r/Insurance • u/ruSSrt • Sep 11 '26
Home Insurance Roof hail damage claim yes or no?
A neighbor is trying to replace his roof through an insurance claim for hail damage. A roofing company stopped by my house asking me if I wanted to explore the option of hail damage claim, because according to their info, there was a significant hail in my area last year. They found some spots on the roof and how salesmen explained to me, very good potential for insurance to pay for replacement. They used a 10x10 square method to show damage amounts.
My roof is about 15 years old, I'm not 100% but we bought a house 4 years ago and I was told it's about 10 years then, the insurance guy said it looks about to be 15 years old for my area.
My question is if it's worth even trying to go through insurance now or should I wait? Will my insurance go up? Salesman was talking about full replacement value or partial depending on the age of the roof, how do I find that out?
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u/LadderDear8542 Sep 11 '26
Do your self a favor, someone tried to scam my neighbor, agreed on price, but when they came back, found a dead squirrel and loose chimney and wanted $46 k to fix the problem. If you need repairs, get a referral for a reputable company, dont let anyone show up at your house and let them on the roof
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u/demanbmore Former attorney, and claims, underwriting, reinsurance exec. Sep 11 '26
Wait, a roofing company came by and said you should replace your roof? Tell them you're willing to explore this with them only if they agree in writing that they can only collect your deductible amount from you, and every other penny must come out of insurance proceeds. And if insurance doesn't pay or limits the payment to something well below what they charge, they have to eat the shortfall. See how fast they slither away.
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u/Shotgun_Mosquito 🚗🚘 Auto BI & PD - 22 years 🚘🚗 Sep 11 '26
Also add in a section that states that after filing claim with insurance company if no hail damage found or fabricated damages that appropriate measures will be taken
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u/how33dy Sep 11 '26
>salesmen explained to me, very good potential for insurance to pay for replacement.
Do you expect the salesmen to tell you something else?
Be careful. A claim is a claim whether the insurance company pays or not.
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u/ruSSrt Sep 11 '26
Even if they denied the claim?
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u/Gay-zer_Beam Sep 11 '26
Yes, even they deny to pay they still treat it as a claim because they assume their is still damage.
Also id look at what your deductibles for hail are ive seen several people file claims only to find out they have 20k deductibles for hail so insurancr barely covers the cost to replace.
Id do some research onto your own policy before you file anything, dont assume this sales guy is going to do any leg work on your behalf, especially if this is damage from a year ago I doubt its bad enough for insurance to get jnvolved
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u/StonkGOup-please- Sep 11 '26
The event was a year ago? This will very likely end up with you paying out of pocket atleast some if not a lot. Your roof could settle at actual cash value meaning insurance is only going to give 60-70% of the replacement value.
Contractors are not insurance professionals and should not be relied on for coverage determinations.
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u/IntelligentBox152 Sep 11 '26
There’s nothing wrong with pursuing a legitimate insurance claim. I highly recommend you reach out to a local respectable roofer. Door knockers are the last people I give business too. Just remember if you can’t figure out who the sucker is. Then it’s you
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u/ruSSrt Sep 11 '26
Roofers that looked at my roof are legit local company.
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u/IntelligentBox152 Sep 11 '26
It’s always a legitimate company. When I say repeatable roofer I’m referring to work itself. Theres two ways door knockers do business make sure you understand which one you have. First is a salesman, convinces you, signs you, collects money. They and their company do not do the work. They sub it out and pocket the spread. The other is a roofer with a crew and insurance and handles their own warranty work
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u/RobtasticRob Sep 11 '26
Correction: EVERYONE uses subs.
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u/IntelligentBox152 Sep 11 '26
…I’ve personally worked on a crew that worked directly.
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u/RobtasticRob Sep 11 '26
As the owner of a roofing company I can promise you there's a 90% chance they lied to you about that.
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u/IntelligentBox152 Sep 11 '26
A moment ago it was EVERYONE? Now it’s 90% I don’t think you know what working directly means. Best of luck in your new business
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u/RobtasticRob Sep 11 '26
I love the arrogance from someone outside of the industry.
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u/IntelligentBox152 Sep 11 '26
Outside the industry? I just told you I worked roofing. I’ve also been in insurance two decades. Hence the insurance sub. I see reading comprehension isn’t your strong suit either. A lot of small businesses fail. From the bottom of my heart again. Wish you luck with your new business.
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u/Aromatic_Button_2736 Sep 11 '26
Total scam.
If it's too good to be true....
Nobody that's an industry professional can comment on this, unless you can show them pictures of your roof.
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u/ruSSrt Sep 11 '26
As of right now I don't have any promises. When they evaluated my roof they said I have a potential and no concrete promises. Legit local company.
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u/Aromatic_Button_2736 Sep 11 '26 edited Sep 11 '26
Correction.
If they were actually a local legitimate company, they would have tried to sell you a roof, instead of only seeking out that sweet insurance money.
They showed up at your door to hustle you, not to sell you a roof.
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u/RobtasticRob Sep 11 '26
FWIW they want to hustle the insurance company.
Selling someone on the idea of getting someone else to pay for the roof is a powerful strategy, many legitimate installers do it. Additionally insurance pays better than retail (what you're referring to).
