Call protocol
Roofing storm damage call script: leaks tonight, inspections tomorrow
Short answer
After a storm, a 100% AI receptionist answers every call for your roofing company, says it’s an AI and follows this roofing storm damage call script: is anyone hurt or are power lines down, is water coming in right now, what can the caller see from the ground, how to reach them, and have they filed an insurance claim. Active leaks go to whoever you put on call for storm work; everything else is booked as an inspection.
It answers several calls at the same time, so nobody waits on hold, and you get a summary of each one. It never promises what insurance will pay. This is the protocol we start from for roofers; you change it to fit your crews and approve it before it answers.
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Example call: missing shingles and a wet bedroom ceiling
Summit Peak Roofing · Missing shingles and a wet bedroom ceiling
Urgent
- AI
- Summit Peak Roofing, AI Receptionist here, the AI assistant. Is anyone hurt, or are lines down?
- Caller
- No. The wind took off some shingles.
- AI
- Is water coming into the house right now?
- Caller
- Yes, the bedroom ceiling is dripping.
- AI
- Please stay off the roof. Your name, address and number?
- Caller
- Samuel Adeyemi, 52 Hawthorn Road, 555-0116.
- AI
- Have you filed an insurance claim?
- Caller
- Not yet.
- AI
- Thanks, Samuel. That’s urgent. I’m alerting our crew now; they have your number.
Summary sent to you
- Urgent
- active leak through bedroom ceiling after the storm, shingles missing.
- Caller
- Samuel Adeyemi, 52 Hawthorn Road, 555-0116. No insurance claim filed yet.
- Done
- on-call crew alerted for a tarp. No arrival time or price given.
The script, step by step
-
Anyone hurt, any lines down?
Before anything else it asks whether anyone is hurt or there are power lines down. If so, the caller is told to keep clear and call 911 first.
The AI says: “First: is anyone hurt, or are there power lines down? If so, please stay clear and call 911.”
-
Is water coming in right now?
The question that separates tonight’s roof leak from next week’s inspection.
The AI says: “Is water coming into the house right now?”
-
What can they see from the ground?
Missing shingles, a tree or limb on the roof, a hole, damage to gutters or siding. It takes what the caller can see from the ground and never asks anyone to climb up and look.
The AI says: “What can you see from the ground? Please keep everyone off the roof.”
-
Name, address and a number to call back
Full name, the address of the home and the best number to reach them. If the caller knows the type of roof and roughly how old it is, it notes that too.
The AI says: “Your name, the address, and the best number to reach you?”
-
Insurance claim, noted only
Whether they’ve filed a claim, and the claim number if they have one. It doesn’t say what’s covered and doesn’t touch the deductible.
The AI says: “Have you filed an insurance claim? If so, I’ll note the claim number.”
-
Route the call
Active leak: your on-call crew is put through or emailed at once; if they don’t pick up, the backup you named is tried and the alert stays in their inbox. The caller is told the crew has their number. Everything else: an inspection booked in your calendar, confirmed only once it’s saved.
The AI says: “Water coming in is urgent. I’m alerting our crew now, and they have your number.”
Tarp tonight or inspection later
For a roofer after a storm, these are the hand-offs we start from. Your rules replace them.
| Situation | What happens |
|---|---|
| Someone hurt, power lines down | 911 first, then your on-call crew alerted |
| Water coming in now | Urgent: on-call crew reached for a tarp |
| Tree or limb on the roof, no one hurt | Urgent or first slot, by your rules |
| Missing shingles, no leak | Inspection booked in the next open slot |
| Homeowner asks you to meet the adjuster | Taken as a request with date and time; your office confirms |
| Insurance adjuster calling | Put through, or a message for the office |
| Quote for a new roof | Booked as an estimate, or a message |
What it never says on this call
- What insurance will cover or pay, or “you’ll get a new roof for free.”
- Anything about the homeowner’s deductible: not what it is, not that you’ll cover or waive it.
- A diagnosis of the damage from the caller’s description.
- A price or a time your crew will arrive, unless you approved it.
- Anything that sends the caller up a ladder.
What you decide
- What counts as urgent after a storm, and whether you tarp at night at all.
- Your crews: who’s on call, the backup, and how each is reached (the call put through or an email).
- Inspections: which slots it can book and how long each takes.
- What it may say about insurance: only that you work with homeowners on claims, if that’s true for you.
- Your service area: what to say to callers outside it.
- Spanish-speaking homeowners, answered in Spanish on the same line.
We build it with you, and you approve it.
Why this protocol works
Our call protocols come from nearly two decades of running phone reception for small businesses, and storm days are when a roofer’s phone gives out: calls come in all at once, and every one feels urgent to the person making it. It asks what matters, so the leaking bedroom is handled before the missing shingle. It never promises what you don’t, least of all about insurance. More on our method. How busy-day calls are absorbed is on overflow call answering, and how each inspection request arrives ready to quote is on lead intake and qualification.
Questions roofers ask
What happens when dozens of people call the morning after a storm?
It answers several calls at the same time, so callers don’t sit on hold or reach voicemail. Each one goes through the same questions, and every active leak is marked Urgent in your call list, so it can’t get lost among the inspection requests.
Will it talk about insurance claims?
Only to ask whether the homeowner has filed one and to note the claim number. It never says what insurance will cover, never discusses the deductible, never promises a free roof and never offers to handle the claim for them. Those conversations are yours.
Can it book inspections into my calendar?
Yes, in the slots you choose, confirmed to the homeowner only once the booking is saved. If your calendar is full or can’t take the booking, the request stays pending and your office confirms it. You’ll see each request in your call list either way.
Can it text the homeowner after the call?
Yes, when it’s tied to that call: the time of the booked inspection, or your office address if they need it, sent to the number they called from. It doesn’t run text conversations back and forth, and it doesn’t send reminders. Anything beyond that comes from your office.
Get your storm-day protocol ready
Before the next storm, give us your service area, your crews and what counts as urgent, and we build your protocol as part of your free setup. You approve it before you forward your line. On Pay As You Go it’s $0.99 per answered call with no monthly fee, storm days included; plans are on pricing. More in the call protocol library.
Free setup · No contract · Cancel anytime