Florida has more roofing scams per capita than any state in the country. Storm-chaser crews, unlicensed labor, deductible-waiver fraud, AOB traps. Here is the homeowner's playbook for verifying any contractor before you sign anything - including Sarge.
Florida is the largest insurance-litigation roof market in the country. That has attracted bad actors at scale - out-of-state crews, unlicensed labor, fraudulent claim-filers, deductible-waiver promisers, and AOB-traps. After every named storm, thousands of homeowners sign bad contracts because the pitch sounded urgent.
Ten minutes of verification, before you sign anything, eliminates almost all of the risk. Here is the playbook.
Go to myfloridalicense.com. Click "Verify a License." Search the contractor by name or license number. You are looking for three things:
If the contractor cannot give you a Florida license number that verifies on the state website, the conversation is over. There is no exception. Florida requires licensure for any roof work over the small-repair threshold.
Ask for a Certificate of Insurance (COI). A real one. Showing:
You can call the insurance agency listed on the COI to verify it is current. Most legitimate contractors will provide this without resistance. Sarge will email it to you on request before the proposal goes out.
Ask for three Florida references from the last two years. Call all three. Ask:
A contractor who hesitates to provide references, or who provides references who do not pick up, is a contractor with something to hide.
Never sign a roof contract during the first visit. Take it home. Read it. Look for:
If a contractor is in your driveway pressing for a same-day signature, say these three sentences and watch what happens:
A legitimate contractor smiles and sends the paperwork. A scam crew pushes back, gets aggressive, or never sends anything. Either way, the test costs you nothing and protects you completely.
Sarge sends every prospective customer:
If any of that is missing, ask for it. If any contractor cannot provide it, that contractor is not the right contractor.
Go to myfloridalicense.com, click Verify a License, and search the contractor by name or license number. You are looking for active status, the correct contractor category (CCC for roofing), and license history.
An Assignment of Benefits transfers your insurance claim rights to a contractor. Florida restricted AOBs in 2019 and 2022 because homeowners were getting locked into contracts they could not get out of and contractors were inflating claims. Never sign an AOB during a storm visit or as part of a roof contract. A legitimate Florida roofer does not require one.
A deductible waiver is when a contractor promises to absorb or eliminate your insurance deductible - either by inflating the claim, doing extra unbilled work, or simply lying about the cost. Florida Statute 489.147 makes this a third-degree felony for the contractor and pulls the homeowner into fraud. Never accept a deductible waiver promise.
Florida Statute 489.126 caps residential contractor deposits at 10 percent of the contract price or $1,000, whichever is greater, before work begins. A contractor demanding 50 percent up front before any work starts is operating outside Florida law.
Door-to-door solicitation after a named storm is the storm-chaser pattern. The legitimate Florida roofers in your area are too busy with documented appointments to drive door to door. Verify any contractor at myfloridalicense.com before signing anything. If they will not give you their license number, the answer is no.
No call center. No high-pressure pitch. Veteran-owned, dual-licensed, Florida-based since 1990.
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What Happens After You Send It
Got neighbors asking the same question? When Sarge is already on your street, the truck's already there — tell him who else on the block wants a walk and he'll work it into the same trip.
