Meet the insurtech: RAFTR

RAFTR Roofing + Exteriors aims to be the “Safelite of roof repair,” says CEO Gyner Ozgul, referring to the auto windshield repair and replacement service known for seamless insurance claim management.

Gyner Ozgul, CEO of RAFTR Roofing + Exteriors.

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Launched on July 11, RAFTR is planning to increase its reach starting in the fall, through relationships with more third-party claims administrators. Focusing on storm-related damage claims, RAFTR deals directly with homeowners on behalf of their insurers.

Validating roofing claims is challenging, which RAFTR seeks to address, according to Chris Doyle, chief marketing officer. “There’s still roofing companies that are using carbon copy forms at the customer level. We work to do more electronic receipts of documentation from customers and transmission of documents,” he said. “That’s where there’s some opportunities for the insurance companies and the TPAs that have leveraged these types of technologies. We’re the kind of partner that at scale, can implement and execute that.”

RAFTR is backed by Saw Mill Capital Partners, a private equity fund. Saw Mill acquired several U.S. regional roofing repair companies that work with insurers and put them under its umbrella. The markets serviced include Georgia, Alabama, Florida, South Carolina, Texas, Michigan, Indiana and Ohio. Companies include Perimeter Roofing, Humbled Roofing & Restoration, Regal Roofing, Blue Hammer Roofing and Mills Siding & Roofing. 

Chris Doyle, chief marketing officer, RAFTR Roofing + Exteriors.

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These entities will serve as brands under RAFTR, according to Doyle. Combined, they earn about $250 million in revenue annually.

“Our unifying entity will try to standardize all the processes, to really get efficiencies and to ensure that the customer experience, regardless of brands, is consistent,” he said. This unity will raise the quality of roofing repair work, Doyle explained. 

“By working more directly with insurance companies and TPAs, they can have a trusted entity that knows we’re going to do the work right, knows that we’re going to qualify claims properly, that we’re going to work in an ethical way to ensure that the insurance side is addressed properly,” he said.

RAFTR also provides metrics on claim servicing that will benefit insurers, according to Ozgul. “It’s essentially how do we measure that data and convert it to real data that helps us understand conversion rates of leads, helps us understand performance of our salespeople in the field, gross profit at the job level, contribution margin at the job level,” he said.

RAFTR sees potential to expand into more markets, if they are complementary to its current southern U.S. footprint. He points to the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic regions, and possibly the Northeast. “I don’t think we’ll push further west than Oklahoma, maybe Colorado,” Doyle said.

Ozgul believes RAFTR can increase its revenue with this expansion. “There’s no stopping us to get to a billion dollars of roofing revenue and beyond, and that’s not including if we get into the adjacencies of siding, gutters, eventually, windows at some point,” he said.