What homeowners should know after a hailstorm in El Paso

Hail is the most common cause of residential insurance claims across West Texas and southern New Mexico. A single storm can drop pellets the size of marbles across half of El Paso. Most homeowners do not know there is damage until a routine inspection a year later. By then the claim window is closed.

The first 48 hours after a storm matter more than most people realize.

Document before you call

Photograph every elevation of the roof from the ground. Photograph the gutters. Photograph the soft metals — vents, flashings, garage doors, A/C condenser fins. Soft metals show hail bruising clearly and are often what the adjuster looks at first. Time-stamp every photo.

Call the carrier before the contractor

Filing the claim is the first call. Not the contractor. Carriers want to assign their own adjuster and run their own inspection before any work touches the roof. A reputable contractor will respect that order. One that does not is not who you want on the claim.

Get an independent measurement of the damage

The carrier's adjuster will mark a damage count on the test square. So will any contractor you bring out. If those numbers are far apart, ask both to walk the roof together. Most carriers will allow it. The conversation on the ridge is where the real claim is decided.

Watch for the supplement

The initial scope from the adjuster is rarely the final number. Hidden damage gets uncovered during tear-off. Code upgrades push the cost up. A contractor who has run claims before knows how to file the supplement, what documentation the carrier needs, and what gets paid versus what gets denied. That work happens after the deposit is in. It is not optional.

Pick the contractor who has seen the inside of the claim, not just the roof

The roof is the easy part. The claim is the work. Ask any contractor how many supplements they have filed in the last year, how many were paid, and what the average percentage was over the initial estimate. The contractors who can answer that are the ones who have run a hundred claims. The ones who change the subject have not.

We have rebuilt homes from wind, hail, fire, and water across El Paso and Las Cruces for years. The work is the same on the roof. The work is different on the claim.

If a storm has just hit, the form above gets you to our insurance reconstruction team directly.