# Hail Damage to Your Roof: What to Do in the First 72 Hours A hailstorm moves through Collin County and by the next morning there are trucks on your street and flyers on your door. It's a confusing few days, and the decisions you make in them affect both your roof and your claim. Here's a clear order of operations. ## Day one: look, but stay on the ground Do not climb up. Hail-struck shingles are loose, granules act like ball bearings underfoot, and walking a damaged roof can create damage that wasn't there. From the ground and from inside, look for: - **Dented gutters, downspouts, and metal vents.** Soft metal takes the clearest impression, and it's the fastest read on whether hail hit hard enough to matter. - **Granules in the gutters or at downspout splash points.** Some shedding is normal over a roof's life. A fresh pile after a storm is not. - **Damaged screens, dented garage doors, or split fence pickets.** These tell you the storm's size and direction. - **Ceiling stains, damp spots, or attic light coming through the decking.** Take photos of everything, including things that aren't your roof. Date-stamped images from the day of the storm are the strongest documentation you will ever have. ## Day one: cover active leaks, keep every receipt If water is coming in, your job is to prevent further damage — a tarp, a bucket, moving furniture. Most policies require you to mitigate, and they'll reimburse reasonable costs to do it. Keep the receipts. What you should not do is start repairs. Fixing the damage before it's documented makes it very hard to prove. ## Day two: get an independent inspection before you file This is the step homeowners most often skip, and it's the one that matters most. An inspection tells you whether you actually have claimable damage. Not every storm that sounds terrible produces damage that meets an adjuster's threshold, and filing a claim that gets denied still goes on your record. Knowing what's up there before you call your insurer means you're making an informed decision. A thorough inspection includes photographs of the impact points, a documented hail-strike count per test square, and a written summary of the affected slopes — not a verbal "yeah, you've got damage." ## Day two: read the door knocker carefully After a North Texas hailstorm, out-of-state crews arrive within days. Some are fine. Many are not, and they'll be gone before your warranty is worth anything. Two things are worth knowing: **An offer to cover your deductible is illegal in Texas.** Under state law, a contractor cannot waive, rebate, or absorb your insurance deductible. It sounds like a break. It's insurance fraud, and you're a party to it. **Do not sign anything that assigns your claim.** Some contracts include language handing the contractor authority to negotiate directly with your insurer. Signing it can remove you from decisions about your own home. Ask where the company is based, how long they've been there, and whether the warranty is backed by a local business that will exist in five years. ## Day three: file with documentation in hand When you call your insurer, you should already have your storm-date photos, an inspection report, and receipts for anything you did to prevent further damage. That changes the conversation from "I think I have hail damage" to a documented claim. Ask your adjuster's inspection date and arrange for your roofer to be there. Two sets of eyes on the same roof at the same time resolves most disagreements before they become disputes. ## What comes after Texas gives you time to file, but don't lean on it. Damage worsens through the season, and it becomes harder to separate May's hail from August's wind. The sooner it's documented, the cleaner the claim. Blue Ribbon Roofing has walked North Texas homeowners through storm claims since 1993 — documenting damage, meeting adjusters on site, and explaining what's happening at each step. Inspections are free, and if there's nothing up there worth claiming, we'll tell you that too.