Storm Damage Roof Repair & Insurance Claim Help in Vero Beach, FL
When a storm hits the Treasure Coast, your roof takes the blow — and your insurance company doesn’t make the next part easy. Leeward Roofing inspects for free, documents the damage the way adjusters expect, and handles the repair or replacement once your claim is approved.
Local, Licensed Help After the Storm
Leeward Roofing is a family-owned, Florida-certified roofing contractor (License CCC1337211) serving Vero Beach and all of Indian River County. From sudden leaks and lifted shingles to full wind and hail damage, we get you protected fast and guide you through the insurance process from the first inspection to the final shingle — so you’re never doing it alone.
Worried About Losing Your Coverage?
Florida insurers are non-renewing or refusing to write policies on roofs they consider too old or too worn — often once a roof passes 15 years. If you’ve gotten a letter, a scary inspection report, or a non-renewal notice, don’t panic.
Honest roof assessment of your roof’s true condition and remaining life — no scare tactics.
Clear options from a targeted repair to a full replacement that gets you re-insured.
Insurance-ready documentation with the photos and detail adjusters require.
Emergency tarping to stop water damage while your claim is processed.
How It Works
1. Free inspection — we climb up, assess the damage, and take detailed photos.
2. Documentation — we prepare a clear damage report your insurer can act on.
3. Claim support — we work alongside your adjuster so nothing gets missed.
4. Repair or replace — our in-house crew makes your roof watertight and storm-ready.
Storm & Insurance FAQs
Will you meet my insurance adjuster at the house?
Yes — we’re happy to be there to point out damage and make sure it’s fairly assessed.
My claim was denied. Is it worth a second look?
Absolutely. We’ll assess it honestly and, if a replacement makes sense, help you get a new roof that satisfies your insurer.
My roof is leaking right now. What do I do?
Call 772-589-2400 — we’ll get you protected fast and stop further water damage.
How fast can you get out after a storm?
We prioritize storm-damage calls. Reach out and we’ll get you on the schedule quickly.
Storm damage or an insurance headache?
Get a free, no-pressure roof inspection from a local family-owned team that handles the paperwork for you.
Storm damage in Indian River County? Don't wait for the second rain.
Indian River County sits on the open Atlantic with the lagoon behind it, so wind gets at a roof from both sides. The water that comes in during the first storm is what turns a repair into a renovation. We are based in Sebastian, which means our tarping crews are already inside the county when the call comes.
- Look for lifted shingles, displaced tile and bent flashing from ground level.
- Photograph debris and any detached material where it landed.
- Call for tarping before the next band arrives, not after.
- Ask any contractor for their licence number and check it at myfloridalicense.com.
Recent Leeward jobs
Real Treasure Coast roofs installed by our own crews — not stock photography.
Permitting and code in Vero Beach
Who issues the permit
Work in Vero Beach is permitted through the Indian River County Building Division. The county division handles permitting for both the City of Vero Beach and the unincorporated county, so a Vero address goes to the same reviewers either way. We pull it, schedule the inspections, and meet the inspector — none of that lands on you.
What the code actually requires
Indian River County builds to the Florida Building Code, which adopts the ASCE 7-22 wind provisions. Worth knowing: the Treasure Coast is not in the High-Velocity Hurricane Zone — only Miami-Dade and Broward carry that designation — so HVHZ product assumptions imported from South Florida do not apply here. Re-roof applications need the Florida Product Approval or Miami-Dade NOA for the exact system being installed — that is the piece most often missing when a permit stalls.
What we see on Vero Beach roofs
Vero Beach housing runs from 1950s downtown bungalows to barrier-island estates, so the right system varies street to street.
Wind mitigation, while we are up there
Roof-to-wall connections, deck attachment and secondary water barrier are the three line items an insurer scores you on. All three are visible during a tear-off and invisible afterwards, so we capture them then. How wind mitigation credits work →
The deadlines that decide your claim
Florida rewrote these in 2022 and most homeowners are still working off the old numbers. Miss them and the claim is over regardless of how bad the damage is.
