Make sure everyone is safe first.

Stay clear of fallen lines, broken glass, and any trees against the structure. The roof can wait — people cannot.

Stay off the roof.

Hail-pelted shingles are slick with loose granules. Most homeowner falls happen the day after a storm. Let a roofer climb up for you.

Photograph every elevation from the ground.

Wide shots and close-ups, all four sides of the house. Modern phones embed timestamp and GPS automatically — that metadata anchors a future claim.

Photograph soft-metal damage in detail.

Gutters, downspouts, AC condenser fins, mailbox, vents. Soft-metal denting is the cleanest corroborating evidence for hail on the roof.

Pick up a few of the largest hailstones and put them in the freezer.

Adjusters appreciate seeing actual stone size when they show up days later. It supports the magnitude of the event.

Check window screens on the windward side.

Push-throughs or torn mesh on screens are corroborating evidence that hail hit the building envelope at speed.

Walk every room inside and photograph ceilings.

New stains, drips, or damp drywall need to be documented now. They are often covered under the same claim as the roof.

Tarp anything letting water in — but call us, do not climb up.

A roof breach left open overnight can double the damage. Same-day emergency tarps in our home counties; emergency mitigation is covered by most NC policies.

Get a free roofer inspection before you call the carrier.

If the roof is fine, you avoid putting an unnecessary claim on your record. If the damage is real, you walk into the carrier conversation with documentation.

Pull out your declarations page and read it.

Confirm the wind/hail deductible, the coverage limit, and whether your roof is on RCV or ACV settlement. Send it to us — we will read it back to you in plain English.

Open your insurance claim — but do not sign anything.

Call the carrier, get a claim number, stop. Do not authorize repair, do not accept a fast-track adjustment, do not sign a settlement.

Coordinate the adjuster visit through us.

We meet the adjuster on the roof on every claim. Items found jointly on site are far harder to dispute than items submitted later as a supplement.