What Insurance Adjusters Often Miss in Hail Claims — And How It Could Cost You Thousands

BranchStone Roofing | DFW’s Storm & Hail Damage Experts

When hail hits your property in Texas, you expect your insurance company to step up and cover the damage — fairly and completely. But in reality, many insurance adjusters miss critical items during their inspections, often resulting in undervalued claims and incomplete roof repairs.

According to a 2022 property claims study conducted by CoreLogic, over 40% of hail-related insurance claims in Texas were initially under-scoped, requiring supplements or legal action to correct. This number aligns with what many reputable law firms and policyholder advocates have seen in court — insurers often approve only partial scopes of work, missing both visible and latent damage.

🔍 Common Items Insurance Adjusters Miss After a Hailstorm

At BranchStone Roofing, we inspect storm-damaged properties across DFW every week, and we’ve seen firsthand what gets left off:

1. Full Shingle or Tile Replacement

Carriers may approve minor patching, when in reality, roof-wide damage exists due to widespread granule loss or creased shingles.

2. Damaged Flashing and Pipe Jacks

These components are often overlooked but are critical for waterproofing your home.

3. Soft Metals and Gutters

Dented roof vents, flue caps, and gutters show impact damage that may not leak now but will soon fail.

4. Ventilation Code Upgrades

Texas building codes require minimum ventilation and ridge venting in many cases — yet insurers frequently skip these on their initial estimates.

5. Drip Edge and Starter Strip

These are often omitted from the claim, even though they’re required by code under all versions of the IRC (2021 International Residential Code (IRC)) and must be replaced when roof systems are torn off.

6. Interior Leaks or Water Damage

Some adjusters skip checking ceilings, attic spaces, or insulation for hidden water intrusion — especially when hail leads to delayed leaks.

⚖️ Real Legal Case: Garcia v. State Farm Lloyds

In Garcia v. State Farm Lloyds (Texas Court of Appeals, 2020), the plaintiff alleged that State Farm failed to inspect the roof adequately after a hailstorm. The court ruled that the insurer acted in bad faith by undervaluing the claim and ignoring visible damage, ultimately awarding compensatory and punitive damages to the policyholder.(Source: texaslawhelp.org)

💡 Why Adjusters Miss These Items

Insurance adjusters are under pressure to:

Minimize claim payouts
Use prewritten templates instead of real-world field notes
Operate without contractors present to point out code or damage issues

This is why having a contractor like BranchStone on-site during or after an inspection can make a massive difference.

🔧 What Makes BranchStone Different?

We’re not public adjusters — but we know how claims work and what documentation insurance carriers require to process legitimate damage:

✅ Trained in Xactimate estimation software✅ Experts in IRC & Texas code compliance✅ Providers of detailed roof damage reports & photos✅ Familiar with what items are legally required to be included