One year to file. Eighteen months for a supplemental.
Under Florida Statute 627.70132 you have one year from the date of loss to give notice of a new or reopened claim, and 18 months for a supplemental claim on the same event. Both clocks start on the date of the storm — not the day you noticed the ceiling stain, not the day the leak started. A roof damaged in a September storm that begins leaking the following August has weeks left, not months. See our Florida roof insurance claim guide for the full filing process.
Your hurricane deductible is not your regular deductible
Most Florida policies carry a separate hurricane or windstorm deductible expressed as a percentage of dwelling coverage — commonly 2% or 5%. On a $600,000 dwelling, 2% is $12,000 before the carrier pays a cent. Check your declarations page before you file, because on smaller damage filing can cost you a claim on your record and gain you nothing.
ACV or replacement cost changes everything
A replacement cost policy pays what the roof costs today. An actual cash value policy pays that minus depreciation for age, which on a 17-year-old roof can be most of the value. Many Florida carriers have moved older roofs onto ACV or a roof surfacing payment schedule. Your declarations page says which you have, and it is worth knowing before the adjuster arrives rather than after.
Mitigation is your obligation, and it is reimbursable
Your policy requires you to take reasonable steps to prevent further damage. Tarping is the textbook example, and the cost is normally recoverable as part of the claim. Failing to mitigate can reduce what the carrier pays for everything that followed. See emergency roof tarping.
Photograph before you tidy up
Interior and exterior, wide and close, before anything is cleaned or covered. Dated photographs taken before mitigation are the most valuable evidence in the whole process and almost nobody takes enough of them.
What the adjuster is actually looking for
Understanding their checklist is how you stop legitimate damage being written off as wear.
Creased and lifted tabs
A shingle that lifted and laid back down carries a crease across its width. That crease is a fracture in the mat and adjusters are trained to find it. It is the single most commonly missed item on a self-reported claim.
Broken seal strips
The bond holding each shingle down. Once wind breaks it the tab flutters and will leave in the next storm. Invisible from the ground, which is why a ground-level assessment finds nothing and a roof-level one finds the claim.
Directional damage pattern
Genuine wind damage has a direction consistent with the storm. Random scattered damage across all elevations reads as wear, and adjusters know the difference.
Slipped and cracked tile
Tile shifts under uplift. Because tile is a rain screen over underlayment, a slipped tile is not an immediate leak — it is UV exposure on the layer that was doing the waterproofing.
Collateral evidence
Damage to soffit, fascia, gutters, screens, fence and neighbouring property corroborates wind severity. Adjusters weight it heavily, and most homeowners never photograph it.
Age and wear indicators
Granule loss, curling, exposed mat, prior repairs. These argue against you, and pretending they are not there damages your credibility on the items that are legitimate.
How to file, step by step
The order matters. Doing it in this sequence is worth real money.
1. Stop the water first
Mitigation before anything else. Call us on 772-589-2400 for a properly battened tarp. Photograph the damage before it goes on, because once it is covered nobody — including your adjuster — can see what was underneath.
2. Photograph everything, before cleanup
Interior and exterior. Ceiling stains, wet insulation, damaged contents, debris on the ground, soffit and fascia, screens and fencing. Date-stamped. More than you think you need.
3. Get an independent roof assessment
Before the adjuster arrives if you can. Knowing what is actually wrong puts you in a far stronger position than learning it from someone whose employer pays the claim. Ours is free and includes a written scope and photo set in the format carriers expect.
4. Open the claim with your carrier
In writing, with the date of loss stated clearly. Note your claim number. Remember the one-year clock under 627.70132 runs from the storm date.
5. Meet the adjuster on the roof
With us there. A roof-level assessment with a roofer present who can point at the creasing and the broken seal strips is a materially different conversation from an adjuster walking the perimeter alone.
6. Review the scope before you accept
Carrier scopes routinely omit code-required items — secondary water barrier, metal cap nails, deck re-nailing, current fastening schedules. Those are legitimate costs in Indian River County and they belong in the scope. See the 25% rule.
