Guides
Hail damage claims: roofs, siding and windows
How hail claims are inspected and paid, why the roof settlement, the wind/hail deductible and cosmetic exclusions decide the check, and what to do first.
Hail is a covered cause of loss under a standard homeowners policy, so a hailstorm that damages your roof, siding, gutters or windows is a claim you can file. What you collect depends less on the storm than on three lines in your policy: how the roof is settled (replacement cost, actual cash value or a payment schedule), the size of your wind/hail deductible, and whether an exclusion removes cosmetic damage. Read those before you decide whether to file.
Wind and hail is the most frequent homeowners claim. The Insurance Information Institute, using ISO data for 2019 through 2023, puts it at 2.80 claims per 100 insured house-years with an average payment of $14,747, ahead of water damage and freezing at 1.50 claims and $15,400 (III). This guide uses the ISO HO-3 (form HO 00 03) as its model. Your insurer's form, your state's amendatory endorsement and your declarations page control.
What hail damages and where it is paid
Under an HO-3, the house (Coverage A) and other structures (Coverage B) are covered for direct physical loss unless an exclusion applies, and hail is not excluded. Personal property (Coverage C) is covered for named perils, and "windstorm or hail" is one of them.
| What hail hit | Where it is paid | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Roof covering, flashing, vents, skylights | Coverage A | Where most of the money and most of the disputes are |
| Siding, trim, gutters, downspouts, windows, doors | Coverage A | Gutters and vents often show the first dents; see matching below |
| Fence, detached garage, shed, gazebo | Coverage B | Usually limited to 10% of Coverage A |
| Air-conditioner condenser, outdoor equipment | Coverage A or B | Bent fins are common; settled at actual cash value in the ISO form |
| Furniture and belongings inside | Coverage C | Covered if hail first breaks a window or roof and creates an opening; rain alone through an existing opening is not |
| Your car | Auto policy (comprehensive) | Motor vehicles are not covered property under a homeowners policy |
If hail opens the roof and rain follows, the resulting water damage is generally covered as part of the same storm loss. Tarp the opening at once and keep receipts, because the policy requires you to protect the property from further damage (reasonable repairs: what you can fix before the adjuster comes).
Why the roof is the fight
A homeowner sees dents and bruises. The insurer's question is narrower: did the hail cause damage that stops the roof from doing its job, or shortens its life, or is it surface marking? The answer shapes both coverage and price.
The National Weather Service counts hail of one inch (quarter size) or larger as severe, a threshold it raised from three-quarters of an inch in January 2010 (NWS service change notice 09-52). The Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS) reports that most new asphalt shingles should withstand the energy of 1.5-inch hail, that air density at altitude adds energy (a 1-inch stone in Denver hits with the energy of a 1.2-inch stone in Dallas), and that smaller "sub-severe" hail can wear shingles down over time (IBHS). IBHS also states that its laboratory damage categories are not meant for adjusting claims. Hailstone size on a weather report is evidence of what might have happened to your roof. It does not decide the claim.
What the adjuster does decide is on the roof itself:
- Test squares. Adjusters commonly mark a section on each slope, count hail strikes inside it and compare the slopes. Many insurers apply internal repair-or-replace thresholds. Those thresholds are company guidelines, not policy language, and you can ask what yours uses.
- Functional damage. Fractured or bruised shingle mats, punctures, and granule loss that exposes the mat count. A dent in a soft metal vent, by contrast, mostly tells the adjuster hail fell and roughly how large it was.
- Repair or replace. A roof with isolated damage may be repaired. Brittle older shingles that break when lifted, or a product no longer manufactured, push toward replacement, and that is where matching rules matter. See matching: when new shingles or siding don't match.
- Engineers. Insurers sometimes send an engineer when the claim is large or the damage is disputed. You can hire your own roofer or engineer, and a written report that disagrees with the insurer's is the usual basis for a reinspection or an appraisal.
Three clauses that decide the check
Say your dwelling limit is $350,000, your wind/hail deductible is 1% ($3,500), and a 14-year-old asphalt shingle roof is judged to need replacement at a cost of $18,000. This is a hypothetical, but the arithmetic is how these policies work.
| How your policy settles the roof | Calculation (hypothetical) | Insurer pays | You pay on the roof |
|---|---|---|---|
| Replacement cost | $18,000 less $3,500 deductible | $14,500 | $3,500 |
| ACV roof endorsement, 50% depreciation | $9,000 less $3,500 deductible | $5,500 | $12,500 |
| Payment schedule, 40% at age 14 | $7,200 less $3,500 deductible | $3,700 | $14,300 |
| Cosmetic damage exclusion, dents only | $0 | $0 | $18,000 |
The wind/hail deductible. In hail states it is often a percentage of Coverage A, set on the declarations page, and it can be larger than your all-other-perils deductible. A 2% deductible on a $350,000 dwelling is $7,000, which swallows many hail claims whole. The Texas Department of Insurance says the wind and hail deductible is often more than the deductible for other damage (TDI, March 2026). See wind and hail deductibles explained and the roof claim payout estimator.
