A roofer knocked on my door after the storm. Is that a bad sign?

Not by itself. Plenty of legitimate companies work storm damage and some travel to do it. The useful filter is what they lead with. If the opener is "we will cover your deductible" or "we will handle the insurance company for you", RSMo 407.725 addresses both of those by name, and a contractor offering them is either unaware of the section or unbothered by it.

Can I upgrade to metal on an insurance claim?

That is a question for your carrier and your policy rather than for us, and the answer varies. What we can say is that the decision is worth separating into two parts: what the insurer will pay to restore what you had, and what you would pay on top to put something different up. Ask for the claim breakdown in writing and price the metal quote against that number rather than against zero.

What if the insurer denies part of the claim after I have signed a contract?

RSMo 407.725 subsection 3 gives you a cancellation right in exactly that situation: you may cancel before midnight on the fifth business day after you receive written notice from the insurer that all or part of the claim is not a covered loss. Notice to the contractor must be written but needs no particular form, and if mailed it is effective on deposit.

How soon do I have to decide?

Fast enough to prevent further damage, slow enough to read the contract. Emergency work to prevent damage is treated separately by the statute, and a contractor who has performed emergency services you acknowledged in writing is entitled to their reasonable value even if you later cancel. Everything beyond that can wait for a second quote.

Hail damage roof replacement in Missouri

This is the page to read before you sign anything. Storm-damage roofing is the one part of this trade Missouri actually regulates, and the rules are specific, checkable and almost entirely unknown to the homeowners they protect.

What the law gives you

Missouri does not license roofers. It does regulate what a contractor may do once your insurance is paying, and that covers most storm work in the state.

What Missouri law says about your roofer and your claim

Missouri has no roofing licence, but it does have one statute that reaches almost every storm-damage job in the state, and most homeowners have never heard of it. RSMo 407.725 governs how a contractor may behave on work paid under a property and casualty policy. Five things it does.

1

They cannot offer to cover your deductible

Subsection 2: a contractor shall not advertise or promise to pay or rebate all or any portion of any insurance deductible as an inducement to the sale of goods or services. The section defines that broadly, and it is worth reading the breadth: it includes granting any allowance or offering any discount against the fees to be charged, and paying you or anyone associated with the property any compensation, gift, prize, bonus, coupon, credit, referral fee, or other item of monetary value, for any reason.
2

They cannot handle the insurance company for you

Subsection 6: a contractor shall not represent or negotiate, or offer or advertise to represent or negotiate, on behalf of an owner or possessor of real estate on any insurance claim in connection with roof systems or other exterior work. Note that offering counts, not just doing it.
3

Your contract must come with a detachable cancellation notice

Subsection 4 puts duties on the contractor BEFORE you sign. They must give you a statement in boldface type of at least ten points telling you about the cancellation right, and a fully completed form in duplicate, captioned NOTICE OF CANCELLATION, attached to the contract but easily detachable, also in boldface of at least ten points. This is the most checkable item on the list: look at the paperwork in front of you.
4

You can cancel if your insurer denies the claim

Subsection 3: if you signed a contract for work to be paid under a property and casualty policy, you may cancel before midnight on the fifth business day after you receive written notice from your insurer that all or part of the claim is not a covered loss. You cancel in writing to the contractor at the address in the contract. It does not have to take any particular form, and if mailed it is effective on deposit.
5

Your money comes back within ten days

Subsection 5: within ten days of cancellation the contractor must return payments, partial payments, deposits and any note or evidence of indebtedness. The one carve-out is emergency services you acknowledged in writing as necessary to prevent damage, for which they are entitled to reasonable value. A contract clause charging you a fee for anything other than emergency services is not enforceable against you if you cancelled under this section.

Why this matters at the door. "We'll cover your deductible" and "we'll deal with the insurance company for you" are the two most common openers in storm-chasing sales. Missouri addresses both by name. A contractor who leads with either is telling you something before you have asked a single question.

Source: RSMo 407.725, read at revisor.mo.gov. Effective 2014-08-28 (L. 2011 S.B. 101, A.L. 2014 S.B. 610). Subsection 7 provides that a violation is an unfair practice under the Missouri merchandising practices act. Status as of July 2026. This describes what the section says and is general information, not legal advice; read the section yourself and take your own situation to your own advisor.

The one thing to do right now

If there is a contract in front of you, look for the detachable NOTICE OF CANCELLATION form. Subsection 4 requires the contractor to furnish it before you enter the contract, fully completed, in duplicate, attached but easily detachable, in boldface type of at least ten points, along with a separate boldface statement explaining the cancellation right.

