What to Do After Hail Damage in the Rio Grande Valley
Follow the claim from storm day to final paperwork with this guide. Along the way, you learn to tell a local roofer from a crew passing through.
Written by the Aceves Home Remodeling team · · Last reviewed
A remodeling contractor based in Rio Grande City, working across the four Valley counties. The team is led by David Aceves, whose background is building custom homes, from the slab and the framing to the finish work.
Photograph the damage from the ground the same day, then open the claim with your own carrier. Do not sign anything a crew hands you at the door. Get the roof documented with dated photos, meet the adjuster on the roof, and keep every paper in one folder.
What should you do in the first 24 hours after the hail stops?
Check the people in the house first, and look for broken glass inside. Then walk the yard and look at the whole house. Do not climb a wet roof.
Photograph everything you can see from the ground that same day. Your phone stores the date and time inside the file. That date is what your carrier asks for later.
If water is coming in, put buckets down and move furniture. Photograph the ceiling stain while it is still wet. A dried stain does not prove the same thing.
Do not sign anything yet. Papers signed in the first rush are the ones that cost you later. Day one is for documenting and reporting, nothing else.
What exactly should you photograph, and from where?
Start with what you can reach without a ladder. Soft metal dents first, and it photographs fine from the ground. Dents count as evidence the same way bruised shingles do.
Take a wide shot and a close shot of every item. The wide shot shows where the damage is. The close shot shows how hard it was hit.
Keep everything in one album, labeled with the storm date. Do not delete the shots that look repetitive. An adjuster would rather see too many than too few.
- Hail still on the grass or the driveway, with a coin beside it for scale
- Gutters and downspouts, close up, on every side of the house
- Roof vents and the water heater flue, zoomed in from the ground
- The air conditioner unit outside, especially the aluminum fins
- The garage door, the window screens and the mailbox
- Granules piled in the driveway, on the sidewalk and on the patio
- All four sides of the house, one full wall at a time
When do you call your insurance company, and what do you need ready?
Make the call yourself. The claim opens in the name of the policy holder. Anyone who opens it for you is now inside your claim.
Have the policy number and the exact date of loss ready. A wrong date of loss is one of the fastest ways to lose a Valley claim. If it hailed twice, write down both dates.
Ask for the claim number and the name of the adjuster in writing. Ask what your deductible is and how it applies. Save that email with your photos.
Ask whether your policy pays replacement cost or actual cash value. Those are not the same, and the gap is yours to cover. Get that answer from your carrier, in writing.
How does a hail claim run, from the storm to the new roof?
The claim has an order, and the order matters. Each step leaves a paper, and that paper carries the next step. Skip one and the next one falls over.
How long each stage takes depends on how wide the storm was. When one cell crosses the whole Valley, adjusters run behind. That is a reason to open the claim early.
You control two steps: opening the claim and approving the work. In the others you document and stand beside the process. Nobody signs those two steps for you.
| Stage | Who moves | What you should have in hand |
|---|---|---|
| The same day | You | Phone photos of the yard, the gutters and any hail on the ground |
| The first few days | You and your contractor | A roof walk with dated photos, chalked hits and a test square per slope |
| Opening the claim | You | Policy number, date of loss and your photo file |
| Adjuster visit | Carrier and contractor | Both of them on the roof, looking at the same slopes |
| Scope and approval | Carrier | The written scope in line items, and your deductible in writing |
| Supplement, when needed | Contractor | Photo evidence of what the first scope left out |
| Schedule and build | Contractor | Start date, material list, and tear-off and dry-in the same day |
| Final paperwork | You | Invoice, workmanship warranty and the photo file, all in one folder |
What should you not sign in the week after a storm?
Paper moves fast after hail, and some of it looks like routine. Signing in a hurry is the most expensive mistake of the season. Nothing gets signed the day it is handed to you.
Read who ends up controlling the claim. Read what happens if you change your mind. If there is no line-item price attached, there is nothing to sign yet.
