Hail versus wind signatures, what an adjuster is looking for, what a supplement is, and what to do when the settlement does not cover the job. Then vetted local roofers, free.
Reviewed by Michael ThompsonStorm damage roof repair is different from ordinary roof repair in one respect that changes everything about how you approach it: somebody else may be paying. That makes documentation and the claim process as important as the roofing itself. Insurance covers sudden accidental damage - hail, wind, impact - and does not cover a roof that has simply worn out, so the whole exercise turns on proving which one you have.
Seeing something not on this list? Browse roofing problems by symptom →
Document before anything is touched or tarped
Wide and close photographs of each elevation, of the soft metal, of the gutters, of interior damage, all dated. Note the date of the storm and keep any weather report or local news coverage naming it.
Watch forRepairs made before documentation. Once the evidence is off the roof, you are asking an adjuster to accept a description of something they cannot see. Emergency stabilisation is expected and covered - just photograph first.
Get an independent assessment of whether there is a claim at all
A roof inspection tells you the extent and, importantly, whether the damage plausibly exceeds your deductible. Small, genuinely repairable damage on a policy with a high wind-and-hail deductible often should not be claimed at all.
Watch forFiling first and finding out afterwards. A claim that is filed and then withdrawn or denied still appears on your claims history, and claims history influences renewal pricing.
File the claim - and start a paper trail on day one
Report the date of loss, the type of storm, and the damage. Keep the claim number, the adjuster's name and every piece of correspondence. Follow up phone calls with a short email summarising what was said.
Watch forAgreeing anything verbally. Insurance disputes are resolved on documents. A two-line email confirming a phone conversation is the cheapest insurance you will ever buy.
Understand your deductible before the adjuster arrives
Many policies in hail-prone regions carry a separate wind-and-hail deductible calculated as a percentage of the dwelling coverage rather than a flat amount, which makes it considerably larger than people expect. Read the declarations page.
Watch forA contractor offering to "cover", "waive" or "eat" your deductible. Insurance requires you to pay it. An arrangement that hides it - usually by inflating the invoice - is fraud, and you are a party to it.
The adjuster meeting - the part that decides your settlement
Be there. Have your contractor there too if you can arrange it. Walk the roof together where possible, point out each elevation you believe is damaged, and make sure the soft-metal evidence is seen and recorded. Adjusters often use a test square - a marked-out area where hail hits are counted to establish density.
Watch forOne elevation inspected and the rest assumed. Damage is directional; the slope facing the storm may be destroyed while the opposite slope is untouched. If only one slope was walked, ask for the others in writing.
Read the scope of loss line by line
You receive an itemised estimate. Check it against your roof: are all damaged slopes present, is the correct number of squares listed, does it include tear-off, underlayment, ice barrier, drip edge, flashing, ventilation, ridge, permits and disposal? Check whether it is settled at replacement cost or actual cash value.
Watch forActual cash value settlements mistaken for the whole payout. Under replacement cost cover, the insurer withholds depreciation until the work is done and you claim it back - so the first cheque is deliberately less than the job. Under actual cash value, depreciation is gone for good.
Supplements - how the number gets corrected
A supplement is a formal request to add to the approved scope: items missed, quantities understated, code-required upgrades discovered at tear-off, or price changes. It is a normal part of the process, not a dispute, and it is submitted with documentation and photographs.
Watch forA contractor who says the settlement is what it is and signs you up to the shortfall. Supplementing is routine work for a competent storm contractor. If yours will not do it, that tells you something about who they are set up to serve.
If the claim is denied or underpaid
You can request the adjuster's report and photographs, ask for a re-inspection with a different adjuster, invoke the appraisal clause in your policy where one exists, or escalate to your state insurance department. Each of these is a normal consumer remedy.
Watch forAssuming the first answer is final. Denials citing "wear and tear" on a roof with a documented storm date are routinely revisited when the counter-evidence is organised and the request is specific.
What you personally pay is usually your deductible, not the repair price - assuming the claim is approved and the scope is right. Uninsured storm repairs are priced like ordinary roof work, by area and access. Our cost guide covers both paths.
See the full storm damage roof repair cost guide - by material, size and region →
Check your roof's age before you argue wear versus storm → Roof age is the first thing an adjuster weighs against a storm date.
HomeMatchup is not a roofing contractor. We don't sell equipment, we don't quote jobs and we never show up at your house. What we do is one thing: put your job in front of the local pros who are licensed, insured and actually take work like yours - so you're choosing between vetted options instead of gambling on whoever answers the phone first.
Your ZIP and a short description. About 60 seconds, and no, you don't need to know what the work should cost - that's the part we're helping with.
We route it to pros who work your area and hold the licence the job legally requires. You stop being the person calling six numbers and leaving five voicemails.
Quotes come to you. Compare them against the checklist further down this page, then hire whoever you want - or nobody. There's no fee and no obligation either way.
Free to you · No obligation to hire · Only your matched pros get your details · How we vet pros
Everyone else ranking for this is paid when you say yes. Here's when you shouldn't.
Local pro matching for storm damage roof repair is rolling out by metro. Enter your ZIP and we'll match you with vetted pros in your area today.
Tell us what you need and we'll match you with vetted local roofing pros - free.
Free · No pressure · Licensed & insured pros
Twenty years on and around home improvement work. Reads our guides for the things that are technically true and practically wrong.
Every guide on this site is written by a member of our team and checked by someone else before it publishes, and every figure carries the source and the date we pulled it. Found a number that looks off? Tell us - corrections are the cheapest quality control we have.