An adjuster is not trying to trick you. They are applying a fairly mechanical set of criteria, under time pressure, on a roof they have never seen before — and if you know what those criteria are, the inspection stops being a mystery and starts being something you can prepare for.
Here is exactly what happens, what they are counting, and what you can usefully do while they are there.
The short version
- The adjuster chalks a 10 ft by 10 ft test square on each slope and counts hail impacts inside it.
- Each slope is judged separately against the carrier's hits-per-square threshold.
- They are actively ruling out blistering, wear, foot traffic and manufacturing defects.
- They check soft metal — gutters, vents, AC fins — as corroborating evidence.
- They will verify the storm date against weather data before they leave the office.
- Be there. Bring photos, point out collateral damage, and photograph their chalk marks.
Before they arrive: what they already know
The inspection is not the start of the assessment. Before an adjuster pulls into your driveway they typically have:
- Your claim file — the date of loss you reported and how you described the damage.
- Weather verification. Carriers run the date and address against hail data. A date of loss with no corresponding storm is the fastest denial there is.
- Your policy terms — deductible, whether the roof settles at replacement cost or actual cash value, and any cosmetic damage exclusion.
- Your claims history on that property.
This is why confirming the storm date yourself matters. If your memory of the storm is off by a week, it is far better to find that out beforehand than to have the adjuster find it for you.
The test square
The core method: the adjuster marks out a 10 by 10 foot square — one hundred square feet, which is one roofing square — on each slope, and counts the hail impacts inside it.
Carriers use a threshold, a certain number of hits per square, to decide whether a slope is "damaged" enough to warrant replacement rather than repair. The exact number varies by carrier and by region, which is why two adjusters can reasonably reach different conclusions on the same roof.
Two consequences worth understanding:
- Each slope is judged separately. Hail is directional. It is completely normal for the north and west slopes to qualify and the south and east not to. This is the single most common source of homeowner frustration, and it is not the adjuster being difficult.
- Where they place the square matters enormously. A hundred square feet on a two-thousand-square-foot roof is a five percent sample, and hail is not evenly distributed. If they mark an area you know is less affected, it is entirely reasonable to say so and ask them to also look at the section you are concerned about. Ask politely, early, and point at something specific.
What counts as a hit
They are looking for the same thing you looked for from the ground: a bruise. Granules displaced, the mat fractured underneath, soft to the touch, randomly placed, roughly circular.
They are actively ruling out:
- Blistering — moisture escaping the shingle, not impact. Very commonly mistaken for hail.
- Normal aging and granule loss on a roof near the end of its life.
- Mechanical damage from foot traffic, ladders, satellite installs or past repairs.
- Manufacturing defects and thermal splitting.
- Previous unrepaired damage from an older storm, which belongs to a different claim or to none.
An adjuster who finds a roof full of blisters is going to be skeptical about everything else, because it suggests the claim was filed on a worn-out roof. If you want to see these side by side before inspection day, what hail damage looks like on a roof has the full comparison.
What else they inspect
The roof is the headline, but it is not the whole inspection:
| What they check | What it tells them |
|---|---|
| Gutters, downspouts, vents, flashing, chimney caps | Corroboration — hail that bruises shingles almost always dents metal |
| Window screens and the AC condenser | Independent soft-target evidence, hard to fake |
| Direction of the damage across elevations | Whether it is consistent with the storm's actual track |
| Siding, garage doors, fencing, decking, outbuildings | Collateral damage, part of the same loss |
| Roof age, layers, and general condition | Whether you are paid replacement cost or actual cash value |
| Prior repairs and patches | Whether some damage predates this storm |
| Ventilation and attic condition | Whether curling and cupping are wear rather than impact |
Point out the collateral damage. Adjusters are focused on the roof, and the dented garage door, the shredded window screens, the damaged fence and the AC fins routinely get missed. All of it belongs to the same claim, and none of it is added later without a fight.
