Brookens Construction has helped thousands of homeowners navigate the intricacies of roof repairs following costly hailstorms, walking them through every step of the process from initial inspection to completion.
Photo Credit: Aaron Brookens
Hailstorms are one of the most damaging weather events to occur in the United States. In 2023, there were 6,962 hailstorms in the country alone, compared to 4,436 just one year prior.
Hailstorms can cause immense damage to homes, cars, and other properties, costing hundreds and thousands of dollars for homeowners to repair. What makes matters worse is, sometimes the damage isn’t even visible right away.
According to Aaron Brookens, Co-Founder and CEO of Brookens Construction, it can be years before one notices leakage or other damage, and by then, you might not be able to file a claim.
“Most companies only allow you to file an insurance claim within one year of a storm,” he says. That’s why damage control—from vetting a company to come out to the home and evaluate the damage to the back-and-forth of communicating with insurers and admitting adjusters to conduct a second walk-through—can be a tedious and exhausting process.
After clinching the 1,372nd spot on the Inc 5000 list of America’s fastest-growing private companies in 2023, Brookens Construction has helped to recover thousands of clients’ homes, walking them through each part of the insurance claims process, from inspection to completion.
“With us, the customer really is in the driver’s seat,” Aaron says. “We’re just guiding them through and letting them decide what exactly they want to see happen.” He adds that it’s important for homeowners to know that even if they don’t think their roof got damaged in a storm, it’s important to still get it checked, as doing so could save you money in the long run.
“I think it’s important for homeowners to know, especially the ones with a higher deductible, that go, ‘well, I just can’t afford the $2,500 right now,’ that $2,500 is a lot better than $25,000 when their roof starts leaking a few years down the road. There are also legal ways for policyholders to offset their deductible by electing to not have approved work completed.”
Brookens Construction inspects roofs and prepares damage reports for homeowners to use when submitting an insurance claim. They take photos of the hail hits, shingles, and everything else that’s damaged to ensure it all gets well documented. “Then we put it all into a report, and we teach the homeowner what we found,” Aaron continues.
These reports of damage take on the role of an insurance adjuster—helping to lodge an insurance claim by providing evidence of what occurred and, at the same time, keeping the homeowner in the loop of what’s happening with their property.
Photo Credit: Aaron Brookens
Referred to as a “damage report” is one of the many things Aaron has done that have helped create a successful business since he founded it, especially in the last few years. In 2019, Brookens Construction reported $3.5 million dollars in business. In 2020, that number climbed up to $26 million.
“The other thing I want homeowners to know if they are considering filing an insurance claim is that they are typically protected from individual rate increases as a result of a catastrophic event, such as a hailstorm,” Aaron says.
“What that means is, whenever an area is hit by a large hailstorm,it’s common for the insurance rate for every house in that area to go up a little bit whether they have a claim or not, and that’s how the carriers recoup the money they are paying out in claims,” he explains.
“If you’re a homeowner saying, ‘Well, I am not going to file a claim because I don’t want my rates to go up,’ what you are really doing is paying for all your neighbors to get new roofs, and you’re not getting that payout.”
Aaron stresses: “The damage is either there or it’s not.” If it is, his team takes photos and shows the homeowner what they found. An inspection is free, and there’s no obligation. “We don’t sit there, and we twist [somebody’s] arm into filing a claim,” Aaron says. “We go there, do an inspection, document the damage, send them a damage report, and it’s their decision after they review the damage report, whether they want to file a claim or not.”
When the work is at a homeowner’s residence, as it is in many cases, Aaron emphasizes how important it is for them to ensure the homeowner is comfortable throughout the entire process. “I’m sure the homeowner doesn’t want pounding on their roof five days of the week, so we combat that by sending more crews out to get the job done in a day.”
Brookens Construction prides itself on being able to complete roofing jobs in a timely manner, leaving the area clean, neat, and orderly all the way through.
“That’s something that has set us apart over the years,” he concludes.
For more information on Brookens Construction, do not hesitate to visit their website and get in touch.
Written in partnership with Tom White
