Hail or storm damage?
We'll take a look.

How to tell if your roof has hail damage

A lot of hail damage doesn't look like damage from the ground. If a storm came through, these are the things worth checking before you decide you got lucky:

• Dented gutters, downspouts or flashing. Metal shows hail first — if the gutters are dimpled, the roof almost certainly took the same hit.
• Granules in the gutters or at the bottom of downspouts. Shingles shed their protective granules when they're struck. Piles of what looks like coarse black sand are a bad sign.
• Dark or shiny spots on shingles. Where granules are knocked away, the asphalt underneath shows through as a darker bruise.
• Dents in soft metal. Check the AC unit's fins, vents, mailbox, and any metal siding — those dent at the same size hail that damages a roof.
• Cracked or broken window screens, and dinged siding. Wind-driven hail comes in sideways, so damage isn't only on top.
• Water stains on ceilings or in the attic showing up weeks later — often the first sign of damage nobody caught.

Does insurance cover hail damage? Most homeowners policies do cover sudden hail and wind damage, though your deductible and the age of your roof matter. We'll tell you honestly whether we think you have enough damage to be worth filing on — and if you don't, we'll say that too.

We don't waive or cover deductibles, and we won't tell you we can get a claim approved. Anyone who promises that is telling you something that isn't legal in South Dakota.