As San Antonio recovers from five hail storms in a single year and Hill Country homeowners discover leaks after historic rains, a roofing expert is warning that the majority of roof insurance claims are denied—and that homeowners can take steps to improve their odds before ever contacting their carrier.
Jasper Shin of Texas Roof Guardians joined host Justin McKenzie on the latest episode of The Building Texas Show, titled “Your Roofer Showed Up After the Storm. That’s the Problem,” published September 15, 2026. The conversation, recorded on the floor of the San Antonio Home and Garden Show, centers on why 60 to 70 percent of roof insurance claims get denied and what Texas homeowners can do to avoid becoming a statistic.
Shin walks listeners through the mechanics of a modern roof claim and the traps that quietly cost homeowners thousands. He emphasizes that a proper inspection should cover the full property—windows, screens, gutters, siding, and fences—not just shingles. He also highlights the “three-reinspection rule” that most homeowners never learn they have, and explains how Xactimate supplements can force fair-market pricing from an adjuster. According to Shin, the average claim file is missing $3,000 to $5,000 in legitimate damages, and he describes cases where supplements have added $10,000, $15,000, even $30,000 to approved claims.
Shin is blunt about the incentive structure homeowners face. “The insurance is incentivized to not pay you to say you don’t have damage,” he tells McKenzie. He also warns about a single innocent question from a carrier: “Well, why did you wait?” Answer it wrong, Shin explains, and insurers can invoke the mitigation clause buried in most policies and deny the claim for negligence before an adjuster ever climbs a ladder. The episode also covers the mortgage-company check split that stalls repairs and why installing solar on a roof older than seven years is, in Shin’s words, asking for leaks.
The discussion goes deep on the storm-chaser problem plaguing Texas metros from San Antonio and Austin to Dallas and Houston. Shin explains why Texas Roof Guardians chose to stay local rather than chase four-inch hail in Chicago, Montana, and the Carolinas, and how homeowners can validate a contractor through GAF, Owens Corning, and Atlas certifications, a legitimate Google Business Profile, and Better Business Bureau standing. He details a Stone Oak client whose insurer quietly converted her policy at the 10-year mark, leaving her $15,000 short on a $25,000 replacement, and outlines the company’s free policy review, free biannual inspection subscription, and white-glove service from Kerrville to Seguin, up and down I-35, and into Pearsall, Uvalde, and Victoria.
The episode is available now wherever podcasts are heard. For homeowners, the takeaway is clear: understanding policy mechanics and contractor credentials before a storm hits can mean the difference between a denied claim and a paid one.
For more information about the show, visit The Building Texas Show.
