Key takeaways
- If wind, hail, or a fallen tree damaged your roof, homeowners insurance may cover the replacement and you pay only your deductible.
- Age and wear are never covered. Filing weak claims can hurt you, so get an honest inspection before you call your insurer.
- Claims are won or lost on documentation. Photograph everything before cleanup or repairs.
- Have your roofer meet the adjuster on site. You choose the contractor, not the insurance company.
- Most policies set filing deadlines, often one year from the date of loss. Get inspected within days of a storm, not months.
The short answer
That's what an approved storm claim typically costs you out of pocket. When wind, hail, or a fallen tree causes damage significant enough to justify a claim, your homeowners policy covers the repair or replacement minus your deductible. The catch: approval depends on documentation, timing, and knowing how the process works. That's what this guide covers.
What's covered, and what never is
Homeowners insurance covers sudden, storm-caused damage. It does not cover a roof that simply got old. Every denied claim we've ever seen an out-of-town roofer promise into existence came down to that line.
Usually covered
Wind damage
Shingles lifted, creased, or torn off by straight-line winds or tropical systems. The most common covered peril in the Midlands.
Hail damage
Impact bruising and granule loss from hail. Often invisible from the ground, which is why professional inspection matters.
Fallen trees & debris
Trees, limbs, and wind-borne debris that strike the roof, including the structural damage underneath.
Resulting water damage
Interior ceiling and wall damage that results from a storm opening in the roof is usually covered along with the roof itself.
Never covered
Age and wear
A 20-year-old roof at the end of its life is a maintenance item, not a claim. No legitimate roofer will tell you otherwise.
Gradual leaks and neglect
A slow leak that went unaddressed for months, or damage from missing maintenance, falls on the homeowner. Flood damage is separate too; that's a flood policy, not homeowners.
The claim process, step by step
- Get a professional inspection first, before you call your insurer. A roofer who works storm claims will document every slope with photos and tell you honestly whether the damage justifies a claim. Ours are free.
- Document before you touch anything. Photos of the roof, the yard debris, the interior stains, the fallen limb. Emergency tarping to prevent further damage is fine (your policy actually requires reasonable mitigation), but keep receipts and photograph the damage first.
- File promptly. Call your insurer or file online with the date of the storm and your documentation. Most policies require prompt notice, and many set deadlines, often one year from the date of loss.
- Have your roofer meet the adjuster on site. This is the step most homeowners skip and the one that matters most. An adjuster spends a limited time on your roof; your contractor makes sure every slope, penetration, and soft spot gets seen and into the scope.
- Review the scope and estimate. The insurer issues a scope of work and payment. If it misses real damage, your contractor submits a supplement with documentation. This is normal, not adversarial.
- Build. Full tear-off, decking inspection, underlayment, new architectural shingles, cleanup. Most Midlands homes take one to two days.
- Recover your depreciation. With RCV coverage, the insurer releases the held-back depreciation after completion. Your contractor's final invoice triggers that second check.
ACV vs RCV: know which policy you have
Two numbers decide what a claim actually pays. Replacement cost value (RCV) policies pay what it costs to replace your roof today: first a check for the depreciated value, then the remaining depreciation once the work is done. Actual cash value (ACV) policies pay only the depreciated value, period.
Worked example: say a replacement costs $15,000 and your roof has depreciated by $6,000, with a $1,000 deductible. RCV pays $8,000 up front, then releases the $6,000 after completion; you're out only your $1,000 deductible. ACV pays $8,000 total and the remaining $7,000 is yours. Many carriers have been quietly moving older roofs to ACV or roof payment schedules at renewal, so check your declarations page before storm season, not after.
The deductible game (and why you should never play it)
After every major Midlands storm, out-of-town crews knock on doors offering a "free roof" and promising to "take care of your deductible." Understand what that really means: misrepresenting the job cost to your insurance company so you skip the deductible is insurance fraud, and the person holding the risk is you, the policyholder, not the crew that's back on the road next month. A legitimate storm claim already saves you thousands. Pay your deductible, hire a local company with a verifiable track record, and sleep fine.
Documentation decides everything
Here's what an approved claim looks like in practice: on a recent insurance replacement in Irmo, we documented the storm damage slope by slope on the first visit, gave the homeowner an honest read that the damage justified a claim, and worked directly with the adjuster through approval. The homeowner got a full architectural shingle replacement for the cost of their deductible. None of that happens without the photo record from day one.
The reverse is also true. If the damage doesn't justify a claim, we say so on the spot. Filing marginal claims builds your claim history, risks non-renewal, and usually ends in a denial anyway. Sometimes the right answer is a $700 repair you pay for directly, and we'll tell you that.
The bottom line
Storm season in the Midlands peaks in late summer. If your roof has been through hail, high wind, or a falling limb: document first, get a free professional inspection within days, file only if the damage justifies it, and have your roofer standing next to the adjuster. Do those four things and the process usually works the way it's supposed to, with a new roof for the cost of your deductible instead of $8,000-$18,000.
Storm come through? Get it documented now.
Free inspection, full photo documentation, and an honest answer about whether a claim makes sense.