Start where you are
After a storm. What to do, in order.
The storm is over, the neighborhood is full of trucks, and someone has already knocked. You do not have to decide anything today. Here is the first week, in the order that keeps you in control.
Jason Vogen · updated 2026-09-26
What to do after a hailstorm
Day one is for pictures, not decisions. Walk the property and photograph what you can see from the ground: dented gutters and downspouts, torn window screens, marks on siding, dents in the air conditioner fins, and anything soft like a grill cover. Hail that dents metal on the ground almost always marks the roof. Photograph a weather screenshot with the date. That is your timestamp, and it costs nothing.
Then do the boring things. Tarp a leak if there is one, keep the receipt, and move the cars. Do not sign anything. Do not let anyone on the roof yet. There is no prize for being first.
Do I have hail damage, or wear?
Hail leaves round bruises with the granules knocked off, scattered with no pattern, on all the sides the storm hit. Wear looks different: granules thinning evenly, shingles curling at the edges, bald spots that follow the sun and the water. Wind lifts and creases shingles along the tabs and leaves the ones underneath alone. A real inspection looks at the soft metals first, then the roof, then the sides of the house, and it tells you plainly when there is nothing there.
The free Do I Have Damage? inspection sheet walks you through it from the driveway. Guide 8 covers hail, wind and winter damage, trade by trade.
Who to let on the roof, and when
Get one honest look first, from a licensed local contractor who is willing to say "there is no storm damage here" and leave. Not everyone who knocks is a problem. Some out-of-town crews do good work. The question you are really asking is who will still answer the phone in three years when a shingle lifts. So ask it: how long have you operated under this business name, and where is the office that will still be here next year?
Whoever it is, they walk the roof once, they show you the photos, and they leave without a signature. A contractor who needs you to sign before the inspection is asking you to hire them before you know if there is a job.
How a claim moves, and what we do not do
If there is damage, the next call is to your agent, not to a contractor. Two words to ask about: your deductible, and whether your roof is insured at replacement cost or actual cash value. What your own policy covers is a question for your agent or your insurer. We do not answer it, and neither should a contractor.
What we do teach is the order things happen in: the call, the adjuster visit, the estimate, the first check, the work, the final invoice, the second check. Knowing that order is how you stay in charge of your own claim. Guide 3 has the 13-step timeline and a worksheet for the numbers your insurer gives you.
Questions to ask a roofing contractor after a storm
- What is your state license number, and what business name is it under?
- Can I see your general liability and workers' compensation certificates?
- Will you put the full scope in writing, line by line, with the ventilation numbers?
- Are you asking me to sign anything today, and why?
- Are you offering to cover my deductible? (Walk away from a yes. It is against the law in many states, and it is your name on the claim.)
- How do payments and lien waivers work at the end of the job?
Compare the bids that come, free
Once you know there is damage, you will have two or three bids within a week. Send them to us. We read each one into the same seventeen lines, mark what it states and what it leaves out, and print the questions to ask. Nothing is ranked. No contractor sees your files. It is free for one project, and it is built for exactly this week.