According to reports released by Travelers Companies Inc., the 5 most common causes of home insurance claims from 2009-2015 were:

Travelers also noted the leading cause of claims in the South were from wind damage, while the South’s costliest claims were for hail damage. If you have recently experienced a hail storm and believe your roof might need repairs, contact JA Contractors for an evaluation.

Hail damage mostly cosmetic, but it can shorten the life of your roof if it is severe enough. Depending on the severity of the damage, your insurance company may only pay a portion of the total value of the roof repairs. To learn more about the insurance claim process, see our blog on “Insurance Claims”.

 

HAIL DAMAGE ON ASPHALT SHINGLES

• Dark spots on the single’s surface, which are indicative of hail impact. These are easier to detect on lighter colored shingles but aren’t always obvious on darker colors.
• Visible pitting. Hail pits will correspond with the dark spots and is visible no matter what color shingles you have. When touched, pits feel like a soft bruise on an apple.

 

HAIL DAMAGE ON WOOD ROOFS

• Hail stones don’t significantly impact sound shingles, but curled or warped shingles are more likely to be split by hail impact.
• Edgegrain shingles aren’t as likely to split from hail damage as flatgrain or slashgrain because they don’t warp as easily.
• When a hail split occurs, the color of fresh wood can be seen throughout the split. Applying thumb pressure to the split will cause it to open, revealing the fresh wood.
• Punctured shingles are easier to detect as they will have rounded depressions that expose the fresh wood color beneath.

It is important to have roof damaged assessed as soon as possible after a storm, especially wood roofs. Impact marks will fade and wood fibers will recover making it difficult to determine the cause of splits.