September 28, 2026

Reading a Roof Engineer’s Report? Start With the Assignment

An engineer’s report arrives, and the insurance company points to it as the reason for its roof decision. Before you focus on the last paragraph, look at the question the engineer was asked to answer. Then check whether the report explains how the observations support that answer.

Why the report deserves a careful read

In a June 24, 2026 announcement, Oklahoma’s attorney general alleged that State Farm used restrictive internal standards and outcome-oriented engineering reviews to reduce roof-claim payments. Those are allegations in the state’s lawsuit, not findings about your home. In its March 12 statement on the Oklahoma disputes, State Farm disputed the criticism and said claim decisions depend on the individual facts and purchased coverage.

For a homeowner, the useful next step is practical: understand what the report actually examined. That approach applies regardless of which company insures your home.

Start with the assignment

Look for a section describing the assignment or purpose. Was the inspection meant to identify the cause of particular marks? Evaluate a leak? Assess whether certain materials could be repaired? Write that question at the top of your notes. If the assignment isn’t stated, ask the claim representative to clarify it.

Next, list the areas the report says were inspected. A conclusion about one roof slope doesn’t tell you, by itself, what happened on another slope or inside the attic. Check for areas that were inaccessible, photographs supplied by someone else, and documents the author says were reviewed. Keep those limitations beside the conclusion rather than losing them in the fine print.

Separate an observation from an explanation

Use two columns on a sheet of paper. In the first, note what the report says the inspector saw. In the second, note what the author concludes from it. Add the page or photo number so someone else can find the same passage.

For example, a fictional report might describe a mark on a shingle and then assign a cause. Your question could be: What characteristics of that mark support that explanation, and where are they shown? You don’t need to invent a competing technical opinion to ask for the connection between the evidence and the conclusion.

• Which observations support the stated cause?
• Which photos show those observations clearly?
• What relevant areas or records were unavailable?
• Does the conclusion address the full assignment, or only part of it?

Send the missing information with a specific question

If you have a relevant photograph or repair record that isn’t listed, identify it by filename and date. Explain which part of the report it relates to. Ask whether it was considered and whether it changes the explanation. Keep the original file and the response together.

A report’s technical opinion and the insurer’s coverage decision are also different parts of the file. Ask the insurer to explain how it used the report with the applicable policy wording. A question about inspection limits shouldn’t disappear into a general statement that the claim was reviewed.

Covenant Claim Group can help you organize the report, policy, photographs and claim correspondence for a focused review. Bring the complete report, including its attachments, so the conversation starts with the same record the insurer relied on.