¹ú²ú¸£Àû Õæʵ

It began with “door knockers” – the all-too-familiar practice of roofing companies telling homeowners that they could get a new roof with little or no out-of-pocket expense.

North Carolina Farm Bureau Insurance, the 2^nd-largest property insurer in the state with some 500,000 policies in force, for years had fielded complaints that some roofers were actually causing damage to roofs to make it appear that wind or hail had caused the problem – just enough for the homeowner to file an insurance claim. One contractor went so far as to tell a policyholder that the insurance company actually wanted him to file a claim and get a new roof. It was one of many solicitation attempts at the same house in just a few months’ time.

But the state’s insurance commissioner explained at a conference that it is difficult to prosecute roofers unless they are caught in the act of mechanically or deliberately damaging the roof, Farm Bureau officials said.

That’s when Farm Bureau’s leadership approached the North Carolina Department of Insurance with an offer. The insurer had access to a home in Raleigh that could serve as a “bait house,” ideal for a sting operation, said Todd Childers, senior claims executive for the carrier.

Within weeks, the sting operation was in business. Investigators with the DOI set up surveillance, ready to secretly video-record roofers inspecting shingles. Farm Bureau had engineering experts inspect the roof before and after the roofers went to work. One roofing contractor in Raleigh stood out, and was filmed repeatedly bending the asphalt shingles, apparently to simulate wind uplift, and hammering away on spots in order to claim hail indentations.

“It seems that the roofing industry has some bad actors,” Childers told Insurance Journal. “But there are a lot of good roofing companies, too.”

Last week, North Carolina authorities charged Robert Allen Bentley, a senior project manager with A&M Premier Roofing and Construction, with insurance fraud after he was reportedly videotaped manipulating roof shingles at the bait house.

It’s the first time NC Farm Bureau has participated in a roof sting operation, Childers said. The DOI has set up a few similar stings, including one in 2020 in which a roofer had his case dropped after he agreed to reimburse the insurance company $30,694, explained Barry Smith, spokesperson for the DOI. He said Commissioner Mike Causey is committed to more investigations, has tripled the number of special agent fraud investigators, and has hired a team of special prosecutors to assist local district attorneys in cracking down on fraudulent actors.

And it probably won’t be the last sting operation in the state. Officials with DOI and Farm Bureau said more bait houses are likely in 2026.

“We intend to aggressively investigate any fraud activity we’re aware of,” Childers said. “We know one arrest is not going to make this go away. But it can help educate policyholders to this type of scheme.”

The idea could spread to other states and other insurers: The news of the arrest has created a buzz in the property insurance industry, with carriers calling Farm Bureau for more information. Some insurance defense attorneys have for years argued that state insurance departments and insurers across the country should take steps, Farm Bureau said, and the initial success of the North Carolina sting may lead to more action.

Without direct video evidence, prosecutions can be tricky, Childers noted. Policyholders often have no idea that roof workers may have deliberately damaged their homes, and can’t serve as good witnesses. The cause of apparent creasing or dents in shingles may come down to a battle of expert witnesses. And if it can’t be proven that the damage was based in fraud, the carrier may end up paying the claim anyway, especially if the policy covers vandalism.

One potential angle of attack for insurers, he noted, may be to show that contractors who “find” damage and detail the exact amount of a claim may be guilty of engaging in claims adjusting without an adjuster’s license.

One thing is certain, Childers said. Roof claims and roof fraud appear to be on the rise. In recent years, homeowner claims for roof damage have increased sharply. “Roof fraud is a growing problem in the U.S.,” he said.

NC Farm Bureau now sees about 220,000 claims each year and about 22,000 of those are homeowner claims. After Hurricane Helene pounded the western part of North Carolina in 2024, the carrier saw about 17,000 claims, most of which were for wind damage on roofs, he noted.

Fraudulent roof claims and resulting claims lawsuits aren’t as easy to perpetrate in North Carolina as they may be in some states. State law does not allow assignment-of-benefit agreements without the carrier’s consent. The property insurance industry has long considered assignments of benefits, or AOBs, to be a major contributor to doorknocker roof solicitations and fraudulent or exaggerated roof claims in some states, particularly Florida, which saw an explosion of claims litigation in the mid 2010s and early 2020s.

Florida lawmakers famously began taking steps to limit AOBs as early as 2019, then outlawed the agreements altogether in late 2022. Those statutory changes have had a significant impact on questionable roof claims, Florida insurance leaders have said.

Childers suggested that after Florida’s reforms, some of those Florida-based roofing companies appear to have moved north, looking for opportunities in other states. The award-winning A&M Premier Roofing, whose co-founder moved from Florida before launching the roof business in Raleigh and other Carolina cities, could not be reached for comment, despite several attempts by Insurance Journal.

Photo: AdobeStock

Topics Agribusiness North Carolina