A hail storm just rolled through Charlotte and you're standing in your yard looking at dented gutters and shingle granules in the flower beds. Now what? The next 48 hours matter more than you think. How you handle the insurance claim process from the very beginning determines whether you get a fair payout or get shortchanged by thousands of dollars.
I've watched homeowners across Charlotte, Huntersville, and Matthews leave money on the table because they didn't know the right steps. Here's exactly what to do, in what order, and what to watch out for.
Step 1: Document Everything Before You Touch Anything
The first thing most people do is call their insurance company. That's actually the second thing you should do. The first thing is to grab your phone and start taking photos and video.
Walk around your entire property and photograph:
- Your roof from ground level — all four sides if possible. Zoom in on any visible damage like missing shingles, dents, or exposed underlayment.
- Gutters and downspouts — dents in aluminum gutters are one of the easiest ways to prove hail size and intensity.
- Window screens and sills — hail leaves distinctive round dents in screens.
- AC unit, mailbox, and outdoor furniture — any metal surface that shows impact marks.
- Cars — if your vehicles were outside during the storm, photograph any dents. This corroborates the severity.
- The ground — if there are still hailstones on the ground, photograph them next to a ruler, coin, or credit card for scale.
Take video too. Walk the perimeter of your home narrating what you see. This footage has a timestamp, which proves when the damage was documented. Save everything to cloud storage so you have a backup.
Step 2: Call a Local Roofer Before You Call Insurance
This might sound backwards, but there's a good reason. You want a professional roof inspection before the insurance adjuster shows up. Here's why:
Insurance adjusters handle hundreds of claims. They spend 20 to 45 minutes on your roof. A good local roofer will spend over an hour and knows exactly what hail damage looks like on every shingle type. They'll document every hit, every cracked shingle, and every compromised area — and they'll give you a detailed report with photos.
When the adjuster comes out, you'll have that report in hand. If the adjuster's assessment is significantly lower than your roofer's, you have documentation to push back with. Without that independent inspection, you're relying entirely on the adjuster's assessment, and adjusters are trained to keep payouts low.
Important: the roofer's inspection should be free. Reputable Charlotte roofing companies don't charge for storm damage inspections. If someone wants money upfront just to look at your roof after a storm, move on.
Step 3: File the Claim — And What to Say
Now call your insurance company. Here's what to keep in mind during that first call:
- Report the date and time of the storm. Be specific. "The hail storm on March 15, 2025, between approximately 4:00 and 4:30 PM."
- Describe the damage you observed. Stick to facts: "I can see missing shingles on the north-facing slope, dents in the aluminum gutters, and granule accumulation in the downspout splash blocks."
- Don't minimize or exaggerate. Just report what you see.
- Ask for a claim number and write it down.
- Ask about your deductible. Most Charlotte homeowner policies have either a flat deductible ($1,000 to $2,500) or a percentage-based wind/hail deductible (1% to 5% of your dwelling coverage). If your home is insured for $400,000 and you have a 2% wind/hail deductible, that's $8,000 out of your pocket before insurance pays anything.
North Carolina law gives you one year from the date of the storm to file a claim, but don't wait. File within the first week. The longer you wait, the harder it is to prove the damage came from that specific storm.
Step 4: The Adjuster Visit — What Really Happens
The insurance company will send an adjuster to inspect your roof, usually within 1 to 3 weeks of filing. A few things about this visit:
You have the right to have your roofer present. This is important. Ask your roofer to meet the adjuster at your property. Your roofer can point out damage the adjuster might miss, and the adjuster knows the claim will be scrutinized if they lowball it.
The adjuster will get on the roof (or send a drone up) and mark hail hits with chalk. They're looking for:
- Bruising or soft spots where hail impact compressed the shingle mat
- Cracked or fractured shingles
- Missing granules exposing the black fiberglass mat underneath
- Dents in metal flashing, vents, and pipe boots
The adjuster will write up a damage report using Xactimate software, which generates a line-item estimate. This estimate is not final — it's the starting point for negotiation.
Step 5: Review the Estimate Carefully
The insurance company will mail or email you their estimate. Before you accept it, compare it against your roofer's estimate line by line. Common areas where insurance estimates come up short:
- Roof area measurement: Insurance adjusters sometimes use satellite imagery that undermeasures complex roof lines. If your roof has multiple valleys, dormers, or steep slopes, the actual area could be 10% to 20% larger than what the adjuster measured.
