Severe hailstorms can cause extensive damage to residential and commercial roofs across North Central Florida. If your Marion, Citrus, Sumter or Hernando County property suffers hail damage, a professional roof inspection and repairs from a qualified roofing contractor are crucial. In this comprehensive guide, the roofing experts at Storm Proof Roofing Systems explain how to spot hail damage on your roof, what to expect from the claims process, and your best path forward to get your roof back in pre-storm condition.
Common Signs of Hail Damage on Your Roof
Hailstones can vary dramatically in size during different storms. While small hail may not cause immediately visible damage, larger hailstones can significantly impact various roofing materials. Here are some of the most common signs of hail damage to look for:
- Dents/Dings – Small depressions or dings in metal roofing. Also visible as cracks or fractures in shingles.
- Pitting – Small indentations in the roof surface that damage the material.
- Loss of Granules – Severe hail strips protective mineral granules off of asphalt shingles, leaving them exposed.
- Damage Around Flashings – Hail often concentrates around vulnearable joints and flashings.
- Punctures – Large hail can puncture through roofing materials such as metal panels or shingles.
- Roof Leaks – Damage from hail hit can eventually lead to leaking into the attic/interior of the building.
Your first indication of hail damage may be seeing piles of shingle granules in gutters or on the ground after a storm. Comprehensive roof inspections by a trained professional roofer are recommended for accurate diagnostics.
Filing an Insurance Claim for Hail Damage
If you confirm your roof suffered hail damage during a storm, you will need to file a claim with your residential or commercial property insurance provider. Here are some key steps in this process:
- Document the hail damage through dated photos and video if possible.
- Contact your insurance agent right away to begin your claim. Most policies have a time limit to report storm damage.
- Be prepared to provide your policy number, details of damage, and any evidence you documented.
- An insurance adjuster will schedule a time to inspect your roof in-person after your initial claim is processed.
- For extensive damage, provide quotes from qualified local roofing contractors. This gives the adjuster an accurate estimate for repairs.
- Negotiate any low-ball estimates from the adjuster with additional evidence of damage. Push for a supplemental payment if repairs reveal hidden issues later on.
- Once approved, your claim payment can be made directly to your chosen roofer once repairs are complete.
Choosing the Right Roofer for Hail Damage Repairs
While your insurer will cover eligible costs to repair hail damage, the quality of workmanship still matters immensely. Not all roofing contractors have the skills, experience, and business practices to properly handle significant storm repairs. Look for the following in a roofer:
Hail Damage Expertise
Choose a roofer who is well-versed in diagnosing the full scope of hail damage. They should know precisely how to inspect and identify often hidden impacts to your roof system.
Proven Reliability
For potentially extensive repairs, you need a stable, established roofer with proven capability to handle large jobs. Verify they have positive local references from past storm repairs.
High Quality Workmanship
The contractor’s in-house roofers or subcontractors must be vetted, trained, and consistently deliver work that meets or exceeds industry standards. Ask about their quality assurance procedures.
Fair Pricing
Avoid price gouging that sometimes follows major storms. Verify multiple itemized estimates and choose a competitively priced contractor. However, also be wary of unrealistically lowball bids.
Responsive Customer Service
Look for responsiveness in initial contacts, prompt scheduling, and clear ongoing communication throughout repairs. Choose a roofer who makes you confident they will be reliable partners during the claims and repair process.
As experienced storm restoration roofers, Storm Proof Roofing Systems checks all these boxes for hail damage repairs. Our proven expertise and high-quality workmanship provide peace of mind that your roof will be restored properly.
Roof Repair vs. Full Roof Replacement for Hail Damage
Depending on your existing roof’s age and extent of damage, insurance claims for hail damage may cover either roof repairs or full roof replacement. Your Storm Proof Roofing Systems contractor will make honest recommendations on which option is right for your situation.
If the hail damage is relatively minor and isolated across your roof plane, repairs may be adequate. Typical repair approaches include:
- Patching punctures or fractures in shingles.
- Replacing damaged shingles, flashing, vents, and other components.
- Adding protective sealant coating in vulnerable areas.
- Minor sheet metal fabrication and soldering repairs.
- Securing any loosened roof decking or fasteners.
Repairs restore your roof’s waterproofing abilities while allowing you to keep your existing roof. This is a cost-effective option if damage is moderate.
For roofs that suffer extensive hail damage spanning major portions of the roof, a full roof replacement is often required. Signs indicating this need include:
- Widespread cracking, punctures, lost granules, and deterioration of roofing materials like shingles or metal panels.
- Damage concentrated along seams, ridges, and joints.
- Preexisting deterioration magnifying damage.
- Leaking evident across multiple areas.
- Frame damage to underlying sheathing/decking from the hail hits.
With corroborating insurance adjuster inspections, full replacements of damaged roofs are typically covered. This is the best option for guaranteeing a watertight roof over the long term when damage is severe.
The Storm Proof Roofing Systems Difference
With deep experience handling insurance claims and repairs after major hail storms across North Central Florida, Storm Proof Roofing Systems has proven our dependability time and again for residential and commercial customers alike. When you choose us for your roof hail damage repairs, you get:
- Extensive experience diagnosing the full extent of storm damage during thorough roof inspections.
- A transparent, honest outlook on whether repairs or full replacement are recommended for your situation.
- Smooth insurance claim facilitation and ongoing communication throughout the process.
- High-quality workmanship from our skilled, trained roofing technicians.
- Competitive pricing with no hailstorm price gouging.
- A commitment to providing caring, responsive customer service even in high volume storm response scenarios.
Trust Storm Proof Roofing Systems Today
If your North Central Florida home or business has suffered roof damage due to hail, contact the Storm Proof Roofing Systems team today for professional inspections and genuine expertise you can rely on. Call us at (352) 268-1990 or request a quote online to get started!
