Homeowner Protection
Storm Chasers Are Real. Here Is How
to Protect Yourself After a Storm.
Within hours of a significant hail event in KC Northland the roofing contractor market changes dramatically. Knowing the difference between a credentialed local contractor and a temporary operator following a storm path could be worth thousands of dollars and your warranty.
What a storm chaser actually is.
A storm chaser is a roofing contractor, or a person representing themselves as one, who follows hail storm paths into affected markets, canvasses neighborhoods aggressively in the days after a storm, installs roofs at high volume during the post-storm window, and moves on to the next market when the work dries up.
Not all of them are bad contractors. Some do acceptable work. The problem is not always quality. The problem is accountability. A contractor with no permanent presence in your market has no stake in their reputation there. If something goes wrong with your installation six months after they leave, a leak, a failed flashing, a warranty question, they may be unreachable. They may have rebranded entirely.
How to identify a storm chaser.
They knocked on your door within 24 to 72 hours of a storm.
Local contractors with full schedules do not canvass neighborhoods immediately after every weather event. Volume canvassing within days of a storm is the primary operating model of out-of-town operators.
They cannot give you a local physical address.
A P.O. box, a phone number, and a website are not accountability. Ask for a street address and verify it. A contractor operating without a permanent local business address has no regulatory anchor to your state.
They pressure you to sign before the inspection is complete.
Any contractor asking for a signature before they have produced documentation and given you time to review it is prioritizing their schedule over your protection. Take your time. Get your own independent inspection.
They offer to waive your deductible.
This is insurance fraud. Not a gray area. Both the contractor and the homeowner can face legal consequences. Any contractor making this offer is a significant red flag regardless of how professional they appear in every other respect.
They cannot tell you about their license or certification.
Missouri requires contractor licensing. Ask for the license number. Ask about storm damage inspection credentials. A contractor who cannot answer these questions specifically does not have the credentials they may imply they have.
They are gone by next spring.
Search their company name a year after the storm. Many storm-chasing operations have disappeared, rebranded, or changed ownership specifically to avoid standing behind work or honoring warranties. This is a documented pattern in the roofing industry.
What happens when a storm chaser does poor work or disappears.
The most common outcomes we see from homeowners who hired storm chasers are leaks from poorly installed flashing, installation defects that do not manifest until the first significant storm after the job, and an inability to reach the contractor when something goes wrong. The warranty exists on paper. The company that issued it does not.
In some cases homeowners have had to pay for a second roof installation on a property that was already fully covered by insurance. The insurance company paid once. The bad installation consumed that payment. The second installation came out of pocket.
The cheapest contractor after a storm is rarely the best decision. The most credentialed one usually is.
What a Local Contractor Looks Like
Here is what accountability actually looks like in a roofing contractor.
A physical address you can verify. A license number you can look up. A team that has operated in your specific market for years, not just the months after a major storm. A contractor whose name shows up consistently in your community, not just on yard signs that appear overnight and disappear by winter.
RSG Construction is based at 17 Bar Harbor Court in Smithville, Missouri. We have operated in KC Northland for years. Our Missouri contractor license is verifiable. Our team gets on every roof. When something needs attention six months after installation we are still here and we still answer the phone.
Verify us. We expect you to.
Common Questions
About protecting yourself after a storm.
Want an independent inspection before you sign with anyone?
Free. No pressure. Just your information and your options.
Call us before you sign anything. We give you an honest assessment of your roof and an honest answer on whether you need to do anything at all. No obligation.
(816) 866-4235 · Smithville, Missouri · Missouri Licensed and Insured