You hear it before you see it. That unmistakable sound of ice hitting your roof, your car, your windows. Then it stops, and you're standing in your living room wondering what just happened to your house.
If you're a homeowner in Dallas-Fort Worth, this isn't hypothetical. DFW is one of the most hail-prone metro areas in the country, and the storms that roll through between March and June can drop baseball-sized hail with almost no warning.
So what do you actually do after? Not the generic "call your insurance company" advice you'll find everywhere. The specific, step-by-step stuff that protects you from getting screwed over in the weeks that follow.
Stay on the ground. Seriously.
Your first instinct might be to climb up on the roof and look. Don't. A damaged roof is an unstable roof, and you can't properly assess hail damage from up there anyway. A professional inspector needs to be on the roof — not you, not your neighbor, not your buddy who "used to do construction."
Walk your property from ground level instead. You're looking for the obvious stuff: dents in gutters and downspouts, cracked window screens, dings on your AC unit, marks on your fence or siding. This is actually more useful than you'd think. If your gutters look like someone took a ball-peen hammer to them, your roof caught the same hail. Insurance adjusters know this.
Document everything. Then document it again.
This is where most people lose money. Not because insurance denies their claim, but because they didn't have enough evidence to get the full payout.
Here's what to photograph:
- Wide shots of each side of your house, your roof (from the ground), your yard, your driveway
- Close-ups of every dent, crack, or mark you find — on gutters, siding, window frames, screens, the AC condenser, patio furniture, your car
- Hailstones on the ground, ideally next to a coin or ruler for scale. If you can grab a few and toss them in the freezer, even better.
- Any water coming in. Check your attic, ceilings, and around windows.
Take notes about the storm itself: what time it started, how long it lasted, what direction it came from. Your phone's weather app and timestamped photos do most of this automatically, but write it down anyway.
Don't throw anything away yet
Broken screen? Cracked vent cover? That piece of siding that got knocked loose? Leave it all where it is until your insurance adjuster has seen it. Moving or discarding damaged materials before the inspection can weaken your claim.
If something is a safety hazard — a broken window, a dangling gutter — make the minimum repair needed to prevent further damage. Cover the broken window with plastic. Secure the gutter so it doesn't fall on someone. Take photos before and after you make any temporary fix.
Be careful who knocks on your door
Within hours of a major hailstorm in Dallas, trucks with out-of-state plates will start showing up in your neighborhood. Storm chasers. They'll knock on your door, tell you your roof is destroyed, and offer to handle everything — including your insurance claim — if you just sign right here.
Some of these companies do fine work. Many don't. And the ones who pressure you to sign something the same day the storm hits are the ones to be most cautious about.
A few things to watch for:
- Anyone who offers to pay or waive your insurance deductible. That's illegal in Texas.
- Contractors who want you to sign an "assignment of benefits" before you've even talked to your insurance company.
- Companies with no local address, no Texas license, and no verifiable references in DFW.
There's no rush to pick a contractor. You have time. Take it.
Call your insurance company, but know your numbers first
Before you file the claim, pull up your policy and check two things: your deductible (specifically your wind/hail deductible, which in Texas is often a percentage of your home's insured value rather than a flat dollar amount) and your filing deadline (most Texas policies require claims within one year, but check yours).
When you call, stick to the facts. "We had a hailstorm on [date]. I've documented damage to [list what you found]. I'd like to file a claim and schedule an adjuster visit."
Don't let anyone — not a contractor, not a "public adjuster" who showed up uninvited — file the claim for you. You file it. You control it.
Get a professional inspection before the adjuster shows up
Ideally, you want an independent inspection from a reputable local company before the insurance adjuster arrives. This gives you a baseline: you'll know what's actually damaged, what it should cost to fix, and whether the adjuster's assessment is fair.
When the adjuster does come, be there. Walk the property with them. Point out everything you documented. If you have an inspector or roofer you trust, ask them to be present too. An experienced local professional can spot things an adjuster might miss — or might not look for.
The first 24 hours matter more than you think
Insurance companies process thousands of claims after a major hailstorm. The homeowners who get the best outcomes are the ones who document thoroughly, file promptly, and don't sign anything under pressure.
Take the photos. Make the notes. Call your insurance. Get a professional opinion. And don't let anyone rush you into a decision you're not comfortable with.
If you're in Dallas-Fort Worth and you're not sure where to start, we help homeowners figure out what's actually going on with their property after a storm — no sales pitch, no pressure. We're not contractors. We just help you get the facts so you can make the right call.