Central Texas gets hail the way other places get rain. If you have owned a home here for a decade, you have almost certainly had at least one storm capable of ending your roof's life, whether or not you filed a claim for it.
What happens in the first seventy-two hours after that storm matters more than most homeowners realize. Here is the order we recommend.
Hour one: document, do not climb
Stay off the roof. Wet or hail-covered roofs are genuinely dangerous, and walking a damaged roof can mask the impact marks an adjuster needs to see.
Instead, photograph everything you can reach safely from the ground: dented gutters and downspouts, dimpled air conditioner fins, damaged window screens, split fence pickets, bruised siding, shredded leaves in the yard. This is the corroborating evidence that supports a roof claim, and it is easy to lose once cleanup starts.
Note the date and time of the storm. Your carrier will want it, and hail claims are tied to a specific date of loss.
Day one: stop active water intrusion
If water is coming inside, your job is containment, not repair. Move belongings, put buckets down, and pull back wet insulation if you can reach it safely. Photograph the interior damage before you clean it up.
Most insurance policies require you to take reasonable steps to prevent further damage, and they will cover the cost of an emergency tarp or dry-in. Save every receipt. We provide emergency tarping across Central Texas and document the work as part of the claim file.
Day one or two: get a professional inspection
Have a roofer inspect before you call your insurance company, not after. There are two reasons for that.
First, you want to know whether you actually have compensable damage. Filing a claim that gets denied still puts a claim on your record. Second, an inspection produces the documentation that keeps the adjuster's scope honest: measurements, photographs of impact marks, and a hail-strike count per test square.
An adjuster is on a schedule and looking at dozens of roofs a week. Having someone on the roof with them who knows the property is the single biggest factor in a claim being scoped correctly.
Day two or three: file the claim
When you file, give your carrier the date of loss, a plain description of the damage, and let them know you have a contractor who will meet the adjuster. Do not guess at a dollar figure. You are reporting damage, not estimating it.
Texas policies contain deadlines. Many require notice "promptly" or within a defined window, and waiting a season is one of the most common reasons a legitimate claim is denied. If you know the storm damaged your property, do not sit on it.
What to watch out for
Storm chasers follow hail the way gulls follow trawlers. Some are competent. Many are not, and they will be three states away when your workmanship warranty matters.
- Never sign anything that assigns your claim benefits to a contractor without reading it closely and understanding what you are giving up.
- Be wary of anyone offering to "cover your deductible." In Texas that is not a discount; waiving or absorbing a deductible while representing otherwise to an insurer is illegal.
- Check for a local address and a real history, not a magnetic door sign and an out-of-state phone number.
- Do not let anyone up on your roof who cannot show current liability and workers' compensation coverage.
After the adjuster
Once the scope comes back, read it. Adjusters are working quickly and items get missed: drip edge, ridge vent, ice-and-water shield, code-required upgrades, detached structures. A reputable contractor will review the scope against the actual roof and supplement anything the estimate left out, with documentation.
Then, and only then, schedule the work. A roof installed correctly after a hailstorm should outlast the next one.
If a storm just came through your area, we will come out and tell you honestly whether you have a claim worth filing. That inspection is free, and there is no obligation attached to it.
Want this checked on your own roof?
Inspections are free and come with photographs of everything we find. No obligation, no pressure.
