What is a new roof replacement program, and is it legitimate?
Short answer. Most ads for a roof replacement program are marketing for a roofing company or a lead-selling service, not a government or insurance program. Real programs do exist, such as USDA home repair aid, local housing rehab and disaster assistance, but they have official names, eligibility rules and a public agency behind them.
What the ads usually are
- Lead generation. A form collects your address and phone number and sells it to roofers.
- Insurance-claim marketing. "Your insurance may pay for a new roof" is sometimes true after storm damage, but no program decides that; your policy and the adjuster do.
- Scams. Upfront fees to enroll, requests to sign over insurance proceeds, or promises that you will pay nothing at all.
Real programs, with names
- USDA Section 504 Home Repair loans and grants for very-low-income rural homeowners.
- City and county housing rehabilitation and emergency repair programs.
- The Weatherization Assistance Program, which focuses on energy efficiency.
- FEMA and SBA disaster assistance after a federally declared disaster.
- The IBHS FORTIFIED Roof standard, a voluntary construction standard that some insurers recognize.
How to vet an offer
- Ask for the program's official name and the agency or company that runs it, then look it up yourself.
- Never pay an application or enrollment fee.
- Walk away from anyone promising a free roof or offering to cover your deductible, which is illegal in Georgia.
- Do not assign your insurance benefits to a contractor after a declared disaster; Georgia bars that for a year.
See how to choose a roofing contractor in Georgia, and for storm-season tactics, storm chaser roofing scams in Georgia.