Storm damage & insurance claims
Storm damage roof repair and insurance claims in Des Moines
Polk County sits in the middle of the hail belt, and every few years a wind event like August 10, 2020 puts thousands of roofs on claims in one afternoon. This page covers how to read your roof from the yard, what to do before the adjuster comes, and how to spot a storm chaser playing games with your deductible.
The Des Moines storm calendar
March to May. Supercells out of the southwest bring the first hail, usually dime to quarter size. West- and south-facing slopes take the hits.
June and July. Overnight thunderstorm complexes cross from the Dallas County line with 60–80 mph straight-line wind that lifts shingles on the windward slope and drops silver maple limbs on the other. Derecho season: the 2020 storm's gusts stripped seal strips off roofs that looked untouched from the street.
August and September. Late hail on roofs already weakened in June.
December to February. Ice load on a roof that lost shingles in July is how a summer problem becomes a winter leak.
Reading the damage from the ground
You should not be on a wet roof. Most of what a contractor needs to know before the inspection, you can see from the yard.
| What you see | What it usually means | Urgency |
|---|---|---|
| Shingles or tabs in the yard, bare patches on the roof | Wind tore shingles off; underlayment or deck exposed | Tarp before the next rain |
| Dents in aluminum gutters, downspouts, mailbox, AC fins | Hail large enough to bruise shingles | Inspection within two weeks |
| Pockmarks on window screens, spatter marks on the siding | Hail struck the windward face; check that slope | Inspection within two weeks |
| Shingles that look lifted or wavy along one slope | Creased by wind, may lie back down but the mat is broken | Inspection; likely claim |
| A limb through the roof or a hole in the decking | Emergency | Same-day tarp |
| Water on the ceiling within a day of the storm | Something opened up | Same-day tarp |
Hail damage roof repair in Des Moines is rarely a repair. A hailstone knocks the granules off and bruises the fiberglass mat underneath; from the roof it looks like a dark, soft spot the size of a dime to a golf ball. One or two hits is nothing. Eight or ten in a chalked 10x10 test square is a slope that gets replaced, and three slopes like that is a new roof.
Emergency roof repair in Des Moines after a storm
Emergency roof repair in Des Moines after a big storm is triaged by water: open decking first, missing shingles second, everything else after. In the days after a major event, expect tarp crews to work from first light to dark and to prioritize by how much water is getting in. A tarp is $300–$700 by size and pitch, and your insurer treats it as mitigation — keep the receipt. A limb strike gets cut back, covered, and photographed inside before anyone touches it.
Filing the claim, in order
- Photograph the yard, the gutters, the visible slopes and any water inside, with the date.
- Request a roof-level inspection. A good contractor photographs and chalks every hit and crease, measures each slope, and writes a line-item scope.
- Call your insurer with the photos and get a claim number and the adjuster's name.
- Meet the adjuster with the contractor's scope in hand. Most contractors will attend if you ask.
- If the adjuster's estimate leaves out a slope or the gutters, ask for a re-inspection. Bring the chalk photos.
Our storm damage checklist walks through each step with more detail.
What your Iowa policy actually pays
Sudden wind and hail damage is covered; age and wear are not. Many Iowa policies written recently carry a separate wind and hail deductible of 1–2% of dwelling value — $3,000–$6,000 on a $300,000 house — and some pay only actual cash value on older roofs. Read the declarations page first. A $500 repair against a $3,000 deductible is not a claim; a bruised roof is.
A "free roof" offer on your doorstep usually means the deductible is being hidden in an inflated invoice with your name on the claim. Before signing anything that ties a contract to your insurance payout, ask your insurer what your policy allows, and check with the Iowa Attorney General's consumer protection office or the Iowa Insurance Division about your rights, including whether you can cancel if the claim is denied.
The week after the storm
Out-of-state crews with magnetic door signs work Ankeny, Waukee, Grimes and Altoona within days of every hail storm, because the roofs there are all the same age. Before signing a contingency agreement, look the company up on the Iowa Division of Labor's registration search, ask for insurance certificates, and get a written scope. Anyone who has been through a few Iowa storm seasons has a 515 number and an address you can drive past. See questions to ask a Des Moines roofing contractor.
Common mistakes after a storm
- Climbing up to look. Wet shingles, a loose ladder and a downed line in the gutter is how storm injuries happen. Photograph from the ground.
- Waiting for a leak. Hail bruises and creased shingles often don't leak for a year or two. By then the insurer can argue the damage came from a later storm.
- Throwing away evidence. Keep a few of the shingles that came off, hailstones in the freezer photographed next to a ruler, and the receipts for any tarp or cleanup.
- Letting the first crew decide. One roof-level inspection from a local contractor, one written scope, then the call to your insurer. Not the other way round.
- Paying up front. A deposit for materials is normal. Paying most of the job before the insurer has approved the scope is not.
Wind damage that hides
Straight-line wind leaves less to look at than hail. The shingle bends back, the seal strip breaks, and the tab lies back down. From the yard the roof looks fine. Up close, a creased shingle shows a line across the tab where the mat folded. That crease is permanent, and the shingle will lift in the next strong gust. Ask for photos of the creases next to an undamaged shingle so the adjuster can see the difference.
If only one slope is covered
Insurers often pay for just the slope that took the hail. Ask the contractor straight out whether that money is better put toward a full replacement with Class 4 shingles, so the next storm doesn't restart this.
Other roofing services
Roof Repair
Leaks at flashing, boots and valleys, wind-lifted shingles, soft decking — how they are found from the attic, what they cost, and what a good repair includes. Most jobs $300–$1,500.
Roof Repair →Roof Replacement
What a full tear-off should include: decking check, synthetic underlayment, ice-and-water at the eaves, wind-rated shingles. $9,000–$20,000 on most homes.
Roof Replacement →Ice Dam Repair
Steam removal of the dam, repair of the damage underneath, and the attic air-sealing and ventilation work that stops it coming back next January.
Ice Dam Repair →Roof Inspection
A walked inspection with photos and a written report — for buying a house, filing a claim, or finding out how many winters the roof has left.
Roof Inspection →Questions roofers get asked
Is it worth filing a claim for a few blown-off shingles?
Rarely. A $400 patch against a wind and hail deductible of $2,000 or more costs you money and puts a claim on your record. File when the damage is across a slope or more, when a tree came through, or when water is inside. Get the repair priced first so you can compare it with your deductible.
How long after a hail storm can I file in Iowa?
Your policy asks for prompt notice, and a roof-level inspection within a couple of weeks makes the claim clean. Waiting a season lets the insurer argue about which storm caused what, and newer policies sometimes set their own deadline for wind and hail. Photograph it now even if you decide later.
Can my roof be tarped the same day?
After a storm, contractors usually tarp from first light until dark, worst damage first. Most tarps run $300–$700 and are typically treated as emergency mitigation under the claim; keep the receipt. If a limb is through the deck or water is pouring in, say so when you call.
The adjuster said my roof is just old. Now what?
Sometimes that's fair. But fresh bruises with exposed mat, or creased shingles on a 10–15 year old roof, are storm damage and can be documented as such. Ask for a re-inspection and give the adjuster the contractor's chalked test-square photos and written scope. Many first estimates get revised.
Need roof work in Des Moines?
Call for a free estimate. Mon–Sat 7am–7pm.