What your insurer actually owes for a hail-damaged roof

Last reviewed September 10, 2026 · Methodology

What hail damage actually looks like

Hail damage on asphalt shingles is not a hole and it is rarely visible from the ground. It is a bruise: a roughly circular spot where the impact knocked granules away and fractured the fiberglass mat beneath. Three characteristics identify it:

• Random distribution. Hail falls without pattern. Damage in neat lines or concentrated on a walking path is mechanical or foot traffic, not hail, and an adjuster will say so.
• Soft to the touch. A genuine bruise gives slightly under a thumb, like a bruised apple. The mat underneath has fractured.
• Exposed black mat. Granules are the shingle's UV shield. Once they are gone the asphalt below degrades quickly, which is why a bruise that is not leaking today is still a covered loss — it has measurably shortened the roof's life.

Corroborating evidence matters as much as the shingles themselves. Adjusters look for fresh dents in soft metals — gutters, downspouts, roof vents, flashing, the aluminium fins of your air conditioner condenser, and mailboxes. Soft metals dent at smaller hail sizes than shingles bruise, so undamaged soft metals are a strong argument against a hail claim, and dented ones are a strong argument for it.

The industry standard test is the test square: a 10 by 10 foot area marked on each slope, within which the adjuster counts impacts. Most carriers require eight to ten hits in a test square to call that slope damaged. This is why claims are frequently approved on two slopes and denied on the other two — and why being present during the inspection matters.

RCV vs ACV, and why it decides everything

Two policies with identical premiums and identical limits can settle the same hail claim more than $10,000 apart, purely on this one term.

Same storm, same roof, same deductible — an $7,111 difference in your bank account. The term appears on your declarations page, and it can apply specifically to the roof while the rest of the dwelling remains on replacement cost. Carriers increasingly attach a "roof surfaces payment schedule" or "roof settlement endorsement" once a roof passes a certain age, and this change usually arrives quietly at renewal. Find it and read it now. Our homeowners insurance calculator shows how roof age drives both this and your premium.

How depreciation is calculated

Depreciation is straight-line in most carrier software: the roof's age divided by its expected service life, applied to the replacement cost, usually capped somewhere between 60% and 80% however old the roof.

A 12-year-old architectural shingle roof with an expected life of 27 years depreciates at roughly 44%. The same roof at 20 years depreciates at 74%. This is why an aging roof and an ACV settlement basis are such a dangerous combination — and why replacing a roof before it triggers an ACV endorsement is often the cheaper decision overall.

Two adjustments are worth knowing. Carriers usually depreciate materials but not labor, though several states now require labor depreciation to be disclosed or prohibit it entirely — this alone can move a settlement by thousands. And depreciation should reflect condition, not just age: a well-maintained roof can reasonably be argued to a lower effective age, and that argument belongs in a supplement with photographs supporting it.

The claim process, step by step

1. Establish the date of loss. Save weather reports or hail-map data confirming hail at your address on that date. Claims are frequently denied on the grounds that no qualifying hail event occurred.
2. Get an independent inspection first. A licensed local roofer, on site before the adjuster, with photographs and a written itemized estimate. You want a documented position, not a reaction to the insurer's.
3. Notify your insurer promptly. Prompt notice is a policy condition. Delay is itself a ground for denial.
4. Photograph everything at ground level. Gutters, downspouts, fascia, screens, siding, garage door, A/C fins, and any interior staining.
5. Be present for the adjuster's inspection, with your roofer. This is the single highest-leverage step in the process. Damage gets marked and measured jointly instead of being characterised without you.
6. Read the scope of loss line by line. Not the total — the scope. See the next section.
7. Supplement in writing for anything missing, attaching the itemized estimate and photographs.
8. Complete the work and invoice it to release recoverable depreciation on an RCV policy. Money you never claim is money you gave back.

Why first estimates come in low

Most underpayment is not a dishonest unit price. It is omission. Check the estimate against this list:

• Square count — measured off aerial software rather than the actual roof, frequently under-counting.
• Slopes excluded after a test square marginally failed.
• Ridge cap and starter strip, priced as field shingles or omitted.
• Drip edge, step flashing and counter flashing — often assumed reusable when code or manufacturer instructions require new.
• Ice and water shield where code requires it.
• Ventilation — ridge vent, box vents, pipe boots.
• Steep charge and multi-story charge, standard line items simply left off.
• Detach and reset of satellite dishes, solar equipment, gutters and antennas.
• Ordinance and law coverage for code upgrades triggered by the replacement — decking thickness, secondary water barrier, ventilation minimums.
• Matching of undamaged adjacent material where a reasonable match is unavailable. Several states have specific matching statutes or regulations.
• Overhead and profit where three or more trades are involved.
• The rest of the property — gutters, screens, siding, A/C fins.

Supplements and the appraisal clause

A supplement is simply a written request to revise the scope of loss, supported by evidence. It is routine, expected, and not adversarial. Cite specific line items, attach the itemized estimate and photographs, and reference the code section or manufacturer instruction where a code upgrade is at issue. The letter generator above produces a serviceable first draft.

If the dispute is about the amount rather than whether the loss is covered at all, nearly every policy contains an appraisal clause. Each side appoints a competent, independent appraiser; the two select a neutral umpire; an agreement between any two binds the amount. It is far faster and cheaper than litigation and it is your contractual right. It resolves valuation only — it cannot decide a coverage denial.

For larger or contested claims, a licensed public adjuster works for you rather than the insurer, typically for 5% to 15% of the settlement. Verify the license with your state's insurance department, and understand that on a straightforward claim their fee may exceed what they add.

Deadlines that end your claim

• Prompt notice — a policy condition, not a suggestion.
• Suit limitation — commonly one to two years from the date of loss, shortened in some states specifically for weather claims. This is a hard stop on your right to sue.
• Recoverable depreciation deadline — often 180 days to two years from the date of loss or first payment. Miss it and the withheld money is simply gone.
• Proof of loss — where the insurer demands a sworn proof of loss, the clock is typically 60 days and failure can void the claim.

Frequently asked questions

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