Texas Hail Damage Lawyer

Hail and Storm Damage in Texas

Texas leads the nation in the number of hail damage insurance claims filed and the amount of the damage by a wide margin. South Dakota, the state with the next highest amount of claim damage, trails Texas by more than 30%.

According to RMIIA’s The Hail Hazard and Its Impact on Property Insurance:

• 6.2 million properties in the U.S. saw at least one damaging hail event in 2020
• Hail insurance claims in 2020 exceeded $14 billion in losses
• Over 1.5 million property owners in Texas suffered hail damage in 2020
• The next-highest state, Illinois, had only 372,000 properties affected

Because Texas has so many hail incidents each year, it’s important for commercial and residential property owners to carefully review their insurance policy coverage, noting limits for hail damage and whether the policy has “cosmetic damage” exclusions.

Property Damage from Hail

Hail storms are more common in the spring and early summer, but a hail storm can happen at any time of the year, especially when the temperatures fluctuate widely. Hail can cause a great deal of property damage, including:

• Tears and holes in the roof
• Damaged windows, like splintered frames, broken shutters, and broken glass
• Dented garage doors
• Broken car windows and dents on the vehicle’s body
• Damage to patio furniture
• Damaged hardscaping and landscaping

Hail can also damage other buildings on your property, like a porch, shed, or other outbuilding.

Roofs often take the worst damage in hail storms, such as:

• Split shingles
• Cracks in flat roofs
• Holes in the roof
• Missing shingles
• Granule loss on asphalt shingles

The high winds accompanying a hail-producing thunderstorm can also knock down trees and power lines. If a tree falls on your house or car, you’re looking at some serious, expensive damage.

If you know you live in a part of Texas more susceptible to hail storms, there are a few steps you can take to protect your home and property. Changing regular windows to impact-resistant windows or installing hurricane shutters on your home or business reduces the chances of windows breaking.

Common Types of Hail Damage Claims in Texas

Your insurance company will send an insurance adjuster to assess the extent of your property’s hail damage after a storm. 

Insurance companies are well-known to undervalue or deny claims, so one way to protect yourself is to have your contractor meet with the insurance adjuster to ensure the true extent of the damage is verified by a professional.

Residential Hail Damage Claims

Residential hail damage insurance claims include damage to your home and other buildings on your property and are covered by your homeowner's insurance policy. Some policies have an exclusion for “cosmetic damage,” which means that if the hail-damaged part of the home is still functional, the damage won’t be covered.

Commercial Hail Damage Claims

Commercial building owners see much of the same sort of property damage as a homeowner. Check your commercial policy carefully to ensure you have enough coverage. If the hail damages the roof and leads to damage to the building’s interior, you may be liable for damage suffered by the tenant.

Hail Damage Car Insurance Claims

Even if your vehicle was parked at your house when it was damaged by hail, it’s still covered by your auto insurance, not your home insurance. Vehicle hail damage can be extensive, including:

• Large dents and chipped paint
• Broken or cracked front or back windscreens
• Broken mirrors
• Cracked or broken windows

When your car is covered in small dents or has water damage inside due to a broken window, and you don’t receive the full amount of damages covered by your insurance company, contact a lawyer about taking legal action.

Why Hail Damage Insurance Claims Are Denied

The most common reason these claims are denied is that the insurance company determines that there is no real damage — only “cosmetic,” or the damage was already present. However, this isn’t the only reason an insurance adjuster will undervalue or deny your valid hail damage claim.

Some other common reasons for an insurance claim denial or undervaluation include:

• No structural damage is present
• The damage is only missing shingles
• The damage is insignificant, and your insurance claim amount is excessive

Even if the insurance company approves your claim, it will often propose the least-expensive solution to the problem. This may mean you will have to compromise the repair job for your home or business, and a poorly executed or incomplete hail damage repair could leave your building even more vulnerable to damage and leaks the next time a hail storm blows through.

Hail damage lawyers can help ensure that your insurance company treats you fairly and pays the true amount of your claim.

How Can Our Hail Damage Lawyers Help You?

Even if you never miss a premium payment or it’s your first time filing a claim on the policy, your insurance company may still try to limit the payment on your valid claim.

An attorney who understands Texas insurance laws can prevent this from happening, from making sure that your claim is properly supported to drafting an appeal for a denied claim or even filing legal action for bad-faith insurance practices.