After a hailstorm moves through your neighborhood, two things happen fast. Your phone starts ringing, and your doorbell starts going. The claim process is not complicated once you understand it, but the days right after a storm are when homeowners get taken advantage of the most. Here is how it actually works, and how to protect yourself.
The salespeople who knock on your door right after a storm are counting on urgency. They want a signature before you have time to think. One of the most common tactics is handing you a form and telling you it is "just authorization for us to meet your adjuster." It is not. In most cases that document is a roofing contract, and signing it can lock you into using that company for the entire job.
Here is the rule that protects you: do not sign anything at your door. A reputable roofer will never pressure you for a signature on the spot. If someone is pushing hard, that is your signal to slow down.
A lot of homeowners assume the first call should be to their insurance company. I would encourage you to call a reputable roofer for an inspection first. The reason is simple. Once you contact your insurer, that inquiry can be logged, and even an inquiry that never results in a payout can appear on your claims history depending on your carrier. An inspection tells you whether you actually have enough damage to justify a claim before you put anything on your record.
So step one is straightforward. Call an established, reputable contractor like Excel Roofing and get your roof looked at.
A proper inspection is methodical. On an asphalt shingle roof, a qualified inspector goes up and checks all four slopes of the roof, north, south, east, and west, because hail rarely hits every side the same way. On each slope we mark off a test square, a measured section roughly 100 square feet, and count the hail hits inside it.
What we are looking for is real impact damage: bruised or soft spots where the hail has fractured the shingle and knocked away the protective granules. We document what we find on every slope. Carriers have their own thresholds for what qualifies a roof for replacement, and those numbers vary, which is exactly why the slope-by-slope count matters. It is the difference between a guess and an honest, documented assessment.
This is the part I wish I did not have to talk about. Some unscrupulous roofers will tell you that you have damage when you do not. Worse, a few will actually create damage, using a coin, a key, or another tool to gouge the shingles so it looks like hail did it. They do this to push you into a claim that benefits them, not you.
The best protection against this is a second opinion. If a roofer is telling you that you need a full replacement, there is no harm in having another reputable company confirm it. An honest contractor will welcome that.
Sometimes we get up on a roof, do the full inspection, and find that there is some hail damage, but not enough to total the roof or justify filing a claim. When that happens, we tell you the truth and we let you make the decision. That honesty is the whole reason homeowners keep coming back to us. It is also why we built our business on a simple promise: You Don't Pay A Cent Until You're Content.
When you are dealing with roofers after a storm, keep this list in mind:
Be a smart consumer. The homeowners who slow down, get an honest inspection, and read what they sign are the ones who come out of the claim process in good shape.
If a storm has rolled through your area, we are happy to take a look. Call us at (303) 761-6400 or schedule an inspection online, and browse our Learning Center for more honest guidance on roofing and insurance claims. Excel Roofing is an Owens Corning Platinum Preferred Contractor serving Colorado and Wyoming since 1993. We're On Top Of It.
Call a reputable roofer for an inspection first. An inspection confirms whether you have real damage before you file, which protects your claims history. Even an inquiry that does not result in a payout can appear on your record depending on your carrier.
A qualified inspector checks all four slopes of the roof and counts the hail hits within a measured test square on each slope, looking for bruised shingles where granules have been knocked away. Carrier thresholds for what qualifies a roof for replacement vary.
Get a second opinion. Some bad actors claim damage that is not there or even gouge shingles with a tool to mimic hail. An honest contractor will welcome a second reputable company confirming the findings.
Never sign anything at your door, never sign a contract with a cancellation fee, and never pay in full before the work is complete.
Sometimes there is damage that does not justify a full claim. A reputable roofer will tell you honestly and let you decide rather than pushing you into filing.