With warmer weather often comes gnarly storms! Hail can cause serious damage to the exterior of your home — including your roofing system, siding, windows and gutters. Size doesn’t matter when it comes to hail — pea-sized hail can leave its mark as well!
So what might storm damage look like on your roof and when should you proceed with an insurance claim? We hope the short read below will help answer those questions!
WHAT WILL STORM DAMAGE TO MY ROOF LOOK LIKE?
There are a few common signs of a hail-damaged roofing system, and any of these can be a fairly strong indicator that the hailstorm has damaged your property.
Much like hail damage to a car, your asphalt shingles may show visible dents or divots. Even small, pea-sized hail can soften the asphalt and allow hail to create these markings caused by missing granules, the colored, gravel-like textured pieces covering your shingles. Since these granules serve to protect the longevity of your roof and absorb the sun’s UV rays, it’s pretty important they remain in good shape! If you experienced a significant hailstorm (with hail sizing 1″ or large), it may be possible for the untrained eye to spot damage to your roof.
However, while it may come as a surprise, it doesn’t take golf-ball sized hail to negatively impact the integrity of your roofing system. Depending on your current products, how well your roof has aged, the elements your system has weathered over the years, direction and force of the hailstorm, tree coverage of your home — along with an entire list of additional factors — even a “small hailstorm” could wreak havoc on your home if left unaddressed. In the case of a “small hail storm” (producing hail smaller than 1″), it will be much more likely that an untrained eye will spot storm damage. And if they do, being able to determine if it’s meaningful damage may prove to be an even larger challenge.
Wether you’ve experience a small or large hailstorm, you can spot damage or not, it still may be difficult to determine the immediate and/or longterm effects the storm may have had on your roof. A professional storm damage inspection by a local, licensed contractor would help you determine if a repair or full replacement would be best suited.
IF I LOCATE HAIL DAMAGE TO MY ROOF, WHEN SHOULD I FILE AN INSURANCE CLAIM?
Your homeowner’s insurance carrier will be able to provide you with specifics on what your insurance policy covers. However, within most homeowner insurance policies, hail damage to your home can be covered by insurance when the damage meets the parameters of your specific policy. This is why it’s not only important to locate a skilled local contractor but one who also specializes in storm damage. Teams experienced in identifying hail on a variety of roofing systems including asphalt shingles, cedar shake roofs and metal roofs, will be able to thoroughly inspect your system and provide you with appropriate storm damage documentation to provide your insurance carrier. A highly skilled and exceptional contractor will also be upfront when it comes to letting you know that you do not have damage as well.
At Legacy Restoration, we arm homeowner’s with the information needed to help them determine if they should file an insurance claim. Our team provides a thorough hail damage inspection at no cost and with no obligation to the homeowner. Should a customer decide to proceed with an insurance claim, Legacy provided a dedicated Service Representative who will meet with your Insurance Adjuster to discuss damage findings, assist the customer in product selection and schedule a date to restore their home back to pre-storm condition!
If you experienced a recent hail storm, it is possible you may need your roof repaired or replaced in order to prevent further damage to the integrity of your roofing system.
CLICK HERE to watch a new roof being installed after this home experienced hail damage, and reach out to our team if you’d like to schedule a free, no obligation storm damage inspection!