We've recently received several reports from the National Insurance Crime Bureau of unethical roofing contractors trying to drum up business in fraudulent ways. Three of these incidents have taken place in our jurisdiction of Kansas City, Mo., but many others have happened throughout the KC metropolitan area. We want to warn you to be on the lookout for this and to contact your homeowners' insurance company if you think you've been a victim.
The fraud works like this: contractors go door-to-door trying to convince homeowners that their roofs are damaged and in need of repair. In some cases, the scammers actually go on the roofs of houses and damage them intentionally so they need to be fixed. Investigators said the contractors are doing anything possible to convince the homeowners their roofs are damaged. Not knowing better, the homeowners contact their insurance companies and file claims. The scammers are trying to reap the rewards of insurance fraud, which is a felony.
The National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB) investigates fraudulent reports by looking for things like odd patterns of hail damage claims in the winter. Your insurance company should be aware of this scam by now, so please call them if you think you've dealt with a fraudulent contractor. The NICB will work to coordinate your information with our Fraud Unit, which is investigating the scam now.
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