Hail damage may be covered by insurance

After a storm, damage to a home or building may not be evident right away. In May 2018, a hailstorm struck York County in Pennsylvania, and many buildings sustained damage. While the owners of these buildings may have insurance coverage, there is a deadline by which they must file an insurance claim. Generally speaking, the deadline is one year from the event that caused the damage to occur.

One school was able to get its entire roof replaced under the terms of the insurance policy that it had. Prior to filing a claim, it is necessary to have an inspection done to determine the extent of the damage as well as the cause. The inspection itself is often free, and property owners don’t need to have the work done before the statute of limitations runs out. Therefore, there is little risk to asking someone to take a look at a property.

Having a damaged roof replaced may prevent secondary problems from occurring. For example, hail can weaken shingles. Those problems could add tens of thousands of dollars to the eventual cost of repairing both the roof and the other issues it causes. In most cases, contractors will work with insurance companies to coordinate payment for any work that is done.

If a home or property is damaged by a wind or hail storm, an insurance policy may pay for some or all of the losses. This is generally true as long as the policy covers the type of damage incurred and that a claim was made in a timely manner. In the event a valid claim is denied, it may be possible to negotiate with the insurance company to have that decision overturned. An attorney may help with the process of doing so.