How to Check a Roofing Contractor in Nebraska

Ask for the company's Nebraska contractor registration, then confirm it with the Nebraska Department of Labor, which registers contractors doing business in the state. Match the legal business name on the registration to the name on the estimate and the contract.

Registration is a floor, not a rating: it tells you the business is on file with the state, not how well it builds a roof. Use it to confirm exactly who you are hiring:

• The legal name. Compare the registration, the contract, the certificate of insurance and the yard sign. A trade name is normal; a contract in the name of a company that is not registered is not.
• A street address you could visit, not only a cell phone number. After the job is when you will need to find the company again, for a warranty question or a leak.
• The same phone number on the registration, the contract and the company's website.

Rocket Roofing General Contractor is headquartered at 5634 S 85th Cir Ste 204, Omaha, NE 68127, and its legal name, the one on registrations and contracts, is Rocket Roofing L.L.C. Ask for its registration and insurance certificate the same way you would ask anyone else, and check each with the issuer.

Yes, the City of Omaha licenses contractors, and a roof repair or replacement over two squares (200 square feet) needs a city permit. Lincoln runs its own building permits and publishes its own re-roof policy, so check with the city where the property is, including Council Bluffs and the other cities around Omaha.

Omaha's roof repair and replacement rules also tell you what a proper job includes:

• The existing roof covering is removed down to the sheathing before the new roof goes on.
• An ice barrier is installed over solid sheathing.
• Every roof repair and replacement gets a final inspection, with photos of the clean roof deck and the installed underlayment provided for the inspector.

Ask three questions before you sign: which city license the contractor holds, who will pull the permit, and whether the price includes it. A contractor that proposes laying new shingles over the old ones on an Omaha roof is proposing work the city's rules do not allow.

Rocket Roofing General Contractor works across the Omaha metro, in Lincoln and in the rest of Nebraska. Ask it for the permit on your job the same way you would ask anyone else.

A roofing contractor should carry general liability insurance and workers' compensation coverage. Verify both with a certificate of insurance sent to you by the contractor's insurance agent, not a photocopy handed over at the door.

• General liability pays for damage the contractor causes to your property or someone else's, such as a dropped bundle through a skylight or rain getting in during a tear-off.
• Workers' compensation pays for a worker's injury on the job, and roofing is work where people get hurt.

How to verify:

• Ask the contractor to have its insurance agent send you a certificate of insurance, with you named as the certificate holder.
• Check that the named insured matches the company on your contract and that the policy dates cover your whole job.
• Call the agency printed on the certificate to confirm the policies are in force.
• Ask whether the crew on your roof works for the contractor or for a subcontractor, and if it is a subcontractor, ask for that company's certificate too.

The Nebraska Department of Insurance says to get references, written estimates and proof of insurance before you allow repairs after a storm. Rocket Roofing General Contractor is licensed and insured; ask for its certificate the same way.

A storm chaser is a contractor that follows storms from town to town, sells door to door afterward, and may be gone by the time a leak or warranty question comes up. The Nebraska Attorney General warns about door-to-door storm-chasing scams that demand large payments up front.

Warning signs:

• Pressure to sign today, before your insurer has seen the damage.
• An offer to cover, discount or "take care of" your deductible. Nebraska law forbids it.
• A request for a large payment, or cash, before materials arrive.
• No local street address, only a cell number.
• A form that assigns your insurance claim to the contractor, handed to you before your insurer has inspected.

Never sign a contract, an assignment of your claim, or any paper that gives a contractor rights in your claim before you have talked with your insurer: the Nebraska Department of Insurance's advice is not to sign anything until you have talked with your insurance company. If you already signed a contract for insurance-paid work, Nebraska law lets you cancel it in writing before midnight on the third business day after you signed, or the third business day after your insurer tells you in writing the claim is not covered, whichever is later. The Nebraska roof insurance claims guide explains the notice every insurance-paid contract must carry and how cancelling works.

Be wary of any contractor that wants a large payment before work starts; that is the pattern the Nebraska Attorney General warns about after storms. A sound payment schedule ties each payment to something you can see, such as materials delivered or work completed.

• Put the payment schedule in the written contract: how much, when, and what triggers each payment.
• Pay by check or card to the company named on the contract, never in cash and never to a person's own name.
• Keep the final payment until the job is finished, the site is clean, the city's final inspection has passed where a permit was needed, and you have the warranty paperwork.
• On an insurance-paid job, the check may be made out to you and your mortgage company, which releases money in stages as work progresses. A contractor pressing for the full amount at signing is ignoring how that works.

If you cancel a contract for insurance-paid work within the window Nebraska law allows, the contractor must return your payments and deposits within 10 days, less the reasonable value of any work you agreed in writing was needed to prevent damage to the property, such as an emergency tarp.

A roofing contract should state who is doing what work, with which materials, for what price, and when each payment is due. A promise that is not in the contract is not part of the deal.

• The contractor's legal name, street address, phone number and state registration.
• The scope, line by line: tear-off to the sheathing, underlayment and ice barrier, flashing, ventilation, ridge, and gutters or siding if included.
• How rotted decking is handled if it turns up under the old roof, and its price per sheet.
• Materials by manufacturer, product line and color.
• Who pulls the permit, and that the job ends with the city's final inspection where one is required.
• A start date or window, and what happens when weather delays it.
• The price and a payment schedule tied to milestones.
• Cleanup, including a magnetic nail sweep.
• The manufacturer warranty and the contractor's workmanship warranty, in writing, and who registers the manufacturer warranty.
• How changes are handled: a signed change order before extra work.
• For insurance-paid work, the Nebraska deductible notice in capitalized 14-point type and your right to cancel.

Read every page before you sign, and keep a signed copy.

Check them on the issuer's own website, not on the contractor's badge. GAF and Owens Corning each list the contractors in their programs in a contractor locator on their own sites, and the Better Business Bureau publishes its own profiles with ratings and complaint history.

A manufacturer certification matters because it can change the warranty you get: ask which manufacturer warranty the contract includes, whether it covers labor as well as materials, and who registers it.

How to check:

• Search the company name in the GAF and Owens Corning contractor locators.
• Read the BBB profile for the rating, accreditation and complaints, and how the company answered them.
• Read reviews on more than one site, and look for reviews that describe a job like yours.

Rocket Roofing General Contractor is headquartered in Omaha and is BBB A+ Accredited, an Owens Corning Preferred Contractor and a GAF Certified Residential Roofing Contractor. Check each on the issuer's page: its BBB profile, its GAF listing and its Owens Corning contractor profile.