By Doug Dombroski, RIBO Sr. Commercial Lines Specialist, Construction & Surety
Your claims history has more influence over your roofing insurance rates than any other single factor. More than your revenue. More than your crew size. More than the type of roofing you do.
Underwriters look at it before anything else. A clean record opens the door to preferred pricing, broader coverage, and better carriers. A messy one closes those doors fast, sometimes for years.
Most roofing contractors understand this in general terms. Few understand exactly how underwriters use claims data, how long it follows you, and where the preventable mistakes happen. That’s what this article covers.
How Underwriters Actually Use Your Claims History
When a broker submits your roofing account to an insurer, the underwriter reviews your loss runs. These are detailed reports showing every claim filed under your policies, typically going back five years. Some carriers request up to seven.
Here’s what they’re looking at:
- Frequency. How many claims have you filed? Multiple small claims worry underwriters more than a single large one. Frequency suggests a pattern of operational problems.
- Severity. How expensive were the claims? A $200,000 completed operations claim tells a different story than a $5,000 property damage incident.
- Type. What caused the claims? Falls, fire, and completed operations (leaks discovered after the job) are the three categories underwriters watch most closely in roofing accounts.
- Trend. Are claims increasing, decreasing, or stable? An improving trend can partially offset a bad year. A worsening trend will hurt you even if overall numbers look moderate.
- Recency. A claim from four years ago carries less weight than one from six months ago. The more recent the loss, the more it influences pricing.
Underwriters aren’t just deciding how much to charge you. They’re deciding if they want to write you at all. In roofing, where Lloyd’s syndicates are the primary capacity source in Canada, each syndicate sets its own appetite. A clean loss history gets you access to the best programs. A poor one may limit you to markets that charge accordingly.
How Long Do Claims Follow You?
In commercial insurance, the standard lookback window is five years. Some carriers ask for longer. A few will look at three.
Here’s the catch: even after a claim falls outside the typical lookback period, it may still appear on industry databases and loss run reports. If a prospective insurer requests your full history, old claims can still surface and prompt questions.
The practical reality for roofing contractors:
| Timeframe | Impact on Your Rates |
| 0-2 years after a claim | Maximum impact. Expect higher premiums, restricted markets, and possible non-renewal. |
| 3-4 years | Still significant. Underwriters will ask about it. Preferred programs may still decline. |
| 5+ years | Reduced impact. Most carriers weigh recent history more heavily. A clean run since the claim helps. |
One large claim can spike your rates for three to five renewal cycles. Two or more claims in a short window can push you out of preferred markets entirely.
The Cost Difference Between Clean and Dirty Books
The gap is substantial. In the current soft market, a roofing contractor with zero claims and strong safety documentation can get a $2M GL policy for as low as $15,000. A similar-sized contractor with two or three claims in the last five years may pay double that, or more, and with weaker coverage terms.
Here’s a rough comparison based on what I’m seeing in the market right now:
| Contractor Profile | Typical 2026 Premium ($2M GL) | Market Access |
| Clean record, 5+ years, association member | $15,000 – $20,000 | Preferred programs, multiple carrier options |
| One moderate claim, 3+ years ago | $20,000 – $28,000 | Standard markets, some preferred programs |
| Two or more claims in last 5 years | $28,000 – $40,000+ | Limited markets, higher deductibles, restrictive terms |
| Recent large claim or active litigation | Decline or $50,000+ | Surplus lines, last-resort markets |
These numbers shift depending on revenue, crew size, geography, and the type of roofing work. But the pattern holds. Claims history creates the floor and ceiling for your pricing.
Where Roofing Claims Actually Come From
You can’t protect your record if you don’t know where the risks are. In my experience placing roofing accounts across Canada, here’s where the claims come from, in order of frequency and cost:
- Completed operations (leaks and water damage after the job is done)
This is the big one. A roof you installed or repaired develops a leak six months, a year, or two years later. The property owner files a claim against your policy. These claims are expensive because water damage compounds quickly, and because the property owner often involves lawyers.
Completed operations coverage is the policy section that responds here. If your current program excludes it or sublimits it (some of the cheaper portal-based programs do), you have a serious gap.
