Hail Season in Omaha: Roof, Siding, and Your Claim

Omaha sits in one of the most hail-prone parts of the country, and most summers at least one storm drops stones big enough to damage roofs, siding, and gutters across a swath of the metro. The storm itself takes ten minutes. What you do in the following week determines whether you end up with a clean insurance claim or a long argument. Here is the routine.

The Day After: Look Before Anyone Else Does

You do not need to climb on the roof. Walk the property with your phone and look for these signs:

• Dents in soft metal. Gutters, downspouts, roof vents, and the metal flashing around the chimney show hail strikes clearly. If those are dented, the shingles probably took hits too.
• Granules in the gutters or at the downspout outlets. Hail knocks the protective granules off asphalt shingles. A pile of them at the bottom of a downspout is a strong indicator.
• Chipped, cracked, or holed vinyl siding, especially on the side of the house that faced the storm.
• Damaged window screens, cracked skylights, dented AC condenser fins.

Photograph everything, including a wide shot of each side of the house and close-ups with something for scale. Note the date and time of the storm.

File Promptly, and File Yourself

Most policies require you to report damage within a reasonable time, and insurers get buried after a big storm. File the claim as soon as you have documented the damage, before you have a contractor's estimate. Your insurer will send an adjuster to inspect the roof. It is fine, and often wise, to have a roofer you trust present for that inspection, but you should be the one who files the claim and controls the conversation.

Our post on how long a home insurance claim takes covers the timeline and the paperwork habits that speed it up.

The Roofers Who Knock

Within a day of a hail event, out-of-town crews canvass the affected neighborhoods. Some are legitimate. Some are not. A few rules keep you out of trouble:

• Never sign anything on the doorstep. An "inspection authorization" is sometimes a contract assigning your claim to them.
• If you did sign, Nebraska's Insured Homeowners Protection Act gives you until midnight of the third business day after signing, or after your insurer denies the claim, whichever is later, to cancel in writing and get your deposit back. The same law bars contractors from offering to pay or waive your deductible, so treat that offer as a reason to walk away.
• Do not let anyone you did not call onto your roof. Some storm chasers manufacture damage.
• Get a bid from an established local roofer with a physical Omaha address and references you can check.
• Never pay a deposit before your claim is approved, and never pay in full before the work is done.

If the Roof Is Fine

A roof that survived a storm still benefits from a check of the basics. Clean the gutters, make sure downspouts carry water well away from the foundation, and trim branches that overhang the roof. Our guide to improving the life of your roof covers the rest, and if water did get in, what to do when your house floods walks through the first hour.

If you rent one of our homes and you see damage after a storm, call the office at (402) 505-7150 or use the contact form the same day. The roof and the insurance are ours to deal with, and the sooner we know, the sooner it is fixed.

NRS Properties

NRS Properties manages single-family homes and commercial space in the Omaha metro area. Whether you’re looking for a well-maintained rental home or commercial space on West Dodge Road, we’re here to help. Contact us to learn about available properties.