Tornado roof insurance claims: a homeowner's guide for Starkville
How a roof claim usually works after a tornado or severe wind, and which Mississippi rules protect homeowners.
General information only. This is not legal or insurance advice. Read your own policy and contact your insurance company about your claim. For legal questions, talk to a lawyer licensed in Mississippi.
The usual order of things
- Make the house safe and stop more damage. Keep receipts for any emergency repairs or tarping.
- Write down the date of the storm and take photos and video of the damage from the ground and inside.
- Read your policy. Check your deductible, whether it has a separate wind or hail deductible and what it says about roof age and repair or replacement.
- Report the damage to your insurer. Your insurer decides coverage and explains the next steps, including whether an adjuster will inspect the roof.
- Get a written estimate from a local roofer. Check that the roofer meets Mississippi rules for contractors before you sign.
- Read any contract before you sign it, including the cancellation terms. Mississippi law gives homeowners some rights, summarized below.
What Mississippi law says
Summaries of Mississippi rules from research notes, each with its source. Laws change, so check the source or ask a lawyer before relying on any of them.
Your right to cancel a contract
Under the roofing act (75-24-307 as amended 2024), a homeowner who signs a roofing contract to be paid from insurance proceeds may cancel within three business days after receiving the insurer's written notice that the claim or part of the work is not covered. The contract must carry the cancellation notice in 12-point bold type. The roofer may not require any payment until that three-day period ends. The general home-solicitation (door-to-door) cancellation rule was not researched before the search budget ran out.
Deductibles and roofing contracts
Insurance Benefits Roofing Repair Consumer Protection Act (Miss. Code 75-24-301 to 75-24-311), amended by HB 1408 effective July 1, 2024. A residential roofing contractor may not advertise, offer, pay or rebate any part of the insured's deductible as an inducement to sign. Until the insured files a claim, the contractor may not represent the owner or negotiate the claim, or advertise that it will (licensed public adjusters excepted). Insureds may still include the roofer in talks with the insurer. A post-loss assignment can only make the roofer a co-payee and must itemize work, materials, labor and fees. The roofer may not take anything of value from an attorney for referring claims, or steer the owner to a named attorney. Violations are unfair or deceptive practices under the Mississippi Consumer Protection Law.
Need a roofer?
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