Hail Damage FAQ

HAIL DAMAGE
STORM DAMAGE EXTERIOR RESTORATION SPECIALISTS

STORM DAMAGE EXTERIOR RESTORATION SPECIALISTS

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Hail Damage — Damaged Roof in Waukesha, WI

HAIL DAMAGE FAQ

OH, HAIL NO!: ANSWERS TO YOUR HAIL-RELATED QUESTIONS

It is amazing how much damage even a little bit of hail can cause to the exterior of your home/building. Below are questions we receive from customers who have personally experienced damages after a hail storm.

HOW I DO I KNOW IF I HAVE HAIL DAMAGE TO MY ROOF? CAN I TELL FROM THE GROUND?

If you’ve had hail in your area, a close inspection of the shingles has to be made from climbing the roof to determine if the shingles have been damaged. Usually, you cannot tell from the ground.

IF I THINK I HAVE HAIL DAMAGE, WHAT SHOULD I DO?

Call us for a free/no obligation property inspection and damage assessment. If damage is found, call your insurance company and ask for an adjuster to come to inspect your property for hail/wind damage. The Edge Contracting LLC will have a representative on site when the insurance adjuster arrives to assist the adjuster in documenting the damage. If there are any discrepancies between the adjuster’s findings and the our findings, you may call for a “re-inspection,” where your adjuster meets with the us again to go over these discrepancies.

Re-inspections are very common. The insurance company must determine two things when assessing the amount of your loss:

Was there sufficient damage to the roof to declare it a total loss.
What is the size of the roof and how many shingles will be needed to complete repairs.

WHAT DOES HAIL DO TO A ROOF?

Shingles are designed so that the granules block the UV of the sun and protect the asphalt underlayment. As the shingles age, the granules fall off over time. As the asphalt is exposed to the UV, it dries out and the shingle becomes brittle and more susceptible to leaks and other weather related damages.

A shingle at the extreme end of its life is bubbled and/or bald and is brittle to the touch. A 25-year shingle is warranted by the manufacturer for 25 years against manufacturer defects. However, the average useful life under normal conditions is about 17 years. Hail does several of the following things:

Accelerates granule loss
Accelerates shingle aging.
Voids manufacturer’s warranties.
Leads to other associated problems.

Damaged Roof — Roof Damaged Because Of Hail in Waukesha, WI

DO I NEED TO GET MY ROOF REPLACED RIGHT AWAY?

The insidious nature of hail damage is that it may pose no immediate threat to the structural integrity of the roof. However, many insurance companies have a “statute of limitations” on how long a hail claim is viable. If you have experienced hail damage, it is prudent to take care of the problem in a timely manner before it leads to other associated problems.

WHAT DOES HAIL HIT LOOK LIKE?

A hail hit on a shingle looks like a “bruise” or a dark spot where the granules on the shingle have been knocked off. The asphalt underlayment, and sometimes the fiberglass mat, is exposed. New hail hits will have a darker appearance because the asphalt has been freshly exposed and has not had time to weather to a dull color.

WHY WOULD MY INSURANCE COMPANY REPLACE MY ROOF?

Property owners purchase homeowner’s insurance to protect themselves against losses in their property’s value due to damage that is beyond their control. If you have hail/wind damage, you have experienced a financial loss in that your original investment of a 25-year roof (for example) has now been reduced to a 5 to 10-year useful lifespan.

WHY DOES THE ESTIMATE READ THAT THERE ARE MORE SHINGLES TO REPLACE THEN THERE ARE TO REMOVE?

The amount of shingles to remove from your roof is the actual amount of square feet that it takes to shingle your roof. However, when putting on shingles, some shingles have to be cut to fit dimensions, ridges, hips and valleys. Storm restoration estimates add 8-10 percent to regular ridge roofs and 12-18 percent to hip roofs to account for the shingles cuts required.

WHEN I CALLED A CONTRACTOR, THEY HAD A MINIMUM FEE. WHAT CAN I DO?

“My gutters and siding were damaged and the insurance company paid me for how many linear feet had to be replaced. When I called a contractor they had a minimum fee, which was far in excess of the small amount the insurance company paid me. What can I do?”

Your insurance professionals should understand minimum charges such as these. Their estimating software has set prices as minimum charges for all trades.

MY INSURANCE COMPANY DEDUCTED SOME MONEY FOR DEPRECIATION. WHAT IS THAT ALL ABOUT?

Insurance companies call the amount that they hold back depreciation. It is withheld until proof has been provided that the work has been completed. When they receive a final invoice from you or the contractor, you will receive another check for the recoverable amount they have held back.

WHAT DO I DO ABOUT ADJUSTER/ROOFER DAMAGE DISCREPANCY?

“My insurance adjuster said there was no hail damage on his first inspection, so I asked my roofing company estimator to call him and request to walk through a re-inspection with him. On the re-inspection, the adjuster concluded that there was hail damage and “totaled” the roof. Why such a dramatic turn around?”

There are many different reasons that this happens.

Sometimes adjusters get to a roof too soon after the actual damage and the hail hits haven’t had a chance to weather yet. Sometimes the adjusters are inexperienced. Sometimes they were tired after looking at so many roofs that day. Sometimes they just make mistakes.

The best results for the benefit of property owner is when an experienced restoration company walks through the inspection with the insurance adjuster and calls to the adjuster’s attention any damage that they see..

For any of your hail damage needs, our team of roofing contractors at The Edge Contracting, LLC can help. Contact us today for more information or to schedule an appointment.