The roof settlement basis. Under the ISO HO-3, a building is settled at replacement cost if it is insured to at least 80% of replacement cost, but the insurer pays only actual cash value until the work is done, unless the repair costs less than 5% of the limit and less than $2,500. If you tell the insurer within 180 days that you intend to repair, you can claim the withheld depreciation afterward. An ACV roof endorsement (ISO form HO 04 93, or an insurer's own version) turns that holdback into a permanent deduction for wind and hail damage to roof surfacing. A roof surfacing payment schedule replaces depreciation with a fixed percentage by roof age. Both usually come with a premium credit. Read Roof payment schedules and ACV roof endorsements for the comparison, and check your declarations page for a roof endorsement you may not remember agreeing to.
The cosmetic damage exclusion. This endorsement, common on metal roofs in hail states, removes coverage for dents and surface marks that do not affect function. Its wording defines "functional," and that wording is where disputes start. It is also the reason a hail-dented metal roof can be a denied claim even though the homeowner can see the dents from the street. See metal roofs and insurance and the cosmetic damage exclusion entry.
What to do after a hailstorm
- Stay off the roof. Look from the ground and the attic. Photograph dents in gutters, vents, window screens, siding and the air conditioner, with a coin or ruler beside the larger marks for scale.
- Write down the date. The date of loss decides which policy and which deductible apply. If you changed insurers or renewed recently, that matters, and hail from an earlier storm that was never repaired is usually not payable again.
- Protect the house. Tarp leaks and board broken windows. Keep receipts. Do not start permanent repairs before the adjuster has seen the damage.
- Report the claim promptly. Policies require prompt notice, and states set their own outer limits. In Texas, a lawsuit over a weather-related claim such as hail must be preceded by written notice at least 61 days before filing (Tex. Ins. Code 542A.003). Find your own state's rules through home insurance rules by state.
- Be there for the inspection. Walk the adjuster around the house, point out the collateral damage, and ask for the estimate and any engineer's report in writing.
- Get an independent roofer's estimate. Ask for a slope-by-slope description and photographs, not just a number.
- Confirm what you owe. Ask whether the claim is being paid on a replacement cost, ACV or schedule basis, and how much depreciation is withheld and how you recover it.
- If you disagree, send a written supplement with your roofer's evidence, request a reinspection, and consider the appraisal clause for disputes over the amount of loss. Disputes over coverage itself go to the insurance department or an attorney; see homeowners claim denied: what to do next.
The home insurance claim checklist tracks the paperwork.
Storm-chasing contractors
Hailstorms bring door-knockers offering free inspections. Some are reputable local roofers. Others push you to sign a contract or an assignment of benefits before your insurer has made a coverage decision, or offer to cover your deductible. In Texas it is illegal for a contractor to waive, rebate or absorb a deductible, and a roofer cannot act as your public adjuster on a job the roofer will perform (TDI, March 2025). Other states have their own rules, and the principle holds everywhere: the deductible is yours to pay. A contractor who promises it will vanish has to recover that money somewhere, often through the price or the scope of work. See contractor fraud after storms: how it works and how to stop it.
Reducing the next hail bill
A roof rated for impact resistance, such as a class 4 roof under the UL 2218 test, may earn a premium credit and holds up better in many storms, though it does not make a roof hail-proof, and some insurers pair the credit with a cosmetic exclusion. Check the trade-off in Impact-resistant (Class 4) roofs and hail discounts before paying extra for a rating. For how hail has pushed premiums and deductibles in storm-heavy states, see colorado home insurance: hail and wildfire and severe convective storms and rising premiums.
Key takeaways
- Hail is covered under a standard HO-3, but the payment depends on your roof settlement basis (replacement cost, ACV endorsement or payment schedule), your wind/hail deductible and any cosmetic damage exclusion.
- Look at your declarations page now for a percentage wind/hail deductible and a roof endorsement; both are easy to miss and change the payout by thousands of dollars.
- Insurers pay for functional damage. Photograph collateral damage, get an independent roofer's estimate and ask for the adjuster's findings in writing.
- Under the ISO form, depreciation on a replacement cost roof is held back until repairs are done; notify the insurer of your intent to repair within 180 days.
- Be wary of anyone who offers to waive your deductible or handle the claim for you before the insurer has decided coverage.