Storm Damage Anyone from Last Week??Call Insurance Co or Not? (house, contractors)

[oldhousegirl]

We got hail here pretty bad. Baseball sized. Flocks of roofing trucks papering the subdivisions with signs and fliers wanting to do a free roof checks. I am hesitant.

Don't see any type of damage to the roof. We did get the huge hail. Some people have portions of their roofs ripped off, not us, thank God. But I don't want any problems in the future.

Is it best to contact the ins co. first, or get an estimate? With going the estimate route, I feel guaranteeed that the company will find something. It's in their interest financially to do so. Never had any type of weather related house problems before. Don't know any roofers.

[johnishere]

Contacting the insurance company first may not be required since you don't really have much to tell them if you don't see any damage. If you called and told them you had a storm, they would possibly tell you to get someone to determine 'if' there is any damage, and then if any is found, to call them so they can send out an adjuster/investigator.

As far as letting someone check the roof, the rules of common sense apply. Never sign anything unless you know exactly what you are signing, and even then only if you are comfortable with who you are dealing with. You should not have to sign anything at all for a free estimate. If you let someone go up and check and "if" they say they have found something wrong, you are not obligated to let them fix it. Especially if you are skeptical in any way. If there are many roofing contractors in the area, you may be able to get a second opinion for free also to see if they are both telling you the same thing.

With hail, there will typically be visible signs of damage. If you are not able or comfortable to go up on the roof with the free roofing contractor, try to get hold of a pair of binoculars to inspect your roof with. If there are shingles that have been blown/torn off, you should be able to see something while looking at the roof with the binoculars from the ground. Of course, if there was any larger damage, you won't even need the binoculars, so do carefully "look up" to see if you see anything that looks different from the other parts of the roof.

Good luck.

[oldhousegirl]

Thanks Johnishere. Husband called the ins co., and an adjuster is supposed to call to set up an appt. I don't see anything different on the roof. My husband says the shingles look wavy and buckled in some places. I don't see it at all. So I guess we'll find out soon enough. I would think that hail damage would be indicated by torn off pieces or something, not buckling. Thanks again.

[Austinite43]

Definetly have a adjuster look at it or call a local roofer and have them look at you cant always see the damage from the ground as well as you can on the roof.