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u/SubmissionDenied Commercial Underwriter Sep 11 '26
Problem is these shady roofers tell homeowners "don't worry, insurance will cover it, let us get started so you don't get any leaks in the meantime".
They start work, whether insurance covers it or not, they don't care. They'll either get money from the insurance company. Or if it's not fully covered by insurance, roofer says well we already did the job so you owe us.
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u/strangemedia6 Sep 11 '26
I would first wait and see how it goes with your neighbor’s claim first. I would also get a second or third opinion from other contractors and see what they say. Do you or your neighbors recall this hail event happening? It would be quite odd if there was hail severe enough to damage houses (around 1” diameter hail stones) and nobody noticed it. That shit would have been loud.
If you get a whole new roof, then yes your premium will likely go up. But also, if you do have legitimate widespread hail damage that will result in your roof being identified as damaged by an inspector when you sell, then it does need to be replaced. So yes it is worth doing, if it’s actually damaged.
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u/WesRZ Sep 11 '26
Just remember this is a claim on your insurance so that means you will be on "notice"...
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u/ruSSrt Sep 11 '26
Increase notice or ?
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u/WesRZ Sep 11 '26
More then likely. But depending how long you have been with them they may decide to cancel to... Many of the scams ends up increasing prices of insurance or causing insurance to be "canceled". Just be careful. When you do a claim it "counts" against you for a few years.
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u/ruSSrt Sep 11 '26
Sounds like I better wait for actual disaster and then calling insurance adjuster and not roofing company.
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u/Mean_Fact1903 Sep 11 '26
Never use insurance for minor (supposed hail damage...) matters. Anywhere re your property.
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u/ruSSrt Sep 11 '26
Wouldn't a roof replacement be a major matter? Definitely $25k worth of roof is not minor, at least for me.
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u/q81101 Sep 11 '26
1 year too long, wait next year, there's going to be hail for sure like 100% (DFW,TX), there is a "time limit" to claim for hail damage like within 3 months or a short period.
You may also want to check your deductible, many doing 3% in DFW, TX. I am basically getting deduct 10k, so insurance will likely pay very little.
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u/cbkarma Sep 11 '26
A lot of insurers want write new policies on new business if the roof is over 10 years old.
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u/ItsprobablyKayla Sep 12 '26
I see two sides to this. If there was a legitimate hailstorm in the last year and your roof actually has hail damage, I think it’s worth exploring the claim. The insurance company will send their own adjuster out to inspect and make their own determination. A good roofing company should be able to document what they’re seeing, work from the insurance scope if it’s approved, and explain the process without promising you that insurance is going to buy you a roof.
The other side is I’d be cautious if someone is pushing you into financing, a large out of pocket expense, or putting you under some kind of financial obligation before you even know whether you have a covered loss.
I also wouldn’t intentionally wait if you believe you have legitimate storm damage. Policies have reporting requirements and the longer you wait, the harder it can become to tie the damage to a specific storm and work through the claim.
As far as replacement cost vs actual cash value, that should be in your policy. I’d call your agent or carrier and ask specifically how your roof is covered and whether there is a separate wind/hail deductible
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u/lobhater Sep 12 '26
Any roofer who ever knocks on your door will 100% of the time tell you that you need a new roof. They are as trustworthy as used car salesmen. They want work and couldn't care less about your claim history. They throw claims at the wall and see what sticks. Call your agent and ask if they have a roofer they recommend or ask friends and family.
Ask several roofers that YOU called what they think. If they all agree, file. If not wait for the next storm. Keep in mind your roof is aging and will show natural signs of wear even without hail damage. Use your logic and reason, don't let the roofer snake charm you
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u/MoonshotConsulting12 Sep 14 '26
I think there’s a step missing between “I noticed hail” and “I should file a claim.” First figure out whether there is actually storm-related damage worth addressing. A hailstorm doesn’t automatically mean every roof needs to be replaced, and getting a professional inspection first will help you determine if there’s legitimate damage worth pursuing. It also doesn’t hurt to get multiple independent inspections. Almost all roofers do this free. I’d want someone to document exactly what they found, distinguish storm damage from age/wear, document any exterior damage like gutters, screens, etc as well- this will help tell the story of wether your property has legitimate storm exposure- and explain what the potential out-of-pocket exposure would be based on the policy. If your neighborhood was impacted it is worth looking into but doesn’t necessarily mean you have damage warranting full replacement either. If damage is discovered though, most policies will have something about reporting as soon as it’s discovered. What you don’t want to do is ignore legitimate damage. If you do have it and don’t report within the window of that storm and have issues later, insurance is likely to deny coverage due to “owner negligence” and then you’re out of pocket when you might have had a legitimate claim that insurance covers if it had been properly documented at the time. So don’t assume damage or ignore it, but just know your options and get information before being rushed into anything. I’d start by checking your insurance policy and deductible and getting a properly documented inspection. Then call insurance if there’s damage. Talk to someone who can walk you through how to make sense of the insurance paperwork.
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u/GaryO2022 Sep 11 '26
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u/FindTheOthers623 P&C Licensed PL Underwriter Sep 11 '26
Google is not a reliable source
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u/GaryO2022 Sep 12 '26
More reliable then any other
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u/GaryO2022 Sep 12 '26
I would trust them more then a roofer looking for work. Like it says in my post to check your individual insurance policy but common sense will tell you your not going to get full coverage on a 15 year old roof
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