Ask to keep the paper overnight. A contractor based here is in no rush to leave. Anyone who needs a signature today is telling you they will be gone tomorrow.
| The paper | What it actually does | Ask this first |
|---|---|---|
| Assignment of benefits | Hands control of your claim to the contractor | Why do you need control of my claim |
| Contingency agreement with no scope | Ties you to one contractor before a price exists | What exactly am I agreeing to buy |
| A contract with blank spaces left in it | Lets someone fill in numbers after you sign | Why is this contract going out with blanks in it |
| A deposit asked for at the door | Moves your money before any work is scheduled | What does this deposit pay for today |
| Carrier paperwork you have not read | Can lock in a scope that misses real damage | Can I take a day to read this |
| An offer to cover your deductible | Texas law does not let a contractor absorb it | Why would you pay a part of my claim |
How do you tell a local roofer from a crew that followed the storm?
Out of state crews reach the Valley within days of a hail event. They knock, they collect a deposit, and they leave. The trouble shows up months later, when there is nobody to call.
Texas does not issue a state license for general contractors or for roofers. Electrical and plumbing work does require a state license. So a name on a truck door proves very little by itself.
What does prove something is an address, a written warranty and who climbs the ladder. Ask where the shop is and how long it has been there. Drive by it if you are unsure.
| What you check | Local contractor | Crew following the storm |
|---|---|---|
| Address | A Valley street address you can drive to | A hotel, a truck, or a number from another state |
| How they found you | You called, or a neighbor sent them | They knocked the day after the storm |
| Money up front | Payment tied to stages of the work | A deposit asked for at the door |
| Who walks the roof | The owner, and he comes down with photos | A salesperson who never goes up |
| Electrical and plumbing work | Licensed trades, because Texas requires it there | Vague answers about who holds the license |
| After the job | A written warranty from a business still here | A phone number that stops working |
| Pressure to sign | Time to read the estimate line by line | Signature wanted today, before they leave town |
What does Valley hail actually do to a roof?
Hail about one inch across is enough to bruise an asphalt shingle. The granules break loose and the mat underneath goes soft. From the street the roof can still look fine.
A bruised shingle does not leak that week. It leaks two summers later, after 160 degree surface heat finishes what the ice started. That delay is why claims get filed late.
Wind from the same storm creases tabs in a line along one slope. Metal roofs dent on the flat pans and lose coating where they were hit. Each of those needs its own photo.
Spring line storms bring the hail, March through May. Hurricane season brings the wind back, June through November. A dated inspection before March makes both easier to prove.
What are your options if the damage is real and you have no policy?
Plenty of Valley homes are paid off and carry no policy. The work gets quoted the same way, by line item. The material and the warranty do not change.
With no claim in the middle, the leak sets the order. Close what is letting water in first. Schedule the rest once the house is dry.
Ask for the estimate in writing before any money moves. The exact number comes from measuring your roof, not from a phone call. You get it in writing within 48 hours of the visit.
Keep the damage photos anyway. If you buy a policy later, a documented history of what happened and what was fixed is worth having.
A remodeling contractor based in Rio Grande City, working across the four Valley counties. The team is led by David Aceves, whose background is building custom homes, from the slab and the framing to the finish work.
Last reviewed: · More about Aceves Home Remodeling
Questions we get02
Before you call
Should I let a roofer on the roof before I call my insurance company?
You can, and walking into the call with photos helps. Just make sure nothing gets repaired before the adjuster sees it. Documenting the damage is fine. Covering it up is what causes trouble.
Do I have to use the contractor my insurance company suggests?
No. You choose who works on your house. Ask each contractor for a line-item scope in the same format the adjuster uses. That is what makes the comparison honest.
What if the storm damaged my fence and patio cover too?
Photograph those the same day and name them when you open the claim. Fence panels, posts and patio cover panels are their own line items. Damage left off the first list is harder to add later.
Will putting a tarp on the roof hurt my claim?
No. Carriers expect you to keep the damage from spreading. Photograph the roof before and after the tarp, and keep the receipt. Ask your carrier in writing whether that cost is covered.
How do I keep the claim paperwork straight from start to finish?
One folder, paper or digital, with the date of loss written on the front. Claim number, adjuster name, photo file, scope, invoice and warranty all live there. Every phone call gets a line with the date and the name.
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