What to do in the first 48 hours after a St. Louis hail storm

First: document. Walk the perimeter of the house with your phone in your hand and photograph the gutters, the downspouts, the window screens, and any pieces of trim that look bent or pocked. You do not need to climb the roof yourself. In fact, please do not. The photos at ground level establish that something happened on this address and on this date. That date stamp matters when you file a claim.

Second: call your roofer before you call your insurance company. Counterintuitive, but here is why. A working roofer can tell you in fifteen minutes whether the damage is cosmetic (no claim worth filing) or genuine (claim worth filing). Filing a claim that the adjuster denies counts against your record for years and can affect your premiums. Filing a claim that the adjuster approves does not raise your rate the way an at-fault auto claim does.

Third: keep door-knockers off the porch. After a major hail event, out-of-state crews show up in St. Charles and St. Louis County within seventy-two hours. They knock on doors, offer free inspections, and pressure homeowners into signing assignment-of-benefits paperwork on the spot. That paperwork gives them the right to file your claim, collect your insurance payout, and choose your materials. If anyone asks you to sign anything in your driveway, the answer is no. A reputable local contractor will give you a written proposal with no signature required up front.

Fourth: get a real inspection on the calendar. A project consultant walks the roof, the attic, and the ground. The visit ends with one of three answers: no claim worth filing, file a claim and here is what we will document for the adjuster, or you need a partial repair without involving insurance. Free, no obligation, no signature required.