Roof Inspection After a Hail Storm: What to Do First

Do these five things, in this order

1. Photograph the ground first. Hail on the lawn next to a ruler or a coin, dents in the car hood, shredded leaves under trees, damage to the deck rail. This is your proof of hail size and date, and it disappears within hours.
2. Write down the date and time. Your claim will be matched against a storm report for that address. A date you are unsure of is a gift to an adjuster looking for a reason to deny.
3. Check soft metals from the ground. Gutters, downspouts, roof vents, the AC condenser fins. Dents there mean the roof took the same hits.
4. Get a free professional inspection within weeks. Not months. The longer the gap, the easier it is to attribute damage to a different storm or to age.
5. Then call your insurer, with photos and a contractor report in hand.

What real hail damage looks like on a roof

You are looking for bruises, not holes.

• Dark circular spots where granules have been knocked away and the black asphalt mat is exposed.
• A soft, spongy feel when you press the spot, which means the mat is fractured underneath even though the surface looks intact.
• Random distribution. Hail lands randomly. Wear and manufacturing defects appear in lines, patterns or along a single course. Adjusters look at pattern before anything else.
• Directional bias. Damage is usually worse on the slope facing the storm, often the north or west face here.
• Granules piled at downspout outlets.

What is not hail damage

• Blistering, which is round but has a raised or popped edge and comes from manufacturing or heat
• Normal granule loss spread evenly over an old roof
• Foot traffic scuffs, which follow a walking path
• Algae streaking, which is cosmetic and dark but has no impact point

Do not get on the roof yourself

Two reasons beyond the obvious. First, hail-struck shingles are already weakened, and walking on them creates damage that looks like foot traffic scuffing, which an adjuster will subtract from your claim. Second, wet or hail-strewn roofs are genuinely dangerous. Let someone insured for it do it.

How to document it properly

A useful inspection report contains:

• Dated, geotagged photos of each slope
• Close-ups with a chalk circle and a scale marker, usually a coin, at each strike
• A strike count within a marked 10 by 10 foot test square, which is the standard adjusters use
• Photos of soft metal damage: gutters, vents, AC fins
• Interior and attic photos if there is any water entry
• A third-party hail report confirming size and date at your address

Storm chasers

After a significant hail event, out-of-state crews arrive within days. Some are fine. The pattern to avoid is specific:

• Door knocking with an out-of-state plate and no local address
• Pressure to sign anything today, particularly an "authorization to inspect" that is actually a contingency contract assigning your claim
• Offering to cover or absorb your deductible, which is insurance fraud in North Dakota
• Wanting a large deposit before material is delivered
• No North Dakota contractor registration and no local references you can drive past

The test that filters almost all of them: ask for the address of their shop and the name of three customers in Ward County from more than two years ago.

If the claim is denied

Get the denial in writing with the stated reason. You can request a re-inspection with your contractor present, submit additional documentation, or invoke the appraisal clause in your policy, which appoints independent appraisers. A denial is an opening position, not a verdict.

Questions we get asked