Storm

Storm Damage Roof Checklist for Des Moines Homeowners

By Des Moines Roof Repair · September 5, 2026 · 7 min read

The storm crossed the metro at dinner time, the power flickered, and now there are shingles in the yard and the neighbor's silver maple is in the street. September is the tail of Iowa's severe season, not the end of it, and the next two days tend to follow the same pattern for every homeowner on the street. Here's the order to do things in.

First hour: safety and photos

• Stay off the roof. Wet shingles on a two-story after a storm put people in the hospital every year. Nothing up there needs you tonight.
• Look for power lines down in the yard or across the roof before you go outside at all. Treat every line as live.
• Photograph from the ground. Shingles in the yard, the slope they came from, dented gutters and downspouts, pockmarked siding, damaged window screens, hail on the deck or the car. Get the date and time into the photos.
• Photograph inside. Any drip, stain or wet insulation. Move furniture, put a bucket down, and if water is coming through a light fixture, turn off that breaker.

First day: stop the water

If there's a hole, a tree limb through the deck, or a bare patch of decking, it needs a tarp before the next rain. In central Iowa the next rain is usually within 48 hours. Emergency roof repair in Des Moines after a storm is triaged by water coming in, so tell the contractor clearly whether it's dripping now or just looks bad from the yard.

Tarping costs $300–$700 depending on the roof and is almost always covered by the claim as emergency mitigation. Keep the receipt. A tarp is a two-week fix, not a season's.

What each kind of storm does

Hail. Bruises — dark spots the size of a dime to a golf ball, soft to the thumb, scattered at random, heaviest on the slope that faced the storm. Invisible from the ground. From the yard you'll see dented gutters, soft-metal vents with dimples, and shredded screens. Hail damage roof repair in Des Moines is usually a slope or a full replacement, not a patch.

Straight-line wind. Lifted and creased shingles, torn-off tabs, exposed underlayment. Creased shingles lie back down and look fine from the ground, and each one is a leak next spring. The August 2020 derecho did this to roofs across Polk County, and inspectors still find its creases today.

Tree strikes. Limbs through the deck, gutters torn off, broken trusses. Des Moines has a lot of 70-year-old silver maples and cottonwoods and a lot of standing dead ash. A limb on the roof is an emergency; a limb through the roof is a same-day tarp.

Wind-driven rain. Rain pushed uphill under the shingles for hours. The roof isn't damaged, but the house leaks at flashing that was marginal already. Not usually covered.

First two days: get it inspected properly

A ground look won't find hail bruising or creased shingles. Someone needs to walk the roof, mark a 10x10 test square on each slope, and count. That's what the adjuster will do, and it's what a good contractor does first so you know whether a claim makes sense before you call it in.

A claim makes sense when the damage is widespread — hail hits across a slope, a creased slope, a tree strike, water inside. It doesn't for six missing tabs and a $500 repair against a $3,000 deductible.

Calling your insurer

1. Have your policy number, the date and time of the storm, and your photos.
2. Ask for the claim number, the adjuster's name and the inspection date.
3. Tell them if you've had to tarp. Mitigation is expected and covered.
4. Ask whether your policy has a separate wind and hail deductible, and whether it pays replacement cost or actual cash value on the roof. Many Iowa policies written in the last few years have changed both.
5. Have your roofer meet the adjuster. It keeps the count honest in both directions.

The Iowa Insurance Division publishes storm-claim guidance and takes complaints if a claim goes sideways.

The door-knockers

Within 48 hours of any hail storm, out-of-state crews work Ankeny, Waukee, Grimes and Altoona street by street. Some are fine. The rules that protect you:

• Be wary of any offer to pay, waive or rebate your deductible. That "free roof" is usually your deductible added to a padded invoice, and Iowa has rules on it; check with the Iowa Insurance Division.
• Ask whether the contract lets you cancel if the insurer denies the claim, and check with the Iowa Insurance Division about your cancellation rights before you sign.
• Don't sign an assignment of benefits, a contingency agreement or anything else on the porch. Take the card, check their Iowa contractor registration, and get a written scope.

What to keep in your claim file

Start a folder, on paper or on your phone, the day of the storm, and keep adding to it:

• The date and time the storm hit, and any weather alerts you received
• Every photo, as original files, not screenshots
• Notes on what you saw and when water appeared inside
• Receipts for tarps, buckets, fans, hotel nights or tree removal
• The contractor's written scope and the photos from the roof
• The claim number, the adjuster's name and phone, and notes from every call
• Copies of anything you sign

Claims can take weeks. A good file means you don't have to remember anything.

One week later

• Check the attic after the next rain, even if nothing showed inside the first time.
• Look at the tarp, if you have one. Wind works them loose.
• Follow up on the inspection date if the insurer hasn't set one.
• Get a second written scope if the first seems thin or the adjuster disagrees with it.
• Ask the contractor how long their price holds, so the quote doesn't expire while the claim is open.

If the roof turns out to be fine

Plenty of storms rattle the gutters and leave the shingles alone. If a roof-level inspection finds no real damage, that is good news, not a wasted visit. Keep the report and the photos with your house papers. If a bigger storm comes through next spring, they show the roof's condition before it hit, which makes that claim far easier to support. And if anyone knocks on your door a week later insisting the roof is ruined, you have a written answer to hand them.

The checklist, short form

• Photos from the ground and inside, with dates
• Tarp if water is coming in or decking is exposed
• Walked inspection with test squares before you file
• Claim number, adjuster name, deductible and ACV/RCV confirmed
• Roofer at the adjuster meeting
• Nothing signed on the doorstep

The storm damage page covers how the claim runs from here, and if the roof turns out to be fine, the inspection will say so.

Common questions

Should I get my roof checked if I can't see any damage?

If there are hail dents on the cars, the gutters or the neighbors' roofs, yes. Hail bruises and creased shingles can't be seen from the ground, and finding them early keeps the claim clean.

What size hail damages a roof?

Quarter-size hail, about an inch across, is often enough to bruise ordinary asphalt shingles, and bigger stones do more. Older shingles bruise more easily, and hail driven sideways by wind does more harm than hail falling straight down.

Can I make repairs before the adjuster comes?

Emergency steps that stop more damage, like tarping and drying out, are expected. Keep receipts and before-and-after photos. Hold off on permanent repairs until the adjuster has seen the damage, unless your insurer tells you otherwise.

A neighbor's tree fell on my roof. Whose insurance handles it?

Start with your own homeowners policy and let your insurer sort out the rest. Photograph the tree where it landed, inside and out, before anything is moved, and ask the insurer how they want the removal handled.