Pin down the date of loss before you file.
Everything on a storm claim hangs on one date: the day the storm hit. The carrier uses it to pick the policy period, the deductible, and whether they'll look for weather that matches. File under the wrong day and you've handed them an easy no.
- Find the storm. Check the National Weather Service records, local news, and your own phone photos for the day the hail or wind came through. Neighbors usually remember.
- Match it to your policy. Make sure that date falls inside your current policy period. If you switched carriers or renewed recently, this matters.
- If you're not sure, say so. On the first call, "on or about" is fine. Don't guess a specific day just to get through the phone tree. A wrong date is hard to walk back.
- Write down the claim number. Get it before you hang up, along with the name of the person you spoke to.
Photograph everything before anyone touches it.
Photos taken the day of the storm are the strongest evidence you'll ever have. Photos taken after a contractor climbs up, or after a week of rain, are worth half as much.
- All four sides of the house. Stand back far enough to get the whole elevation, then take a second set closer.
- The roof from the ground. Every slope you can see. Zoom in on anything that looks lifted, missing, or dark. Do not climb the roof.
- Soft metals. Gutters, downspouts, window screens, the AC condenser fins, mailbox, grill lid. Hail leaves dents here even when it's hard to see on shingles.
- Ground evidence. Shingle granules in the gutters and at the downspout outlets, splatter marks on decks and fences, broken branches.
- Inside the house. Any water stain, drip, or wet insulation. Photograph the ceiling and the room, then a close-up.
- Turn timestamps on. Your phone already records the date and time in each photo. Don't crop or edit; send the originals.
- Walk it on video. One slow lap around the house narrating what you see. Two minutes. Date it out loud at the start.
Stop the water, then keep every receipt.
Your policy expects you to take reasonable steps to protect the property from more damage. That means a tarp on an open roof, a bucket under a drip, furniture moved off wet carpet. It does not mean permanent repairs before the carrier has seen the damage.
- Tarp any active leak. Get it tarped the same day if you can. Photograph the damage before the tarp goes on, then the tarp itself.
- Keep the tarp invoice. Emergency protection is usually a covered expense. No receipt, no reimbursement.
- Keep every receipt after that. Dehumidifier rental, drywall, a hotel night if the house isn't livable, even the tape and plastic. Put them in one envelope or one phone album.
- Don't make permanent repairs yet. Replacing the roof before the carrier inspects can cost you the claim. Tarp, dry out, wait for the inspection.
- Don't throw damaged material away. Keep a few of the damaged shingles, a piece of dented gutter, the wet drywall. The carrier may want to see it.
Keep a claim diary from the first call.
Claims turn on who said what and when. A one-line note after every call is the difference between "the adjuster told me it was covered" and being able to prove it.
- Every call. Date, time, who you spoke to, their title, and what they said. Especially anything about coverage, timing, or what they need from you.
- Every document. Save every letter, email, and estimate the carrier sends. Don't delete the emails. Screenshot the portal.
- Ask for two things in writing. The adjuster's full estimate (not just the summary page) and a certified copy of your policy. You're entitled to both.
- Track the money. Every check: date, amount, and what the letter says it's for. "ACV" and "recoverable depreciation" are two different payments.
| Date | Who (name / title) | What was said or sent | Next step |
|---|---|---|---|
Be ready for the adjuster's inspection.
The carrier's adjuster is there to write the carrier's estimate. Your job is to make sure they see everything and that the visit is documented by both sides.
- Be home, or have someone there. Never let the inspection happen without you or your representative present.
- Walk them to everything. Interior stains, the dented AC, the garage roof, the shed, the fence. Adjusters miss what they aren't shown.
- Ask what they found. Before they leave, ask which items they're including and roughly what the next step is. Write it in the diary.
- Get the estimate. If it doesn't arrive within a couple of weeks, ask again in writing.
Don't sign anything on the driveway.
Storm chasers arrive within hours. Some are fine. Some hand you a contract that assigns your claim to them, locks you into their price, or sets a cancellation fee you'll find later.
- No contracts at the door. Take the card, take the flyer, sign nothing. A legitimate company will still be there tomorrow.
- Read for "assignment of benefits". An AOB hands control of your claim to the contractor. Don't sign one without understanding exactly what it does.
- Don't accept the first check as final. A first payment is usually the ACV, with depreciation held back until the work is done. It's a starting point, not a settlement.
- Get terms in writing. From anyone you hire, including us. Fees, scope, what happens if the claim is denied.
Get a professional read of the file.
Once the photos, receipts, and diary are together, you have a file. What you don't have yet is a scope written in the carrier's format, measurements, and someone who reads policies for a living.
- Free inspection and file review. We photograph and measure the roof, siding and gutters, read the policy, and tell you straight whether the claim is worth pursuing.
- If the carrier already paid short. Send us the letter and the estimate. A lot of "denials" are estimates that landed under the deductible, and estimates can be challenged.
- If the carrier said no. Denied is a position, not a verdict. Rebuttal, re-inspection, and your policy's appraisal clause are all still on the table.
Done with the list? Send us the file.
Photos, the letter, the estimate if you have one. We'll read it with you, free, and tell you what it's missing. We adjust the loss and work the construction.
Trident Adjusting & Consulting (licensed public adjusting firm, IL & IN) · Trident Construction Group Corp. (general contractor) · Call or text (903) 952-2766 · contact@tridentconsultingfirm.com · tridentconstructiongrp.com/guides/document-your-claim.html