Storm and hail damage in Greater Milwaukeethe Phoenix valley

Hail damage rarely looks like damage

Homeowners expect holes. What hail actually leaves is subtle enough that most people conclude their roof is fine, and only discover otherwise when a leak appears two winters later.

What it is	What it looks like
Bruising	A soft dark spot where the granules have been knocked off and the asphalt mat below is exposed. It feels like a bruise on fruit. This is the primary thing an adjuster looks for, and it is essentially invisible from the ground.
Granule loss	Granules are the shingle's sunscreen. Once they are gone the mat degrades under UV. A pile of granules at the bottom of a downspout after a storm is a genuine signal.
Cracked seals	Wind flexes the shingle and breaks the adhesive strip holding it to the course below. The shingle stays in place until the next storm lifts it. Invisible until it fails.
Soft metal dents	Dents in vents, flashing, gutters and downspouts. These do not usually leak, but they date the storm and corroborate the rest of the claim, which is why an adjuster photographs them.
Displaced shingles	The obvious one. Also the least common, and by itself often a repair rather than a claim.

How the claim actually works

1. Get it inspected and photographed

Before you call your insurer, know what you have. We produce a photographed report with the damage located and described in the language adjusters use. It costs nothing and it is yours whether or not you file.

2. Decide whether to file

If the damage is real and above your deductible, filing usually makes sense. If it is cosmetic or marginal, it often does not. We will say which we think it is. Anyone who tells you to file before they have been on the roof is selling, not advising.

3. The adjuster visit

We meet your adjuster on the roof with our own measurements and photographs. Two people looking at the same roof with the same evidence disagree far less than two people describing it from memory.

4. Supplements

First scopes frequently miss work the roof genuinely needs: ridge vent, drip edge, ice and water shield to code, or steep and high charges. Where that happens we supplement in writing with measurements and photographs attached, which is a normal part of the process, not a fight.

5. The work

You pay your deductible. We do not offer to cover, waive or absorb it, because that is insurance fraud in both states and any contractor who offers it is telling you what they are willing to do to your insurer and, eventually, to you.

Emergency tarping

If water is coming in now, the first job is to stop it. We tarp the same day where we can reach you, and tarping is documented as part of the claim. Call 414.436.5036 rather than filling in a form if the roof is open.