Licensed Public Adjuster for Storm Damage Insurance Claims

Most contractors in Belleville and the St. Louis area can replace a roof. Very few are also a Licensed Public Adjuster. The owner of iRestore STL, Kirk Kupsky, is — and that puts you in a fundamentally different position when you are filing a storm damage claim.

We represent homeowners on claims covering the whole exterior: roofing, siding and gutters.

One Storm, Three Kinds of Damage — and Usually One Payout

This is the part that costs homeowners the most money, and almost nobody hears about it until it is too late.

A hailstorm does not politely stop at the roofline. The same storm that strips granules off your shingles dents and cracks siding on the exposed elevations, and bends or splits gutters and downspouts. Three separate areas of damage, one storm, one claim.

Insurance adjusters very often scope the roof and stop there. Not out of malice — the roof is the obvious damage, it is what the homeowner called about, and once it is written up the file moves on. The siding and the gutters never make it into the estimate.

Here is why that matters: once you settle a claim, you have settled it. Going back months later to say the siding was damaged too is difficult, sometimes impossible, and the burden is on you to prove it came from that storm. Homeowners routinely leave thousands of dollars of legitimate, covered damage unpaid because nobody documented it while the claim was open.

We inspect all three. We document all three. And because we install all three, we can tell you what each will actually cost to put right — which is the number the insurance company needs to see.

What Is a Public Adjuster?

When you file an insurance claim, the insurance company sends out their own adjuster. That adjuster works for the insurance company. A public adjuster is licensed by the state to represent you, the homeowner, in the same process. Their job is to make sure your damage is fully documented, fairly scoped, and paid out at what your policy actually covers — not the lowest number the insurance company can negotiate to.

Public adjusters are regulated in Illinois and Missouri. They have to be licensed and bonded. Most contractors cannot legally negotiate a claim on your behalf. We can.

Already Been Denied, or Paid Too Little?

A denial is not always the end of it, and a low payout is not always the final number.

• Denied claims. Insurers deny for specific stated reasons — wear and tear rather than storm, damage below the deductible, or a scope that missed the damage entirely. Each of those can be answered with documentation, and often is.
• Underpaid claims. If the payout does not cover what the repair actually costs, the scope was probably wrong. Missing code-required upgrades, decking, ventilation, siding and gutters are the usual culprits.
• Supplements and reopenings. Where the first payout missed items that should have been covered, we file supplements to recover them.
• A free second opinion. If your insurer's adjuster has already been out and the number felt wrong, we will look at the damage and the paperwork and tell you honestly whether there is more to recover. No cost, no obligation.

How This Helps You

• Honest damage assessment first. Before we ever talk to your insurance company, we do a thorough inspection and tell you whether you actually have a claim worth filing. Many homeowners file claims they should not — which can raise your premium for years.
• Properly documented claim. Photos, scope of damage, comparable shingle and siding matching, code-required upgrades — we package the claim the way insurance companies expect to see it.
• You do not face the adjuster alone. We meet the insurance adjuster on site, walk the roof together, and make sure they do not miss damage — on the roof or anywhere else on the exterior.
• 90% approval rate. Across the legitimate storm damage claims we have represented, that is our track record.
• Over $6.7 million recovered for homeowners. Across 288 claims in the four years we have offered public adjusting. That is money paid to our customers by their carriers — not our revenue figure.

The Numbers, and What They Actually Mean

Contractors quote large figures at homeowners all the time without saying what was counted. Here is exactly what ours are.

• $6.7 million recovered, across 288 claims, over four years. This is claim money paid out to homeowners we represented as their Licensed Public Adjuster. It is the number that describes this service.
• More than $25 million of completed work as a roofing contractor. That is our own business volume across every job, insurance and retail alike. It says we have been doing this a long time. It is not money recovered for anyone, and we will not present it that way.

The distinction matters, and plenty of companies blur it deliberately. A contractor's lifetime revenue on insurance-funded jobs is not the same thing as money won for a homeowner by an adjuster arguing their case. If someone quotes you one number for both, ask which it is.

When to Call Us

• After a hailstorm, windstorm, or tornado has hit your area
• If you see missing shingles, dents on metal flashing, or granule loss in gutters
• If your siding is cracked, dented, or has holes on the storm-facing side
• If gutters or downspouts are dented, split, or pulling away
• Before you file a claim — so we can assess whether you have one
• If you have been denied or under-paid on a claim you believe was legitimate
• If your insurance adjuster has already been out but you suspect damage was missed

What a Public Adjuster Costs

Public adjusters typically work on a contingency basis — meaning there is no out-of-pocket cost to you, and they only get paid if and when your claim is paid. The specific arrangement depends on your situation; we will walk you through it before any agreement is signed.

The Work Itself

Winning the claim is half of it. We also do the work — see roof replacement, siding and gutters. One company, one point of contact, and no arguing between a contractor and an adjuster about what the scope should have been.