Unfortunately, as Southwest Florida begins to recover from Hurricane Ian, the stories about people being taken advantage of are becoming more prevalent. For instance, we heard that “roofers” had charged building owners more to get a temporary dry-in with them than it would for a normal re-roof with a professional. To make matters worse, in some cases, the dry-in was not even necessary, and professionally done repairs would have been enough.

So, to bring awareness and prevent scammers from making a quick buck at the expense of the people in Southwest Florida, please share this post and these two quick tips with them.

1. Beware of any “roofing contractor” who claims to be the “official,” “certified,” or an “approved” roofing contractor of any insurance company or FEMA! There is no such approval!
   • Most insurance companies will permit any properly licensed Florida contractor with the appropriate insurance to perform emergency re-roofing or repairs.
2. Never sign over an assignment of benefits so a contractor (even a licensed and insured Florida contractor) can receive your insurance proceeds without a clearly written contract and a fully detailed outline of the scope of work.
   • The last thing anyone needs is to unknowingly give away their benefits to scammers who will cash in and leave before the real work starts.

These two tips might appear like no-brainers to most people, but most people are not dealing with severe damage or total property loss. To read more scam-avoiding tips, the Sarasota Herald-Tribune has a great article you can check out here: How to avoid getting scammed while you’re recovering from Hurricane Ian