In recent years, homeowners have been experiencing more and more storm and hail damage. Being able to identify what hail damage looks like is a good way to help a homeowner decide if they need to file a claim with their insurance carrier. Depending on the type of home and roof you have, it may not be easy to identify hail damage from the ground. So, only try to evaluate if you are comfortable on a ladder and/or your roof or if you have access to see some of your roof from an upper level window. Otherwise, the best thing to do is file the claim with your insurance company so that they can send out an adjuster to evaluate.

At the end of the day, insurance companies are entirely responsible for determining and approving “hail damaged roofs.” They also determine if the roof only qualifies for a repair or a full replacement. Some things you can check around the house without looking at the roof that might help you to identify if your home sustained hail damage are as follows: 

• Do you see any dents in your gutters? 
• Are there any holes or cracks in your siding or window trim
• Have you found tears in your screens that weren’t there before? 

Rare is it that if a home is exposed to hail, that the only damage sustained is to the roof. Checking these other exterior applications for evidence of hail will help you to know if your roof was exposed to hail. Other things to look at are air conditioners, vehicles, patio furniture, or grills. Any of these ground level items will likely show evidence of exposure.

If you have access to your roof, and you are comfortable evaluating yourself, identifying hail damage is usually fairly uncomplicated. When hail impacts a roof, it will dent anything that is metal, so looking at metal vents, or stove pipes is a good place to start. If the hail was strong enough to impact the shingles, it will create what looks like a pock mark where the mark is circular in nature, the granules have been blown away, some of the black asphalt and fiberglass is exposed, and, in some cases, the shingle actually has missing pieces around its edges, corners, or on the teeth of an architectural shingle.

Naturally older roofs can make it more difficult to identify hail damage, because some of this type of wear may already be taking place. However, hail damage on an older roof may also damage the roof more than it would a newer roof. Regular roofing companies that are not “Storm Chasers” prefer for homeowners to have their adjusters evaluate the roof before scheduling an inspection with the roofer. In most cases, they will make themselves available to assist with an evaluation if it’s your preference to work with someone local first. But, the findings of a roofing company will never be used to approve hail damage. Instead, it will always be determined by your adjuster.

Thompson Home Improvement is always happy to help and also offer any additional assistance when it comes to your home’s exterior needs. Feel free to schedule an appointment with us if you need something evaluated and or estimated. We want to help you keep your home in shape.