new accessories, or the permit. Ask what is excluded and the gap normally explains itself.

Who should pull the permit?

The contractor, in their name, under their licence. If a contractor asks you to pull an owner-builder permit, they are transferring liability to you and often doing it because they cannot pull one themselves. Walk away.

What should the payment schedule look like?

A reasonable deposit, a progress payment around dry-in, and the balance on completion. Paying in full before material is delivered is how people lose their roof budget entirely.

Are door-knocking roofers after a storm always a scam?

Not always, but the odds are poor and the pattern is consistent - manufactured urgency, deductible offers, AOB paperwork, no local address and an out-of-state phone number. See hurricane roofing scams.

What warranty should I expect?

Two: a manufacturer material warranty on the system installed, and the contractor’s own workmanship warranty. Both in writing, handed over at completion with your permit close-out. Ask what voids each one.

What if the contractor I used has disappeared?

Check whether the permit was ever pulled and closed at your county building department. If work was done unpermitted or left open it can affect resale and insurance. Florida also operates a recovery fund for losses caused by certain licensed contractors - the DBPR can explain eligibility.