Don’t Wait Till After Hail Season to Turn in a Claim

No, you should NOT wait. If it hails again and your deductible and policy changes then the claim pays you less because the most recent storm is the Date of Loss.

WE DO NOT RECOMMEND THIS

Here are the last 3 years of hail dates for North Platte, NE:

7/10/2023 – 2.75″ Hail

7/22/2033 – 1.75″ Hail (This is a CAT LOSS DATE)

5/14/2024 – 1/25″ Hail

5/23/2024 – 1.00″ Hail

5/14/026 – 1.75″ Hail

5/18/2025 – 1.00″ Hail

6/2/2025 – 1.00″ Hail

7/19/2025 – 1.75″ Hail

7/23/2025 – 1.50″ Hail

Visit some key insurance terms here.

Deductibles

Deductibles go up, not down.  The policy in place at the time corresponds to the Date of the Loss.  If your policy renews and it hail again during the new policy term then you are paying the current deductible which is now higher.

Current Pricing

The pricing used on the adjuster’s estimate is from the Date of Loss not the date they inspect the roof.  The longer you wait to turn in a loss then the pricing is out-of-date.

This means a delay because the roofer must seek to get a supplement approved for recent pricing to be applied to the claim.  If your roof is leaking then the delay can cause more damage to the interior.

ACV Schedules on Roofs

Another horrible example is this, hail happened on 6/12/2025 in North Platte.  The homeowner wanted to wait till “after hail season” to turn in the claim. But, it hailed again on 7/19/25 AND 7/23/2025.  Shouldn’t be a problem, right?

WRONG – the policy renewed on 7/20/25 with a HIGHER deductible and an ACV Schedule on the roof.  The homeowner ended up paying over $8,500 out-of-pocket all because they delayed turning in the hail claim.  If they had turned it in on 6/12/25 then they would have had a lower deductible and RCV (Replacement Cost Value) on the roof.

That delay cost the homeowner $8,500 and nothing could be done about it.

CAT Teams

Another reason to turn in claims promptly is that adjusters are dispatched after the storm.  Sometimes the CAT Team (Catastrophe Team) is dispatched with adjusters from all over the United States adjusting claims until they are all inspected and paid.

When you wait to turn in the hail then you are waiting longer for the adjuster because typically 1 claims adjuster will cover several hundred miles of territory and they don’t just adjust hail.  They adjust auto accidents, fire, dog bites, water losses and the such.  A single adjuster is usually slammed with claims and the CAT Team who was helping with the storm has already adjusted all the claims and went to another location.

You Should Turn in Hail Claims Promptly

1) This ensures your deductible is at its lowest – they only go up, not down.

2) This can help so that you don’t run into an ACV Schedule with the roof – the older the roof, the more percentage you pay out-of-pocket.

3) This ensures recent pricing is applied to the adjuster’s estimate, called a Scope of Loss.

4) The CAT Team is present to adjust all the hail claims swiftly so that homeowners are not waiting on an adjuster.

5) One claim – one deductible.  You don’t want to run the risk of multiple storms with multiple dates of loss.