10 Most Commonly Asked Questions About Hail Damage

• How 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, sometimes the damage is so severe that it is visible from the ground, other times to determine if the shingles have been damaged a close inspection of the shingles has to be done from the roof.

RGL Builders, Inc. provides roof inspections free of charge. If you suspect you have experienced hail damage give us a call at 704-707-4069 to schedule your free inspection.

• If I think I have hail damage what should I do?

Call your insurance company and ask for an adjuster to come inspect your roof for hail damage. Call a reputable roofing company and ask for the same inspection. If there are any discrepancies between the adjusters findings and the roofers findings you may call for a "RE-INSPECTION" where your adjuster meets with the roofer to go over the roof together. Re-Inspections are very common. The insurance company must determine two things when assessing the amount of your loss.

1. Was there sufficient damage to the roof to declare it a total loss? (Usually determined by 10 verified hail hits per 100 square feet)
2. What is the size of the roof and how many shingles will be needed to replace the roof?

RGL Builders, Inc. will meet with your adjuster on their initial visit to make sure that there are no discrepancies between the adjusters and roofers findings, thus eliminating the need for a re-inspection and saving you, the homeowner, valuable time and trouble.  

• What does hail do to a roof? 

Shingles are designed so that the granules block the UV Rays 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 Rays, it dries out and the shingle gets a "potato chip" appearance as the corners start to curl up. A shingle at the extreme end of its life is bubbled in appearance and is brittle to the touch. A twenty year shingle is warranted by the manufacturer to have a useful life, under optimal conditions, of 20 years. Hail does several things.

1. Accelerates granule loss.
2. Accelerates shingle aging.
3. Voids manufacturer's warranty.
4. Leads to other associated problems.

• 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 a loss such as 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 of the shingle have been knocked off and the asphalt underlayment, and sometimes the fiberglass mat is exposed. New hail hits will have a shiny 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?

The purpose of homeowners insurance is to protect homeowners against losses in their property's value due to damage that is beyond their control. If you have hail damage, you have experienced a financial loss in that your original investment of a 20 year roof (for example) has now been reduced to a 5-10 year useful lifespan. Your insurance company will compensate you for your loss and replace your roof.

• 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 valley's. The insurance company adds 10% to regular ridge roofs and 15% to hip and ridge roofs to account for the loss or waste of shingles.

• 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 company understands minimum charges such as these and has set prices they are prepared to pay as minimum charges for all trades. They do not give you the minimum charge up front because sometimes some of their customers never call a contractor and just pocket the money. If you call your adjuster and ask for a minimum charge for work, they will pay it without any hesitation.

• In my adjustment, my insurance company deducted some money for deprecation, what is that all about?

Different insurance companies call the amount they hold back different things. Some call it deprecation, other companies figure it in as a dump and removal fee. What it represents is the amount of money the company will hold back until they receive a signed contract from you and a contractor for the work. When they receive the signed contract, you will receive another check for the amount they have held back.

RGL Builders, Inc. will work with your adjuster from the initial contact through final payment to assure that the insurance company compensates you for all of the monies legally due to you as stipulated in your insurance contract. We make sure that everything is handled properly by both our company and the insurance company so that you don't have to worry about anything at all.

• My insurance adjuster said there was no hail damage on his first inspection. I asked RGL Builders, Inc.'s estimator to call him and request to walk through a re-inspection. 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 so often. Sometimes adjusters get to a roof too soon after the actual damage and the hits haven't had a chance to weather yet. Sometimes the adjusters are inexperienced. Sometimes they are tired after looking at so many roofs that day. Sometimes they just make mistakes. The best results for the benefit of the homeowner seem to be obtained when an experienced roofer walks through the inspection with the insurance adjuster and calls to the adjuster's attention any damage that he see's.

This is why we prefer to meet with the adjuster on his initial visit so that we can eliminate any possibility of a rejection and save our customers valuable time, energy, and worry. We get the approval up front and then we complete the project in a timely fashion.