June 15th, 2025. I'll never forget that date. I was grilling burgers in my backyard in Westminster when the sky turned that weird greenish-yellow color that every Coloradoan knows means trouble. Ten minutes later, golf-ball-sized hail was pounding my roof, my car, and my neighbor's brand-new Tesla. The storm lasted 22 minutes. The damage lasted months.
If you've never been through a serious hailstorm, you don't understand how fast your life can change. One minute you're watching the Broncos game. The next minute you're filing an insurance claim that will determine whether you can afford to fix your house or car. The first 48 hours after a hailstorm are critical. What you do — or don't do — during that window can make the difference between a smooth claim and a nightmare.
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Here's what I learned from processing hundreds of hail claims and living through my own.
First: take photos immediately. I mean immediately. Before you move anything, before you clean up, before you even call your insurance company. Document everything. Every dent on your car. Every crack in your siding. Every damaged shingle you can see from the ground. Every broken window. Every piece of damaged outdoor furniture. Take wide shots and close-ups. Turn on the timestamp if your phone has it. These photos are your evidence, and evidence is everything in a hail claim.
When the 2019 hailstorm hit Aurora, I had a client who took 73 photos of his house and car within two hours of the storm. He had photos of the hail stones next to a ruler. He had photos of the storm clouds. He had photos of his neighbor's damaged roof for comparison. His claim was approved in 8 days for full replacement value. Another client in the same neighborhood took 4 photos and called me three days later. His claim took 6 weeks and he got a reduced payout because the adjuster said some damage "might have been pre-existing." Same storm. Same neighborhood. Completely different outcomes. The difference was documentation.
Second: don't clean up too fast. I know it's tempting to start sweeping up glass and covering broken windows with tarps. But if you clean up before the adjuster sees the damage, you're removing evidence. Take your photos first. Then make temporary repairs to prevent further damage — but document those too. Keep receipts for tarps, boards, anything you buy for emergency repairs. Most policies cover "reasonable emergency repairs" but you need to prove you made them.
Third: call your insurance company within 24 hours. Not because they'll send an adjuster immediately — they won't. But because the claim timestamp matters. In a major storm, insurance companies get thousands of claims. The earlier yours is in the queue, the earlier it gets processed. During the 2021 storm in Colorado Springs, some people waited a week to file. By then, the company had brought in adjusters from out of state who didn't know local construction costs. Those claims took 3x longer to process and had more disputes.
Fourth: get your own estimates. Don't wait for the insurance company's adjuster to tell you what the damage is worth. Call a local roofing contractor. Call a body shop. Get independent estimates in writing. When the adjuster shows up, you'll have comparable numbers to discuss. I always tell my clients to get three estimates. Not because they'll use all three, but because it gives them negotiating power. If the insurance adjuster says $8,000 and three contractors say $12,000, $13,000, and $14,000, you have a strong case for a higher payout.
Fifth: understand your policy before the storm. This is the one everyone skips. Do you have replacement cost coverage or actual cash value? If it's ACV, your payout will be reduced for depreciation. A 10-year-old roof might only get you 50% of replacement cost. If it's replacement cost, you get the full amount — but usually you have to actually replace the roof first, then get reimbursed. That means you need cash upfront. Many people don't know this until it's too late.
After the 2025 storm, I spent three weeks helping neighbors navigate their claims. One guy, Dave, had ACV coverage and didn't know it. His roof was 15 years old. The adjuster offered $4,200. The replacement cost was $14,000. Dave had to come up with $9,800 out of pocket or live with a damaged roof. He chose to live with the damaged roof because he didn't have $9,800. Two months later, his roof leaked during a rainstorm and caused $23,000 in interior damage. His insurance denied the interior damage because he "failed to maintain the roof."
That's how the spiral starts. One bad decision leads to another. And it all traces back to not understanding the policy before the storm hit.
The last thing I'll say: be patient but persistent. After a major storm, adjusters are overwhelmed. Claims take longer. But that doesn't mean you should disappear. Call every week for an update. Email photos if you find additional damage. Be polite but firm. The squeaky wheel gets the grease — but the angry wheel gets ignored. Find the balance.
Hail is part of life in Colorado. You can't prevent it. But you can be ready for it. Take photos, know your policy, get estimates, and don't accept the first offer. Those five things will save you thousands of dollars and months of stress.
— Marcus, Denver
