Storm-response contractor workflow

Why storm volume needs a workflow, not a habit

A single loss is easy: inspect, measure, write the estimate, submit. Storm work breaks that because ten to thirty addresses land on your desk in the same week, each at a different stage. Without a fixed sequence, crews re-visit properties for measurements they already had, estimators wait on files that were never ordered, and homeowners get no paperwork until the estimate is finished, if ever.

The fix is to separate the roof measurement step from the site visit entirely. A roof measurement report is ordered from the property address and does not require anyone to be on the roof or in the house to produce it. That means measurement can run in parallel with inspection scheduling instead of blocking on it.

Step one: triage the address list before you order anything

1. Capture the full address at first contact

   Street number, unit if applicable, city, state, ZIP. This is entered at the door or on the phone, before the property goes into any queue.

2. Flag roof complexity from what you can see

   Note hips, valleys, dormers, and attached structures at a glance. This determines whether the order needs the Complex-roof ESX tier later.

3. Assign a claim number placeholder if one has not been issued

   Even a temporary job number keeps the delivered file traceable when the real claim number is added afterward.

4. Sort the list by urgency, not by geography

   Tarped roofs, active leaks, and code-required temporary repairs go first regardless of where they sit on the route.

Step two: batch-order roof measurement reports

With the address list sorted, place orders in a single sitting rather than one at a time as each inspection wraps. Each order is by property address; there is no subscription and no minimum order, so ordering five reports or fifty follows the same process at the same per-report price.

Orders placed before the 6 PM Eastern cutoff deliver the same calendar day. On a storm crew's schedule that means a morning batch of addresses can have measured files back before the afternoon's inspections are even done, and an afternoon batch is still same-day if it clears the cutoff.

You can order a roof report by address the same way whether it is one property or a batch entered back to back.

Step three: pick the format per claim, not per crew

The format decision is made claim by claim, based on what the estimate needs and what the homeowner should receive, not by what the crew defaults to. Mixing formats inside one batch order is normal during storm work.

Prices are the sponsor's published rates as of the date in the sources; the order page is authoritative for current pricing.

Sorting simple from complex before you order: the pitch check

Complexity is not just facet count; steeper pitch also adds material and labor that a flat-rate ESX order should reflect correctly. The multiplier that converts footprint area to roof area is the same one used across the industry: pitch multiplier equals the square root of rise squared plus run squared, divided by run. Multiply footprint square footage by this factor to get roof area, then divide by 100 to get squares.

Use this as a quick field check when deciding whether a roof qualifies for the standard tier or needs the complex-roof order. A steep, simple gable is often still standard; a moderate-pitch roof with eight facets is the one that needs the complex tier regardless of pitch.

The homeowner PDF: leave something before you leave the driveway

On a normal-volume week, a homeowner document can wait for the finished estimate. During storm response it cannot; homeowners are fielding calls from multiple contractors and need something in hand to compare and to hold onto. A PDF-only order at $25 gives a document you can hand over or email the same day, independent of whether the estimate is finished.

If the claim is also going into Xactimate®, order ESX + PDF at $29 once instead of ordering the PDF and the ESX separately later; it is the same property, so one order covers both needs.

Full Xactimate® Integration ordering is also available for desks working through Verisk™.

Keeping the batch clean: naming, revisions, and the daily cutoff

• Enter the claim number (or job number) on every order

  The delivered file is named to it; a batch of ten unnamed files is unusable by end of day.

• Confirm the map pin before submitting

  A wrong pin on a dense storm-affected block is the single most common cause of a revision request.

• Note detached structures explicitly

  Garages, sheds, and carports are included or excluded on purpose, not by default.

• Track the 6 PM Eastern cutoff against your batch size

  A large batch submitted at 5:45 PM competes with everyone else's end-of-day orders; split it earlier when volume is heavy.

• Request corrections from the delivery email, not a new order

  Revisions are available from the original order thread and avoid paying twice for the same address.

Frequently Asked Questions

Sources

• Published storm-response ordering by address; no subscription; no minimum: Sketch My Roof storm damage roof reports page (as of August 2026)
• Published residential menu: Standard ESX $19, Complex-roof ESX $25, PDF-only $25, ESX + PDF $29; same-day delivery before 6 PM Eastern cutoff: Sketch My Roof residential order page (as of August 2026)
• Xactimate® Integration ordering for Verisk™ desks: Sketch My Roof Verisk page (as of August 2026)
• Order terms: corrections and revisions available from the delivery email: Sketch My Roof service facts page (as of August 2026)
• Xactimate® ESX file handling and import procedures: Xactware help center (as of August 2026)
• Pitch multiplier formula: sqrt(rise^2 + run^2) / run, applied to footprint area to derive roof area: Roof geometry reference (as of August 2026)