As Dallas stands next to the very full Mississippi River we are reminded of how much rain has fallen this year. Here in the midwest, we get a lot of rain from thunderstorms, which can bring high winds and hail along with them.
This year alone doppler radar has detected quarter, golf ball, and even EGG sized hail across parts of lower Minnesota and Wisconsin. Depending on its size, hail can travel anywhere from 24 to 103 miles per hour. This can cause some serious damage to your roof and siding!
Severe thunderstorms may not always bring hail, but they can bring some pretty severe winds. Sciencing.com says the typical wind conditions during a thunderstorm are between 22 and 55 miles per hour, with severe thunderstorms bringing wind speeds 58 mph or faster. Yikes!
Today we’re talking about what you should do in the case of hail or wind damage to your home.
If you’re in a situation where a storm has rolled through, and you can see clear damage or strongly believe there may be damage on your roof or siding, here are some things you should do.
First steps
- Call us! First American Roofing will get someone out immediately to look at the damage.
- File a claim with your insurance company. It’s possible the damage is widespread in the case of a severe storm. Give us a call if you’re unsure about filing a claim.
- Have an insurance adjuster come to your property and give you a baseline estimate. We will compare theirs to our estimate after our inspection.
- We can help walk you through the process of next steps when it comes to repairing the damage.
What to be Cautious of
- Storm chasers or out of state contractors who chase storms and fly in just to make a buck and take business away from local businesses.
- If you start receiving contractors at your door after a severe storm, they are likely a storm chaser, and the best thing to do is contact a local company like First American Roofing to get your estimate.
- Don’t sign any paperwork offered to you – you may be signing a contract with a company before you even had an inspection. Be very wary of any contractors reaching out to you post-damage.
Can My Contractor Cover My Deductible?
- Follow your gut – if it seems like a bad idea, then it’s probably a bad idea.
- First of all, it’s insurance fraud and illegal for them to offer such a thing.
- Some contracting companies will try to find loop holes around that, but don’t go with it.
- If they do offer that, it means that you will likely get subpar labor or materials to get around that deductible amount i.e. “We’ll give you a $500 credit towards service!”
How Soon Does the Damage Need to be Replaced?
- Hail damage does not usually penetrate the shingles or siding, so you have a bit of a grace period since you are safe from leaking.
- Wind damage, however, may need to be more immediate, specifically if the shingles or siding have been blown off or bent back.
- Again, you can always call us and we can come and tarp your roof to prevent any leaks in the interim.
Some things to note:
In the event of catastrophic weather events and insurance claims. If storm damage is considered a catastrophe, this means the insurance companies have received more claims than they have local adjusters. Catastrophe adjusters, or field adjusters, from around the country will come to help local adjusters get through mass amounts of estimates. These CAT adjusters will give you an estimate that is likely 30-40% lower than what it actually is to get the ball rolling on filing your claim. Expect a more detailed and thorough estimate when we inspect your property. If the adjusters beat us to it, simply let us know that the insurance adjusters have already been to your property and given you an estimate. We will compare their estimate to ours when we do our assessment and ensure that you get the coverage you need to fix your home.
After our assessment, we will provide a comprehensive estimate. Note that you will only have to pay your deductible plus any upgrades in materials. Be cautious of companies offering to pay deductibles, as this is illegal and generally results in a reduction of quality. For more information, visit our storm damage page.
We hope that if you ever find yourself in need of storm damage repair, you will give First American Roofing a call at 608-783-3101 or visit us at firstamericanroofing.com. We would love to be a resource for you and give you peace of mind that your home will be repaired in no time.