- Falls and worker injuries
Roofing is one of the most dangerous construction trades. Falls from height are the leading cause of fatality and serious injury. These hit your workers’ compensation premiums, which are already some of the highest in the trades.
- Property damage during the job
Falling materials, equipment damage, accidental impact to client property. These are the “everyday” claims that add up. Individually they’re often small, but three or four in a year signals a problem to underwriters.
- Fire
Torch-applied roofing, hot asphalt kettles, and open-flame work carry fire risk that most trades don’t. A single fire claim can be catastrophic, both in dollars and in your ability to get coverage going forward.
7 Ways to Protect Your Claims History
This is the part that matters most. Every item on this list is something you can act on now.
- Vet your subcontractors and require them to carry their own insurance.
If you use subcontractors, their claims can hit your policy unless they carry their own GL coverage and name you as additional insured. This is the most common and most preventable source of claims contamination. Get certificates before they step on a jobsite. No exceptions.
- Document everything.
Safety meetings. Training records. Equipment inspections. Hot work permits. Incident reports, even for near-misses. Underwriters review this material. A contractor who can produce a binder of documentation is a different risk than one who can’t.
- Invest in fall protection and enforce it.
Harnesses, guardrails, safety nets, and training. This isn’t just about compliance. It’s about keeping your workers’ comp record clean, which directly affects your GL rates and your ability to get coverage at all.
- Maintain and replace equipment on schedule.
Aging ladders, worn harnesses, and poorly maintained tools contribute to incidents. A basic maintenance and replacement schedule, documented, signals to underwriters that you take prevention seriously.
- Don’t file nuisance claims.
If the cost of a minor incident is close to your deductible, think carefully before filing. A $3,000 property damage claim that nets you $1,000 after deductible goes on your record for five years. The long-term premium impact of that claim will cost you far more than the $1,000 you recovered. Talk to your broker before filing small claims.
- Join and stay active in your industry association.
Membership in the Canadian Roofing Contractors Association (CRCA), the Ontario Industrial Roofing Contractors Association (OIRCA), or a provincial affiliate signals professionalism. Some carrier programs offer preferred pricing to association members in good standing. It’s also a source of training, safety resources, and industry standards that help prevent claims in the first place.
- Get your safety program reviewed by your broker, not just your accountant.
Your broker should understand what underwriters look for in a roofing safety program and help you build one that checks those boxes. If your broker hasn’t asked to review your safety documentation, that’s a red flag about your broker.
The Soft Market Amplifies This Advantage
We covered the 2026 soft market in detail in our previous article. The short version: roofing insurance premiums in Canada have dropped 40-50% in the last 18 months. Carriers are competing for business.
Here’s the part most contractors miss: the soft market benefits clean contractors disproportionately.
When carriers are competing, they’re competing hardest for the best accounts. If you have a clean record, you’re the account every underwriter wants. That gives you leverage to negotiate rates, improve terms, and lock in coverage while the market is favorable.
If your record is messy, the soft market helps, but not as much. You’ll see some rate relief, but you won’t get access to the preferred programs or the best coverage terms.
The takeaway: protecting your claims history isn’t just about avoiding premium surcharges. It’s about positioning your business to get the full benefit of favorable market conditions when they arrive.
When to Get a Second Opinion
If you’ve been with the same carrier for several years and haven’t had a serious claims review or market comparison, it’s worth getting one. Especially now.
A specialist broker who handles roofing accounts regularly will know:
- Which carriers are currently writing roofing GL aggressively
- How to present your loss history to underwriters in the strongest possible light
- Where your safety documentation gaps are (and how to fix them before renewal)
- What completed operations language to look for in the policy
If you want a review of your current program, start here or book a call with me directly.
Your claims history is the most valuable asset in your insurance file. Protect it the same way you protect your equipment and your crew.
Doug Dombroski is a RIBO-licensed Sr. Commercial Lines Specialist and VP of Roofing at Ai Insurance Organization. He spent years running a roofing company before moving to the insurance side, and brings firsthand knowledge of what it costs to run crews, bid jobs, and handle callbacks. He specializes in general liability, construction insurance, and surety bonding for roofing contractors across Canada.
