Hail and Storm Damage Roof RepairBased in Cleburne, TX

The Difference

What to know before you decide.

Here is how a hail or wind claim generally works in Texas. Note the date of the storm, then have the roof inspected so you know whether there is damage worth claiming before you file. If there is, report it to your insurer. Under the Texas Prompt Payment of Claims Act, the insurer generally has 15 days to acknowledge the claim and ask for what it needs, 15 business days after receiving everything to accept or deny it (it can extend that by up to 45 days if it tells you why), and 5 business days after approving the claim to pay. In between, an adjuster inspects the roof and writes a scope of loss listing what the insurer will pay to repair or replace.

The money works differently from policy to policy, so read yours. Many Texas homeowner policies carry a separate wind and hail deductible set as a percentage of dwelling coverage, often 1 or 2 percent, so a home insured for $300,000 with a 2 percent deductible pays the first $6,000. A replacement cost policy usually pays the actual cash value first, then releases the held-back depreciation once the work is finished and invoiced. An actual cash value policy, or one with a roof payment schedule, pays only the depreciated value of an older roof. Policies also set a window for reporting damage, commonly one or two years from the storm, so do not wait until the next leak.

Texas law makes it illegal for a contractor to waive, absorb or rebate your deductible, and any offer to cover it amounts to insurance fraud that puts the homeowner at risk along with the contractor. Texas insurance law also bars a roofer from acting as your public adjuster and negotiating the claim for you. The claim stays between you and your insurer, and a roofer's part is documenting the damage and pricing the work correctly. When an adjuster's scope misses items such as drip edge, code-required components or damaged decking found during tear-off, those can be submitted to the insurer as a supplement.

We help with the insurance claim process on storm, hail, water and fire damage. That starts with a free inspection to find out whether the storm did real damage, and continues with the documentation and estimate your insurer will want to see. We will walk you through the adjuster's scope and your policy's terms so you know what is covered before any work begins, and if the house is taking water in the meantime, our 24/7 emergency roofing includes tarping.

Big storms bring door knockers from out of state. Before you sign anything, check that the contractor has a local address you can drive to, carries insurance, and is not asking you to sign over your claim on the porch. Texas does not license roofing contractors at the state level, so the checking falls to you: ask for proof of insurance, get the scope and price in a written contract, and be wary of anyone who wants a large payment before materials arrive. Our office is at 919 N Nolan River Road in Cleburne, and we are insured and bonded.

If a storm has come through your part of Johnson County, call for a free storm damage inspection. Whether the roof needs a few shingles, a full replacement or nothing at all, you will know where you stand before you call your insurer.