After a hailstorm in Colorado, you should do three things in order: make the house safe and stop more water getting in, record the damage with dated photos, and then report the claim and get a roof inspection before you sign anything. This checklist puts every step in that order, from the first 24 hours to the day the adjuster’s estimate arrives. Print it, or save it as a PDF and tick the boxes on your phone. It is general information about insurance and contracts, not legal or coverage advice, and Integrity Roofing and Painting is a roofer, not a public adjuster.
On this page: First 24 hours · First week · Before you sign · When the estimate arrives · What a roofer can do
The first 24 hours
Safety and evidence come first. Hail marks on soft metal fade with sun and rain, and a small leak spreads into insulation and drywall within days.
- Stay off the roof. Wet, hail-scarred shingles are slippery, and foot traffic leaves scuffs that can be mistaken for hail.
- Photograph hailstones on the ground next to a coin or ruler, as soon as it is safe to go outside.
- Walk each side of the house and photograph dents and paint spatter on gutters, downspouts, air conditioner fins, window screens, metal vents, the mailbox and patio furniture. IBHS, the insurer-funded research institute, says these marks on soft metals confirm that hail fell.
- Take a wide photo of each side of the house so each close-up can be matched to its wall.
- Check the siding on the storm-facing walls. Vinyl cracks along the bottom lip of each panel (hail-damaged vinyl siding); fiber cement and wood show chips, crushed edges and splits (hail on fiber cement and wood).
- Check ceilings, the tops of walls and the attic with a flashlight for drips or new stains.
- Stop further damage: cover broken windows and have exposed roof areas tarped. The Colorado Division of Insurance lists this as a homeowner step after hail.
- Keep every receipt for tarps, boards and emergency labor.
- Write down the date, the time the hail started and roughly how long it lasted.
The first week
- Find your declarations page and read your deductible. The Division of Insurance notes that many Colorado wind and hail deductibles are a percentage of your dwelling coverage, often 1%, 2% or 5%, rather than a flat amount, and that the insurer pays nothing when the estimate is below it.
- Ask your insurer for a full copy of the policy, endorsements included. Under C.R.S. 10-4-110.8(10), it must send one within 3 business days of your request.
- Look through the endorsements for a cosmetic damage exclusion or a roof payment schedule based on roof age. Our cosmetic damage exclusion guide explains how those read.
- Report the claim to your insurer or agent. We found no Colorado statute that sets one reporting deadline for every hail claim; your policy sets the window, so report as soon as you reasonably can.
- Write down the claim number, the adjuster’s name and how to reach them.
- Look up the storm in NOAA’s Storm Events Database or the Storm Prediction Center’s daily storm reports, and save the entry for your area. Our Colorado storm archive lists the larger Front Range hail days.
- Book a roof inspection with a local contractor, and ask for dated photos of your own roof, slope by slope.
- If a roofer knocks on your door or calls first, slow down. The Division of Insurance advises caution with door-to-door and phone solicitations after storms and suggests Colorado-based contractors with references you can check. Our page on roofing solicitors covers local rules.
Before you sign a roofing contract
Colorado’s roofing contract law, C.R.S. 6-22, decides what the contract must say. Use this list with the contract in front of you.
- Get estimates from at least three businesses, as the Colorado Attorney General recommends, and compare scope, not just the bottom line.
- Confirm the contractor is licensed where you live. Colorado has no state roofing license, so the license comes from your city or county; in El Paso County that is the Pikes Peak Regional Building Department, and in Denver it is the city’s own contractor license.
- Check that the contract describes the work and materials and gives approximate dates and an approximate cost based on the damage known at signing.
- Check for the contractor’s physical address, email and phone, and its surety and liability insurer with contact details.
- Find the cancellation and deposit-refund policy, including your right to cancel within 72 hours of signing for a full deposit refund.
- Find the bold statement that your payments are held in trust until materials are delivered or most of the work is done.
- On an insurance job, find the statement that the contractor cannot pay, waive or rebate any part of your deductible. Colorado bans that, and an insurer may disregard the estimate of a contractor who offers it.
- Treat a request for more than 10% of the cost up front, or for cash, gift cards or cryptocurrency, as a red flag. Both are on the Attorney General’s list.
- Make sure the contractor, not you, will pull the permit.
- Do not sign your insurance check over to a contractor. The FTC suggests asking your bank about releasing money in stages as you approve the work.
Our Colorado roofing contract law guide explains each required term in more detail.
When the adjuster’s estimate arrives
- Read the summary page first: replacement cost, depreciation, actual cash value, deductible and net payment. Our scope of loss checklist walks through each part.
- Ask the adjuster for an itemized explanation of the settlement if any line is unclear. The Division of Insurance recommends asking.
- If anything is denied, ask for a written denial that names the reason and the policy language.
- Compare the roof section with your contractor’s scope, line by line.
- If hidden damage, such as rotted decking, turns up during the work, report it to your insurer before work continues so it can consider a supplement.
- Note your 72-hour window to cancel the roofing contract after a written denial, if you need it.
- Ask your insurer, in writing, how and by when to claim recoverable depreciation. On a partial loss such as hail, the policy sets that deadline.
- If you disagree with the claim decision, your options include appraisal if your policy has it, the Division of Insurance’s consumer services team (303-894-7490) and an attorney.
What a roofer can and cannot do for you
Under C.R.S. 6-22-105(3), a roofer with a signed contract may discuss the scope of repairs with your insurer on your behalf. A roofer may not act as, or claim to be, a public adjuster, which means coverage questions stay between you, your insurer and, if you choose, a licensed public adjuster or attorney. Our guide to public adjusters and roofers in Colorado explains the difference.
What we do is the roof side of the paperwork: dated photos of every slope, measurements, and a written scope that lists the code and manufacturer items your roof needs. Integrity Roofing and Painting is veteran-owned, family-run since 1990, and an Owens Corning Platinum Preferred contractor with 650+ Google reviews. After a storm, see our Colorado Springs hail repair and Denver hail repair pages, or call (719) 488-2800 for a free Colorado Springs inspection or (303) 209-0152 for a free Denver inspection.
More homeowner checklists: Roof maintenance, spring and fall · Hiring a roofer in Colorado and Texas · Wildfire season
Sources: Colorado Division of Insurance, consumer advisory with tips after a hailstorm (2024); C.R.S. 10-4-110.8(10) (policy copies); C.R.S. 6-22-103, 6-22-104 and 6-22-105 (roofing contracts); Colorado Attorney General, Contractor Fraud; FTC, How to avoid scams after weather emergencies; IBHS, Is it hail damage?; NOAA NCEI, Storm Events Database; NOAA Storm Prediction Center, Storm Reports.
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