Our Home Was Hit by Hail. Now What? (A Central Texas Homeowner's Guide)

You heard it before you saw it. That rattling on the roof during last night's storm. Now the sun's out, you're standing in the driveway looking up, and you have no idea what you're actually looking for.

Here's exactly what to do, in order, whether you're in Converse, New Braunfels, San Marcos, Seguin, or anywhere around Central Texas.

Prefer to watch instead of read? Watch Episode 1 of our “Now What?” video series on YouTube (about 90 seconds).

Step 1: Check for safety issues first, not roof damage

Before you even think about the shingles, walk your property for the stuff that can hurt someone or your house tonight:

• Downed power lines or tree limbs on the roof

• Broken windows or damaged siding

• Water actively coming through the ceiling inside

If any of that applies, handle it first. A tarp and a bucket beat a ruined ceiling every time.

Step 2: Know what hail damage actually looks like

This is where most homeowners get stuck, because hail damage rarely looks like a hole. It looks like:

• Bruises on the shingles. Soft, dark spots where the granules have been knocked loose. Press on one and it'll feel a little mushy, almost like a soft spot on an apple.

• Granule loss in your gutters. If you're finding what looks like coarse black sand piled up after a storm, that's granule off your shingles, and it means the protective layer is compromised.

• Dented soft metal. Check your gutters, vents, and AC unit. Hail dents soft metal way before it visibly damages a shingle, so dented gutters are often the first clue something happened up top.

• Cracked or chipped roof vents. Small stuff, but insurance adjusters look at it closely.

Here's the honest part: most of this you cannot fully assess safely from the ground, and you shouldn't be climbing a ladder after a hailstorm to find out. That's what a free inspection is for.

Step 3: Document the storm, not just the damage

Insurance companies want proof the hail was actually big enough and recent enough to cause what you're seeing. We use Hail Recon, which pulls the actual storm data (hail size, exact date, path) for your address. That real data, paired with photos of the damage, is a much stronger claim than "I think it happened sometime last week."

If you can, snap photos of:

• Any dented gutters, downspouts, or AC fins

• Granules in the gutters or downspout

• Any obvious cracked shingles or damaged flashing

Don't get on the roof yourself for this. A fall is a much worse day than a hail claim.

Step 4: Get a free inspection before you call your insurance company

This is the step people skip, and it costs them money. Call for a free inspection first so you know what you're actually dealing with and whether it's worth filing a claim at all. Minor cosmetic hail on shingles that are already near the end of their life is a different conversation than granule loss on a five-year-old roof.

A real inspection also protects you from two opposite mistakes: filing a claim for something too minor to be worth your deductible, or not filing one when you actually have a legitimate covered loss.

Step 5: If you file a claim, don't go it alone

A few things to know before the adjuster shows up:

• You're allowed to have your roofer present during the adjuster's inspection. We do this regularly and it matters, because a second set of eyes catches damage an adjuster in a hurry can miss.

• Don't sign anything from a contractor knocking on your door same-day. Get a second opinion. Storm chasers show up after every hailstorm, sign people up fast, and are nowhere to be found a year later when there's a workmanship issue.

• Your deductible is your deductible. Any contractor offering to "waive" it or eat the cost is doing something insurance fraud adjacent, and it can come back on you, not just them.

• Added scope is different from a price cut. If we find something extra while we're up there, like gutters that need replacing too, that's a fair conversation to have. Discounting the actual claim work is not.

Step 6: Pick a contractor who's actually going to be here next year

Same quality materials as the big regional companies, without the markup that comes from 20 offices and a fleet of billboards. That's the whole pitch. We're locally owned and operated right here in New Braunfels, IKO ROOFPRO SELECT certified, and we do the roof inspection for free whether or not you end up filing a claim.

What to do right now

If you've got hail damage, real or suspected, the fastest way to get an honest answer is a free inspection. We'll walk the roof, pull the real storm data for your address, and tell you straight whether it's worth a claim.

Call or text 830-800-0252, or request an inspection online. We're based in New Braunfels and serve Converse, San Marcos, Canyon Lake, Seguin, and the surrounding Central Texas area.