That is not a judgement call. Either the paperwork contains it or it does not, and it tells you how carefully the company you are dealing with treats Missouri's requirements.

Pricing a metal upgrade against a settlement

The most common mistake here is comparing a metal quote against zero. If a claim is paying to restore your existing roof, the number that matters is the difference, not the total.

Get the claim breakdown in writing from your carrier, itemised.
Get the metal quote itemised too, naming the exact system and gauge.
Compare the gap, then weigh it against the replacement cycle you are buying out of.
Ask your carrier what it does with impact resistance. Programmes vary between carriers and it is their programme, not a state-set number.

What we will not do is tell you a percentage your insurer will discount, because that is the carrier's own rate filing and not something a website can know for your policy.

Who does the work, and what you can check about them

Storm season brings out-of-area crews into Missouri within days. The standard advice is "only hire local", which is too blunt: legitimate companies travel to storm work and plenty of local outfits are mediocre. The better filter is whether the verifiable things survive contact.

What can you actually check, where you live?

Missouri does not license or register roofing contractors at the state level. There is no state credential to look up, so what you can verify depends on your address. Three cases cover the state.

Kansas City

Reported requirement, confirm with the city

Kansas City is reported to require a Residential Building Contractor licence, obtained by passing an International Code Council exam, through the city. If your address is inside the city limits, ask for that licence number and check it with the city directly.

City of St. Louis

Reported requirement, confirm with the city

The City of St. Louis is reported to require a Construction Industry Contractor graduated business licence. Note this applies to the city, which is a separate jurisdiction from St. Louis County. Confirm which one governs your address before you rely on it.

The rest of Missouri

No roofing-specific credential exists, which covers most of the state. A roofer working without one here is not doing anything wrong, so the useful move is to change instruments: verify insurance, the contract and the manufacturer certification instead.

Where no credential exists, check these instead

Current general liability and workers compensation certificates, sent to you directly by the insurance agent rather than forwarded by the contractor.
A written contract with a deck change-order process: what happens if the deck needs replacing, at what price per sheet, and whether you approve it in writing first.
Manufacturer certification for the exact panel system and gauge going on your house, not a brochure.
Local references with addresses you can drive past.

Status as of July 2026. The absence of a state licence was verified against the Revised Statutes of Missouri. Jurisdictions change requirements, so confirm with the issuing city before you rely on any of this.

A crew that cannot produce agent-issued insurance certificates, will not put a deck change-order process in writing, cannot name the exact system with manufacturer documentation, and has no local addresses to show is a poor bet wherever they are from. Full treatment in the verification guide.

If you are replacing anyway, this is the moment to consider metal

The cheapest time to change roofing material is when the roof is coming off regardless. If your asphalt is being replaced on storm timing rather than at the end of its life, that is the case for metal replacement in one sentence. The Missouri Metal Roofing Guide covers the whole decision.

Statutory content on this page is drawn from RSMo 407.725, read at revisor.mo.gov, effective 2014-08-28. Status as of July 2026. General information, not legal advice.

Get matched after storm damage

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Questions homeowners ask

A roofer knocked on my door after the storm. Is that a bad sign?: Not by itself. Plenty of legitimate companies work storm damage and some travel to do it. The useful filter is what they lead with. If the opener is "we will cover your deductible" or "we will handle the insurance company for you", RSMo 407.725 addresses both of those by name, and a contractor offering them is either unaware of the section or unbothered by it.
Can I upgrade to metal on an insurance claim?: That is a question for your carrier and your policy rather than for us, and the answer varies. What we can say is that the decision is worth separating into two parts: what the insurer will pay to restore what you had, and what you would pay on top to put something different up. Ask for the claim breakdown in writing and price the metal quote against that number rather than against zero.
What if the insurer denies part of the claim after I have signed a contract?: RSMo 407.725 subsection 3 gives you a cancellation right in exactly that situation: you may cancel before midnight on the fifth business day after you receive written notice from the insurer that all or part of the claim is not a covered loss. Notice to the contractor must be written but needs no particular form, and if mailed it is effective on deposit.
How soon do I have to decide?: Fast enough to prevent further damage, slow enough to read the contract. Emergency work to prevent damage is treated separately by the statute, and a contractor who has performed emergency services you acknowledged in writing is entitled to their reasonable value even if you later cancel. Everything beyond that can wait for a second quote.

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