Here in the Minneapolis and Saint Paul area of Minnesota we, along with may other people in the Midwest United States, get to experience quite a few thunderstorms each year during the summer months. Mild thunderstorms bring with them rain, a few cracks of thunder, and some fanfare in the form of thunder and lightning. Further up the proverbial sleeve of Mother Nature are those thunderstorms that have a distinct ability to take things up a notch and go from mild to wild. If a mild thunderstorm is like a violin soloist performing in front of a small crowd then these thunderstorms can be likened to a full symphony in accompaniment with our violin soloist complete with the full percussion section of lightning and thunder. To what simple phrase then do we use to describe these magnificent storms, Severe Thunderstorms. Over the years I have had the opportunity to attend many of these performances, I have great respect for their conductor, and therefore I am not satisfied with such a simple rendition to describe a performance of this magnitude. Effectively immediately, I have coined the following to describe a severe thunderstorm: an unexpected short-lived period of dynamic excitement.
Yes, these thunderstorms can provide quite a bit of excitement due to their ability to harness the natural forces of nature. Although their duration may be relatively short lived by many accounts, their destructive force will have a lasting affect on most people's lives. Recently us Minnesotans have experienced an unexpected, short lived, period of dynamic excitement (here we go again) by means of heavy rain, thunder, lightening, damaging wind and hail. Although the affected areas only experienced these conditions for less than an hour, the impact was noticed immediately. By the next day reports from the local media outlets had contributed to wide spread knowledge of the situation. My friend Michelle at American Family Insurance said her telephone began ringing before the rain had stopped falling. My telephone was ringing as well, my wife's mother had damage to her vinyl siding, a vehicle in the driveway and some downed branches. It was then that the question of hail damage to the roof came up. The insurance company had been contacted and the answer would come soon enough.
By now, maybe you are asking what the point is to all of this. Well, hang in there cause here it comes. We arrived to help clean up branches and leaves from the yard, when the question of hail damage to the roof came up. Somehow I knew this question would be asked and I had packed my trusty Little Giant® ladder in the truck. I proudly pulled out the Little Giant® and looked at this 8-year-old composition shingle roof. The singles looked like many I had seen before, a few areas here and there with some worn granules but nothing serious. I waited to share my findings with her until after the insurance company adjuster arrived; which occurred just after I had finished my descent from the roof. After spending about 15 minutes on the roof, the adjuster came down and explained the process to my mother in law. I was just within earshot to hear that his synopsis. The roof had sustained hail damage and would need replacement. He continued his explanation of the claims process and included vinyl siding on three sides of the house along with the mailbox, flowerpots, and an automobile (that would be covered under a separate auto policy).
While this was a pleasant surprise for my mother in law, and I did share in her enthusiasm, privately I was baffled to some extent. Sure, it looked like a machine gun had pierced the vinyl siding and the car in the driveway looked like someone had hit the hood repeatedly with a ball-peen hammer. The roof hardly had a scratch, if not for the other damage I would probably have passed it along as normal wear and tear consistent with an 8-year-old roof. After all, during my career as an inspector I had looked at hundreds of roofs that had looked much worse than this one, even similar to the hood of the car in the driveway. The difference however was these other roofs were not accompanied by other obvious damage commensurate with hail. My mother in law pulled out a picture of the hail on the ground after the storm, which she showed me after I had looked at the roof. I could not believe my eyes, this rood had been peppered with marble to golf ball sized hail had hardly any noticeable damage. Not even any dents on the valley flashing and steel exhaust vent. This got me to thinking about hail resistant shingles and roof coverings. Below is a picture of another roof, not my mother in law's roof. Aside from the loose shingle, take a look and see how many damaging impacts you can find.
There are hail-resistant roof coverings and shingles. These products have Class 1 through Class 4 hail-resistance ratings, 4 being the highest. Ratings are established by the American Society of Testing and Materials (ASTM). The ASTM standard involves dropping a steel ball from a pre-determined height and measuring the damage the roof coverings have sustained. My mother in law had no idea what type of shingles were put on the house 8 years ago so I am unable to determine the significance this may or may not have had in this situation.
So what standards do insurance adjusters use when determining the significance of hail damage? I am not an insurance company adjuster, here's what I know though. Many times hailstorms produce visible damage, but the damage is fairly irregular and sparse on the roof. Many insurance companies employ various strategies that attempt to produce an accurate assessment of the overall condition of the roof while taking into consideration the potential sporadic damage that can be inflicted. Many adjusters will measure a 5 foot by 5 foot section of the roof and mark it with chalk that contrasts the color of the shingles. This area is photographed and then the chalk is used to identify each hail impact area. This process is usually done in three separate areas. Then the average number of hail impacts found in the three areas is multiplied by 4. This calculation will yield the average amount of hail impacts per square of roof.
Here's where it gets's dicey: How many impacts constitute a new roof? I have heard its somewhere between 5 and 10 damaging impacts per square although each insurance company has its own standards that it will follow which also takes into consideration the age of the roof coverings. I have seen roofs that had sustained a great deal more damaging impacts than other's that had been denied.
If you believe your roof has sustained hail or wind damage contact your insurance company as soon as possible. If you believe your roof has sustained damage and your insurance company has denied the claim give us a call we can help.
J.B. Anderson Inspections Inc.
photos from www.roofhelp.com
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