Storm Damage to Roofs in Portland, Maine

The storms that do the damage here

A short list from the Weather Service's own write-ups for the Portland area:

• Patriots' Day storm, April 16, 2007. A roof came off an apartment building in Portland. The Jetport measured a 59 mph gust, and Cape Elizabeth an estimated 81.
• October 30, 2017. A 69 mph gust at Portland, which ties for eighth place on the city's list; the worst-hit places saw 55 to 70 mph.
• December 18, 2023. Three gusts of 58 mph or more at the Jetport, damaging wind that lasted far longer than usual, and about 30 percent of electric customers without power by evening.
• January 10 and 13, 2024. A 63 mph peak gust at the Jetport, then a record tide of 14.57 feet on the Portland gauge three days later.

Tropical systems arrive weakened. The Maine Emergency Management Agency says they reach the state every few years, usually with winds under hurricane force, and Portland's gust list still includes Donna at 76 mph in 1960 and Gloria at 70 in 1985. Post-tropical storm Lee, in September 2023, cut power to about 125,000 customers in the Gray office's area.

Wind takes roofs apart from the edges: the rakes, the ridge, the first courses at the eave, and any shingle whose seal had already let go.

Ice storms and snow weight

The ice storm of January 1998 built up about two inches of ice across a large part of central and southern Maine and cut power to four of every five people in the state, some for more than two weeks. The Weather Service's assessment counts a roof-collapse victim among its five indirect deaths.

The Maine Emergency Management Agency passes on rules of thumb from the Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety:

• a typical roof can take about 20 pounds per square foot of added weight, less on an older roof;
• 10 to 12 inches of new snow, or 3 to 5 inches of old packed snow, weighs about 5 pounds per square foot;
• an inch of ice weighs as much as a foot of fresh snow;
• two feet of old snow under two feet of new can reach 60 pounds per square foot.

Flat and low-pitched roofs carry the most risk. Among the agency's warning signs: a sagging roof, bad leaks, split framing, doors that swing open on their own or will not close, and cracking noises overhead. If you see them, get out and have the building checked. The ice dams & roof snow page covers safe snow removal.

The first hours after a storm

1. Look from the ground. Missing or flipped shingles, a bare stripe along the ridge, bent flashing at the chimney, a limb on the roof, gutters pulled loose.
2. Look inside. New stains on ceilings and the tops of outside walls, and wet insulation in the attic.
3. Photograph before anything moves. The Bureau of Insurance asks for photos or video of the damage before repairs where you can get them, and for damaged belongings to be kept for the adjuster.
4. Cover openings. Your policy most likely obliges you to keep the damage from spreading: tarp the hole, board the broken window, and keep every receipt for materials and labor.
5. Hold the permanent work. The Bureau says permanent repairs should wait until the insurer's adjuster has inspected, or the claim may be denied.
6. Stay off the roof. Wet or icy roofing after a storm is no place for a ladder.

What a Maine homeowners policy usually covers

From the Maine Bureau of Insurance's storm-claims answers, in plain terms. Your own policy decides, so read it alongside these:

• Wind on the roof. Homeowners policies generally cover wind damage to the roof.
• Water that follows. The most common policy covers the interior water damage too; another type pays for water damage to the structure only if the wind made an actual opening in the roof or a wall. Belongings soaked through a wind-made opening are usually covered; otherwise only with added coverage.
• Trees. Damage from a fallen tree to the house or garage is generally covered, and when a neighbor's tree lands on your house, your own policy is typically the one that pays.
• What you are paid. The first payment is usually the actual cash value, replacement cost minus depreciation. With replacement-cost coverage, the rest typically follows once you show the repair is done.
• The deductible. Wind damage often carries its own deductible, bigger than the others on the policy and set as a fixed dollar figure or as a percent of the coverage on the house. The declarations page shows it, and it is yours.

Who may act for you on a claim in Maine

Maine's insurance code treats anyone who, for pay, investigates, settles or reports on a claim for a policyholder as an adjuster (24-A M.R.S. § 1402), and no one may act as one, or claim to be one, without a Maine adjuster license (§ 1411). The same section bars anyone from charging for advice on what a policy pays unless they hold one of the licenses it lists, such as an adjuster's or a lawyer's. A roofer holds neither, and Maine does not license roofers at all.

So the line here is short:

• We inspect, photograph every slope, and write up the storm damage for you as a line-item scope.
• You file the claim, talk with your insurer and its adjuster, and decide what to send them.
• The policy, the claim and the deductible stay yours. No one here will offer to make the deductible go away.

No Maine statute is written for roofers and deductibles. What Maine does have is a fraud statute: knowingly giving an insurer false information about a claim, or about what was paid, is a fraudulent insurance act (24-A M.R.S. § 2186). The Bureau of Insurance also tells homeowners to be wary of any contractor who offers to throw in better or no-cost building materials on a claim job.

When a roofer knocks after the storm

Storms bring out-of-town crews. Maine gives you a few tools to sort them out:

• No license to check. Maine does not license roofers, so a business card or a "licensed" claim proves nothing. The Attorney General even makes contractors staple a notice saying so, under the heading "Contractors Are Not Licensed", to every home repair contract above $3,000.
• The door-to-door license. A seller with no permanent place of business in your town who sells home repairs door to door needs a state license, and its number has to be on the contract (32 M.R.S. §§ 14504, 14506).
• Time to change your mind. A sale that started with an unrequested visit or call can be voided by mail within three full business days, and work that attaches to the house waits until that window closes.
• Paper and deposit. Over $3,000, the contract is written and signed, and the deposit tops out at one-third of the price.
• Fraud law. A 2017 change to Maine's home repair fraud crime added lying about a house's condition and damaging a property to get the job (17-A M.R.S. § 908).

The Attorney General's consumer office can say whether a contractor has drawn complaints, and its home construction page lists the contractors the state has sued.

Common questions about storm damage in Portland

Where we work

Storm damage across greater Portland and southern Maine, from Casco Bay and the York County coast to the Sebago Lake towns. Each city has its own page with the permit rule and code edition that apply there: