Engineer Report
Also called: engineering report, third-party engineer
Engineer Report is an assessment by a licensed engineer, commissioned during a claim to give an opinion on what caused the damage. Carriers use them on contested roof claims, and the report's causation finding usually drives the outcome.
What it means
An engineer report is an opinion from a licensed engineer about the condition of a structure and, on a roof claim, about what caused the damage. Carriers commission them where causation is genuinely contested, where the loss is large, or where the file has become adversarial.
The question the engineer is usually asked is narrow and consequential: is this damage attributable to the storm event claimed, or to something else, such as age, previous weather, manufacturing characteristics, or installation.
Why the report tends to decide the claim
Because causation is the question the whole coverage argument rests on, and an engineer is the most qualified voice in the process to answer it.
An adjuster’s finding that marks on a shingle are blistering rather than hail is one professional’s assessment. The same conclusion in an engineer’s report, supported by methodology and reasoning, is much harder to displace. Contractors who disagree with an engineer report often find that disagreement alone changes nothing; what changes things is a competing expert opinion, which the homeowner has to pay for.
That asymmetry is worth understanding before the inspection rather than after.
Preparing for the inspection
The single most important thing is to be there, with the homeowner’s agreement.
An engineer inspecting alone examines what they choose to examine and reports on it. Damage on a slope they did not walk, a test square they did not see, or collateral damage they were not shown does not enter the report. Once the report is written, producing that evidence afterwards looks like a response to an unfavourable finding rather than part of the record.
Preparation is specific: know which areas carry the damage being claimed, have test squares marked, have measurements and photographs, and be able to explain the basis for the position rather than merely assert it. Engineers respond to method.
It also pays to be honest about the roof’s weaknesses. An engineer will identify age, prior repairs, and installation problems whether or not anyone mentions them, and a contractor who has acknowledged them retains credibility on the points that matter.
Common mistakes
Not attending is the largest, and it is usually the result of nobody realising the inspection was happening.
The second is treating the engineer as an opponent. They are answering a technical question, and technical evidence is what moves them.
The third is overstating the claim in front of an expert. An engineer who finds one clearly unsupportable assertion reads the rest of the position through it.
On the call
If a homeowner mentions an engineer is coming, that claim is contested and the visit is significant. Make sure the date is captured and the contractor knows, because an engineer inspection without the contractor present is a missed opportunity that is very hard to recover from.
This is how our agents handle it on storm appointment calls and day-to-day roofing answering service intake.
Questions people ask about engineer report
- Who pays for the engineer?
- Ordinarily the party who commissioned the report. When a carrier retains an engineer during its investigation, the carrier bears that cost. A homeowner who wants their own engineering opinion pays for it themselves, which is a real expense and a decision for them.
- Is an engineer report the final word?
- Not formally, but it carries substantial weight because it is a licensed professional's opinion on causation, which is exactly the question in dispute. Displacing one usually requires a competing expert opinion rather than a contractor's disagreement.
- Should the contractor attend the engineer's inspection?
- Where the homeowner is happy for them to, yes. It is the opportunity to make sure the engineer sees the damage the contractor is relying on. An engineer who inspects alone reports what they found on their own walk, and anything not shown to them is not in the report.
Back to the full roofing claims glossary.