Metro Atlanta sees some of the most active severe weather in the Southeast. Hail season runs roughly March through May, but significant hail events can happen any month of the year. When a storm rolls through your neighborhood, knowing what to do in the first 48 hours can be the difference between a fully covered replacement and an out-of-pocket repair bill.
Step 1: Don’t Call Your Insurance Company First
This surprises most homeowners. The instinct is to call your insurer immediately, but the smarter move is to have a licensed roofing contractor inspect and document the damage before you open a claim. Here’s why:
- Insurance adjusters are trained to minimize claim payouts. Their job is to find reasons to reduce or deny your claim.
- Once you open a claim, it’s on your record — even if the damage turns out to be below your deductible.
- A roofer’s damage report gives you independent documentation that strengthens your position before the adjuster arrives.
- An experienced contractor can identify damage that adjusters routinely overlook, particularly on architectural shingles where hail bruising isn’t always obvious.
Step 2: Get a Professional Inspection Within 48 Hours
Hail and wind damage needs to be documented quickly. Storms don’t leave permanent calling cards — granule loss continues after impact, weathering begins immediately, and some damage is subtle enough that rain can obscure it. Apex Roofing provides storm inspections within 24–48 hours of your call and produces a written report with photographs for every inspection.
What Hail Damage Actually Looks Like
Not all hail damage looks like what you’d expect. On 3-tab shingles, impact points are often obvious — clean circular bruises with exposed asphalt. On architectural shingles, the damage is more subtle and easier for adjusters to dispute:
- Random granule displacement in circular patterns
- Exposed asphalt fiberglass mat with a shiny, bruised appearance
- Soft spots when pressed (the shingle mat is fractured beneath the surface)
- Impact marks on metal components — gutters, downspouts, vents, flashing — which serve as supporting evidence
Impact on metal surfaces is often the clearest evidence in a claim dispute. A hail storm that dents your gutters and AC unit almost certainly damaged your shingles.
Step 3: Meet the Adjuster With Your Contractor Present
Request that your roofing contractor be present during the adjuster’s inspection. This is your right as a policyholder, and it significantly improves your outcome. An experienced roofing contractor knows exactly what the adjuster needs to see, can point out damage that might be overlooked, and can counter on the spot if the adjuster attempts to underscope the damage.
Apex Roofing attends adjuster meetings for our clients as a standard part of the process. We’ve done this hundreds of times.
Common Claim Mistakes to Avoid
- Signing an Assignment of Benefits (AOB) with a storm chaser: Out-of-state contractors who flood into Atlanta after storms often ask homeowners to sign over their insurance benefits. This removes you from the process entirely and frequently results in disputes, delays, and poor workmanship. Never sign an AOB.
- Filing too quickly without documentation: Opening a claim before you have a damage report can result in an adjuster closing the claim with minimal payout before you’ve established the full scope of damage.
- Waiting too long: Most Georgia homeowner policies require claims to be filed within one year of the loss date. If you had a storm event and haven’t had your roof inspected, call today.
- Choosing the lowest bidder after approval: Your insurance company pays the same regardless of which contractor you choose. Choosing a cheap contractor doesn’t save the insurer money — it only risks the quality of your replacement.
What Your Policy Typically Covers
Most standard Georgia homeowner policies cover hail and wind damage under the dwelling coverage portion of your policy. Your payout will typically be the replacement cost value (RCV) minus your deductible, paid in two installments: an actual cash value (ACV) check upfront and a recoverable depreciation check after the work is completed and documented.
Some older policies or explicitly noted policy riders use actual cash value only, which means depreciation is not recoverable. Check your declarations page or call your agent to confirm your coverage type before filing.
We Work Directly With All Major Atlanta Insurers
Apex Roofing has established working relationships with adjusters from State Farm, Allstate, Farmers, USAA, Liberty Mutual, and most other major carriers active in Metro Atlanta. We know their documentation requirements, supplement processes, and escalation paths. Call (404) 555-0197 — we’ll walk you through the entire process at no charge until you decide to move forward.
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