Hail damage to your roof isn’t something you want to deal with. But you pay your homeowners insurance premiums for this exact reason.
The problem is knowing if the hail damaged your roof enough to warrant filing a claim. That’s why I want to help you understand how much hail damage leads to an insurance roof replacement.
For over 30 years, the team at Bill Ragan Roofing has provided transparent advice to homeowners dealing with storm damage to their roof. Because of this, I’ll break down what you need to know when hail damages your roof.
This article answers the following questions:
- How much hail damage do you need to replace your roof?
- How do you spot hail damage to your roof?
- Will your insurance policy pay for a full roof replacement from hail damage?
- How long do you have to file an insurance claim for hail damage to your roof?
How much hail damage do you need to replace your roof?
When it comes to hail damage, it’s not necessarily about how much damage there is. While the amount does matter, it’s more about the size of the hail when it hits your roof and causes damage.
A lot of little hail impacts your roof and shortens its lifespan over time, especially if your area gets hail storms often. However, hail needs to be around 1” in diameter or bigger to damage your roof and warrant an insurance claim.
When hail is this size, it causes dents and dings that compromise the integrity of asphalt shingles. If this happens, there’s no question that you have a viable claim for hail damage.
However, it’s ultimately up to what your adjuster and insurance company finds during their inspection.
How do you spot hail damage to your roof?
Now you know how much hail damage you need to replace your roof with homeowners insurance. But how do you know if a recent hail storm damaged your roof?
The most obvious sign is the dents and dings in the shingles I mentioned earlier. These dents are pretty noticeable, and an experienced roofing contractor or adjuster shouldn’t miss them.
But the absence of large dents in the shingles doesn’t necessarily mean your roof doesn’t have hail damage. Other common signs of hail damage are dings/dents/splatter marks to your roof vents, gutters, roof flashing, and other roof penetrations.
Just know you shouldn’t get on your roof to look for these signs. There’s no reason to risk your safety if you don’t have experience walking on roofs.
Fortunately, there are ways to look for potential hail damage while walking around your property. Below is a list of things to check for visible hail damage from the safety of the ground:
- Downspouts (Above 5 feet, so it can’t be blamed on a lawnmower)
- Dings or strikes to your garage door
- Holes in your window screens
- Dings to any painted wood or shutters
- Splatter marks or dings to your electric meter, AC unit, or grill
- Dents to your mailbox and other soft metals on your property
- Dents on the top of your car and the car’s hood
Finding the above damage doesn’t necessarily mean your roof has extensive hail damage. It just lets you know if it’s worth filing a claim for possible hail damage to your roof.
Will your insurance policy pay for a full roof replacement from hail damage?
Now you know how to spot hail damage on your roof and from the safety of the ground. But will your insurance company pay for a full roof replacement if you have hail damage?
This depends on which insurance policy (ACV or RCV) you have. Both policies mean you’ll get a payout for hail damage, but the differences in the payouts could be drastic.
Actual Cash Value policy
With an Actual Cash Value (ACV) policy, you get the depreciated value of your hail-damaged roof. This policy only means you’ll only get a payout for what your roof is valued at the time of the hail damage claim.
This obviously won’t be enough to cover the full cost of a new roof. You’ll have to use the depreciated payout and then pay for the rest of your roof replacement out-of-pocket.
Finding a low price or even a roof that costs the same as your ACV policy payout is tempting. But just know that the cheaper the price equals cheaper quality and labor, which sets your roof up for problems down the road.
Replace Cost Value policy
With a Replacement Cost Value (RCV) policy, you get a payout to replace your roof with a brand-new version of itself. This means your insurance company is supposed to give you enough to cover the full cost of your roof replacement.
You’ll get an initial check for the actual cost value of your roof while your insurance company holds back the rest in recoverable depreciation. After your roof is replaced and you provide photo evidence that it was done per the claim, you’ll get a second check to cover the rest.
But just know that your insurance company only pays to restore your current roof to a brand-new version of itself. If you want to upgrade certain areas, like upgrading 3-tab asphalt shingles to architectural asphalt shingles, you’ll make up the difference out of pocket.
How long do you have to file a claim for hail damage to your roof?
You usually have 1 year from the day of the hail storm to file an insurance claim for hail damage to your roof. Every insurance company and policy is different, so just look at your insurance paperwork to get the exact timeline.
However, most policies allow up to one year to file a claim from the date of the storm. You might think there’s no way the insurance company will know when the hail storm hits your roof.
But insurance companies can access hail maps to know exactly when and where the hail storm hit. This means they can look at these maps to see if your home was impacted and how long ago it happened.
That’s why you should file an insurance claim as soon as you're aware your roof has hail damage.
What can you expect from the process when filing an insurance claim for hail damage?
Now you know how much hail damage leads to an insurance claim, how to spot it yourself, if your policy will pay for a full replacement, and how long you have to file. After reading this article, you should have the confidence to know if you have a viable claim.
But just know that the insurance claim process for hail damage is overwhelming, especially if you’ve never been through it before. So, you need to be sure that filing a claim is worth pursuing.
That’s why I wrote another article breaking down whether or not it’s a good idea to file an insurance claim for hail damage.
Check out Should You File a Claim for Roof Damage? (& What to Know Before) to determine if it’s worth your time and energy to file a hail damage insurance claim.
