Storm damage roof repair and insurance claims in Schaumburg

The storms that damage roofs here

Hail. Northern Illinois sits in the spring hail belt. April through June, cells coming across from the Fox Valley drop pea-to-golf-ball hail on the northwest suburbs a few times a year, and about every three or four years one of them is bad enough to damage every roof in a neighborhood. Hail bruises the shingle mat and knocks granules off in circles; it does not usually leak right away. It leaks a year later, when the bruised spots crack.

Straight-line wind. Summer thunderstorms and the occasional derecho — the August 2020 one crossed the whole northwest suburban area — put 60–80 mph gusts on roofs. Tabs lift, seal strips break, shingles crease at the nail line and end up in the yard. Creased shingles are damaged even if they are lying flat again.

Ice. Ice dams are a storm-damage claim on most Illinois policies when they cause sudden interior damage. The roof side of the fix is on the repair page; the claim side is the same process as hail.

Hail damage roof repair Schaumburg homeowners need is almost always a replacement claim rather than a repair, because hail hits every slope. Wind damage is more often a one-slope repair. We tell you which before you call your insurer.

What we do after a storm

1. Inspect the roof, gutters, siding, window wraps and AC fins. Hail that damaged the roof damages the soft metal too, and adjusters look at the soft metal first.
2. Document it: chalked test squares on each slope, close-ups of bruising and creases, wide shots, and a written scope with measurements. This is the packet your adjuster needs.
3. Tarp if water is coming in. Emergency tarping is a few hundred dollars and is usually reimbursed by the claim.
4. Meet the adjuster on the roof if you want us there. Most adjusters would rather have a roofer pointing at the damage than hunting for it.
5. Repair or replace once the claim is approved, to the scope the insurer agreed, and handle any supplement if they missed something.

What Illinois law says about the claim

You have the right to choose your contractor; the insurer cannot require you to use theirs. Illinois bars a contractor from offering to pay, waive or rebate your deductible — an offer to "eat the deductible" is illegal and it is also how insurance fraud starts. Any contract you sign that depends on insurance approval has to let you cancel if the claim is denied. Read the Illinois Department of Insurance guidance on storm claims before you sign anything with anyone, including us.

Storm chasers

The week after a hailstorm, trucks with out-of-state plates work the streets of Weathersfield and the Hoffman Estates parcels knocking on doors. Some are legitimate. Many are not licensed in Illinois, which is illegal here: every roofing contractor in the state has to carry a state license and print the 104-series number on their contract and their ads. Ask for the number, check it on the IDFPR site, ask where the crew will be in February when the roof leaks. The storm damage checklist covers what to do in the first 48 hours and what to ask a roofer covers the rest.

Is it a claim or not

Not every storm is a claim. A roof with three creased shingles on one slope is a $400 repair, and filing a claim for it can cost you more in premium than the repair. A roof with hail bruising on every slope is a replacement, and that is exactly what the policy is for. We tell you which one you have and let you decide; we do not file claims for people and we do not tell you your roof is totaled to get a job.

After the repair

Storm damage roof repair Schaumburg-wide is done to the insurer's scope, with the same materials and standards as any other roof we do — ice-and-water shield at the eaves, new flashing, proper ventilation. If the adjuster missed something we find during tear-off, such as rotten decking, we document it and submit a supplement rather than skipping it. The replacement page describes what goes on the house.