They will also check the date
Adjusters have access to weather data and will confirm that a hail event of a plausible size occurred at your address on the date you claimed. A date of loss that does not match any storm is the fastest possible denial.
The mirror image is also true and much more useful to you: a confirmed storm on a confirmed date is the strongest single fact in your file. It reframes the whole conversation from "is this damage real" to "how much of it is covered."
How to be useful at the inspection
You are allowed to be present, and being present is the cheapest thing you can do to change the outcome. What actually helps:
- Be there, and be ready. Have the file of storm-day photos open on your phone before they arrive, not buried in your camera roll.
- Walk them around the property first, before they get on the roof. Show the dented gutter, the torn screen, the granules in the downspout.
- Name the storm date confidently. Vagueness here reads badly and costs you.
- Mention collateral damage to siding, fencing, AC and outbuildings, specifically and one at a time.
- Take your own photos of their chalk marks and test squares once they are down. If there is a disagreement later, this is exactly the evidence that helps, and nobody else is going to take it for you.
- Ask what they found before they leave, and specifically which slopes they are approving. You do not have to wait weeks to learn the shape of the answer.
- Write down their name, the carrier, and how to reach them directly. You will want this.
What does not help: arguing on the roof, inflating what you found, or having your contractor argue on your behalf in a way that turns the inspection adversarial. Documentation wins these; volume does not.
Should your contractor be there?
Usually yes, and most carriers are used to it. A good contractor knows the carrier's estimating conventions, can point out code-required items an adjuster may not think of, and takes their own photo documentation.
The distinction worth holding on to is that the contractor works for you, not for the carrier, and not the other way around. A contractor who wants to meet the adjuster alone while you are out is not doing you a favor. Neither is one pushing you to sign a contract before the adjuster has even been. Our guide on choosing a roofer after a hailstorm covers the specific behaviors worth walking away from.
After the inspection: the scope of loss
Days to a couple of weeks later, you receive the scope of loss — an itemized document listing every line the carrier will pay for, with quantities and prices, usually produced in the estimating software the whole industry uses.
Read it. Common omissions worth questioning:
- Underlayment, drip edge, starter strip and ridge cap
- Steep-slope or two-story labor charges when your roof warrants them
- Code-required upgrades your city mandates on a re-roof
- Detach and reset for solar panels, satellite dishes or gutters
- Damaged gutters, screens, siding, garage doors and AC fins
Disagreeing with a scope is routine, not a fight. Your contractor raising a supplement with photo documentation is the normal mechanism for it, and how to read a scope of loss walks through where the gaps hide.
If they say no
A denial or a partial approval is not the end. In increasing order of formality:
- Ask for the decision in writing, with the specific reasons stated. You cannot respond to a verbal no.
- Request a reinspection, ideally with your contractor present and specific slopes named.
- Supply additional evidence — your storm-day photos, the radar record for the date, a contractor's documented estimate.
- Have your contractor file a supplement with photographs tied to specific line items.
- Ask for a different adjuster if the relationship has broken down.
- Invoke the appraisal clause in your policy: each side appoints an appraiser, and an umpire settles the difference. This is binding on the amount, not on whether coverage exists.
- Hire a licensed public adjuster, who works for you for a percentage of the claim.
- File a complaint with your state's department of insurance, which is free and which carriers track.
What does not help is arguing on the roof. Get the written decision, then respond to it with evidence.
What comes next
If the claim is approved, the money arrives in a specific sequence — and there is usually a second check that only gets released if someone asks for it. What happens after you file a roof claim covers the whole payment flow, and how long a hail roof claim takes covers the timeline.
Check your own address first
Before you call anyone, find out whether hail actually reached your area and how big it was. Our free hail tracker reads the same NOAA radar record the industry uses, and it takes one address and about ten seconds.
If the radar shows a real storm over your house, you can ask us to pass your details to one vetted local roofer for a free inspection. That is your choice and a separate box — we do not share your name, address or phone with anyone unless you tick it.