- Starter strip and ridge cap: Some adjusters leave these out, but they need to be replaced when you replace the field shingles.
- Ice and water shield: Code requires this at valleys, eaves, and around penetrations. If the adjuster's estimate only includes felt paper, that's a line item to dispute.
- Drip edge: Often omitted from initial estimates.
- Gutter and downspout damage: Gutter replacement gets missed frequently. If your aluminum gutters show hail dents, those should be on the claim.
- Depreciation: Your insurer may pay actual cash value (ACV) upfront, withholding the depreciation amount until work is completed. Make sure you understand whether your policy pays replacement cost or ACV.
Step 6: Supplement the Claim If the Estimate Is Low
If the insurance estimate is significantly lower than what your roofer quoted, your roofer can file a "supplement" with the insurance company. This is a formal request for additional money, backed by documentation of damage or code-required materials that the adjuster missed.
Good roofing companies handle supplements regularly — it's a normal part of the storm damage repair process. The supplement includes photos, measurements, and line-item justification for every additional dollar requested. Most supplements get approved, at least in part, within 2 to 4 weeks.
If the insurance company denies the supplement and you believe the denial is wrong, you have a few options:
- Request a re-inspection by a different adjuster.
- Hire a public adjuster who works for you, not the insurance company. They typically charge 10% to 15% of the claim payout.
- File a complaint with the North Carolina Department of Insurance if you believe the insurer is acting in bad faith.
- Invoke the appraisal clause in your policy, which brings in a neutral third party to settle the dispute.
Charlotte Hail Patterns: What History Tells Us
Charlotte sits in what meteorologists call a moderate hail corridor. We don't get hit as often as the Front Range of Colorado or central Texas, but when we do get hail, it can be severe. The Charlotte metro averages 2 to 4 significant hail events per year, primarily between March and June.
Some recent storms that caused widespread roof damage across the metro:
- The March 2023 storm that dropped golf-ball-sized hail across south Charlotte, Ballantyne, and Weddington
- Multiple spring 2024 events that hit Huntersville, Cornelius, and the Lake Norman area
- The April 2022 storm that damaged thousands of roofs from Matthews through Indian Trail
If you live in an area that's been hit before, check your roof after every significant storm — even if you don't hear hail hitting the house. Hail can fall inconsistently across a neighborhood, damaging one side of the street and sparing the other.
Red Flags: Storm Chasers and Scam Contractors
After every major hail event, contractors from out of state flood into Charlotte neighborhoods. They knock on doors, offer free inspections, and try to get you to sign a "contingency agreement" or "assignment of benefits" on the spot. Be careful with these outfits.
Warning signs of a storm chaser:
- They show up uninvited within 24 hours of the storm
- They pressure you to sign anything before you've called your insurance company
- They offer to "waive your deductible" — this is insurance fraud in North Carolina
- They have out-of-state license plates and no local office
- They can't provide a North Carolina general contractor license number
- They want a large deposit before work begins
Stick with established local companies that have been in the Charlotte market for years. They'll still be around if there's a warranty issue two years from now. That out-of-state crew? They'll be in the next city that gets hit. If you need help finding a reputable local roofer, check our directory of vetted Charlotte roofing contractors.
Timeline: How Long Does the Whole Process Take?
Here's a realistic timeline for a hail damage insurance claim in the Charlotte area:
- Day 1-3: Document damage, get roofer inspection, file claim
- Week 1-3: Insurance adjuster visits property
- Week 2-4: Receive initial estimate from insurance
- Week 3-6: Supplement filed if needed, negotiate final amount
- Week 4-8: Approve final scope, schedule replacement
- Week 6-12: Roof replacement completed
After a major storm that hits a wide area, everything takes longer because every roofer and every adjuster in the region is slammed. During busy storm seasons, it's not unusual for the entire process to take 3 to 4 months from storm to completed roof.
One Final Tip
Keep a file — physical or digital — with every piece of documentation related to your claim. Every photo, every email, every phone call note, every estimate, every check. If there's ever a dispute, that file is your evidence. Insurance companies count on homeowners losing track of paperwork. Don't let that happen.
If a storm just hit your area and you need your roof checked, request a free inspection from a local Charlotte roofer who can walk you through the claims process from start to finish.