7. Supplement what is found at tear-off
Rotted decking and damage nobody could see from the surface is a normal, legitimate supplemental. We document it the day we find it, not at the end. You have 18 months.
Where we stop, and why that matters
We are your roofing contractor. We are not your public adjuster, and anyone blurring that line should worry you.
What we do
Document the roof accurately to carrier standards, provide a code-compliant written scope for Indian River County, meet your adjuster on site, and do the permitted repair or replacement properly.
What we do not do
Negotiate your claim, take an assignment of benefits, promise you an outcome we do not control, or tell you a worn-out roof is storm damage. For a complex or disputed claim, a licensed public adjuster is a legitimate option.
We will not manufacture damage
Creating damage to support a claim is insurance fraud, and after a named storm it is more common on the Treasure Coast than anyone admits. The homeowner carries that exposure, not the crew that left town.
We will not cover your deductible
Anyone offering to is proposing fraud and telling you exactly how they run their business. See hurricane roofing scams.
Licensed and verifiable
Florida CCC1337211, general liability and workers compensation. Verify any Florida contractor at myfloridalicense.com before you let them on your roof.
Local when it counts
We are in Sebastian. After a storm our crews are already inside Indian River County rather than driving down from out of state, and we are still here in three years when the warranty matters.
Get a free documented storm assessment → or call 772-589-2400.
Vero Beach storm claim FAQs
How long do I have to file a roof claim in Florida?
One year from the date of loss for an initial or reopened claim and 18 months for a supplemental, under Florida Statute 627.70132. Both run from the storm date, not the date you discovered the damage.
What is my hurricane deductible?
Usually a percentage of dwelling coverage rather than a flat amount - commonly 2% or 5%. On a $600,000 dwelling a 2% hurricane deductible is $12,000 before the carrier pays anything. It is a separate and much larger figure than your all-other-perils deductible. Check your declarations page before filing.
Should I file at all?
Only if the damage plausibly exceeds that deductible. A free inspection gives you a realistic sense of the number so you can decide with information rather than hope. Filing on damage below your deductible puts a claim on your record and gains you nothing.
My roof looks fine from the ground. Is it worth checking?
Yes. Broken seal strips and creased tabs are the most common forms of wind damage and neither is visible from the ground. They leak months later, often after your one-year filing window has closed.
Will you meet my insurance adjuster?
Yes, and we recommend it. We will be on the roof with dated photographs and a written scope so the assessment happens with a roofer present rather than after the fact.
Does insurance cover an old roof?
It covers sudden accidental damage, not age or wear. Many Florida carriers have also moved older roofs onto actual cash value or a roof surfacing payment schedule, which pays replacement cost minus depreciation. Your declarations page tells you which applies.
The carrier scope seems low. What is usually missing?
Code-required items. In Indian River County that means secondary water barrier, metal cap nails for underlayment attachment at our 150 to 160 mph design wind speeds, deck re-nailing and current fastening schedules. Those are legitimate costs and they belong in the scope.
What if more damage is found once the roof is opened?
That is a normal supplemental claim. We photograph it the day we find it and submit immediately rather than waiting until the end of the job. You have 18 months from the date of loss.
Someone knocked on my door after the storm offering a free roof. Should I?
Be very careful. Legitimate Florida contractors have a verifiable CCC or CGC licence number, do not need a signature on your driveway today, and never offer to cover your deductible - that is fraud, and you carry the exposure. See hurricane roofing scams.
Do you handle the claim for me?
We document the roof to carrier standards and meet your adjuster, which is most of the battle. We do not negotiate the claim or take an assignment of benefits. For complex or disputed claims a licensed public adjuster is a legitimate route.
We also work near Vero Beach
Same crews, same trucks — these are the communities immediately around Vero Beach that we cover from the Sebastian shop.
Let's take a look at your roof. Free.
No pressure, no obligation, and an honest answer even when that answer is "you don't need a new roof yet."
- Free, itemized estimate in writing
- Most inspections scheduled within 24 hours
- We handle permits and insurance paperwork
- Licensed CCC1337211 and fully insured
Request your free estimate
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