Answers · Storms and insurance
What is an assignment of benefits, and should I sign one?
The short answer
It is a document transferring your rights under your insurance policy to the contractor, who can then negotiate with, bill and in some places sue your insurer directly. It removes your control over the claim and over who does the work, and it has been restricted or reformed in several states because of how it was used.
What you give up
- Control of the claim. The contractor deals with your insurer, and you may not see what is being claimed.
- The ability to change contractors if you lose confidence in them.
- In some arrangements, control over the scope of the work itself.
- Sometimes, a clean exit: cancellation terms in these documents can carry fees.
What to do instead
You can accept help. A contractor meeting the adjuster on site, providing photographs, and preparing a detailed scope is genuinely useful and is normal practice. What you do not need to do in order to get that help is sign away your rights under your own policy. Ask for the help without the assignment, and see what the answer is.
Also asked
- Is an assignment of benefits legal?
- It depends where you are. Several states have restricted or reformed them specifically because of claim litigation, and the rules differ. That variation is itself the argument for caution: a document whose effect depends on your state is not a formality.
General information about roofs and about hiring, not advice about your building. Roofing contractor licensing, permits, insurance practice and deductible rules are set state by state and province by province across the United States and Canada, so your own authority is the current answer.