Hail damage is a deceptive threat to property owners. A roof can take a hard hit and show almost nothing from the ground. Then the damage waits. The next hard rain finds the openings the hail made, and the first sign inside the building is a ceiling stain weeks later. Most business and homeowner policies cover hail damage. The fight is rarely over whether hail is covered. The fight is over how much damage the record shows.

Think a storm dented your roof? Start with a Free 21-Point Storm Inspection. We check every slope and document the damage before the next rain finds it. Call 800.511.2240.

Hail in Florida

Florida hail rides in on spring and summer storm cells. Flat and low-slope commercial roofs take the worst of it, and the damage often hides until the next hard rain finds it. Shingle roofs take real damage too. Even small stones can bruise shingles and knock the protective granules loose. A roof in a high-risk spot for hail can look sound and still have lost years of its life in one storm. Hail falls hardest where Colorado, Nebraska, and Wyoming meet, an area called Hail Alley, but Florida roofs are built for sun and wind, not ice, and they show it after a storm.

A repair price can hide whole slopes of damage

Roof damage drives some of the largest hail claims. A hail claim can close with a repair price even when the damage runs across whole slopes. A hail denial or partial payment usually turns on what the carrier’s adjuster documented. Whole slopes of damage can sit outside that record. Repairs priced off a carrier’s preferred vendor list can come in below what local roofers charge for the same work. A price built on a short inspection and a vendor rate card does not measure your roof. It measures the record the carrier chose to write down.

What a full roof record shows

A full record covers every slope, not only the side that faces the street. Dents in metal caps, vents, and flashing can prove stone size even where shingles look unmarked. Checked areas on each slope show whether the hits scatter or cover the slope. Maintenance records show the roof worked properly before the storm. Put together, that record decides whether the claim pays for scattered patch work or for the slopes the storm actually damaged. A thin record almost always prices thin.

Steps that protect a hail claim

• Report the damage to your carrier promptly, and note the date of the storm.
• Photograph the roof, the gutters, and dents on vents, screens, and outdoor units.
• Ask the carrier in writing for a complete certified copy of your policy, including every endorsement. Get the whole contract, not the summary.
• Have the entire roof checked, not only the spots visible from the ground.
• Keep maintenance records that show the roof functioned properly before the storm.
• Do not accept a patch price until the full damage record is on paper.

Hail hits more than the roof

Hail that dents a roof also dents what sits around it. Gutters, window screens, pool cage screens, siding, and outdoor air conditioning units all take hits in the same storm. Each one belongs on the claim record. A quick visit from the carrier’s adjuster often prices the roof alone and leaves the rest off the scope. Photograph every dent in the week of the storm, while the marks still show clearly. Those photos tie the damage to one storm date, and the date ties the claim to the right policy period. Dents in soft metal also help prove the size of the stones that fell.

A public adjuster works for you

The carrier’s adjuster represents the insurance company. A public adjuster from Policyholder Advocacy Group represents you. We document the whole roof and the damage under the surface, and we present the claim under the terms and conditions of your policy, so you pursue the full amount your policy owes you. You get one point of contact and a claim file you can read, while we handle the inspections, the paperwork, and the meetings with the carrier. Policyholder Advocacy Group has represented Florida policyholders since 2012. On cost: For residential claims, Florida caps the fee at 10% during the first year after a state of emergency declaration. And 10% of nothing is nothing. Without representation, many homeowners walk away with far less or nothing at all. When hail arrives with a named storm, our hurricane and wind damage page covers the deadlines that apply.

Not sure your damage is covered? Start with a Free 21-Point Storm Inspection. We document the full loss and tell you plainly whether you have a claim. Call 800.511.2240.