On Sunday night, September 20, hail moved through the area east of Parker, Colorado. Half-dollar hail was reported near Ponderosa Park at 9:46 p.m. and quarter-size hail near Elizabeth at 10:12 p.m., according to a storm summary from Eagle Eye Renovations. The same summary notes something every roofer in that market should underline: the Elizabeth area also saw quarter-size hail on June 23, 2026.
Two storms, three months apart, same roofs. Some homeowners filed in June. Some filed, cashed the check, and never replaced anything.
Colorado wasn’t alone. Hail.org counted 54 hail storm reports from September 18 through 20 across states including Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, and Oklahoma, with the largest stones, 3.10 inches, reported in Kiowa, Colorado. Nine days earlier, the NWS office in Austin/San Antonio issued preliminary local storm reports for hail around Converse, Texas on the night of September 11, including measured 1.75-inch hail in the Paloma subdivision.
On a roof hit more than once, the carrier’s first question isn’t whether you priced the starter strip correctly. It’s which storm did what. Get that wrong, and the supplement is dead before anyone reads a line item.
Why the date of loss decides the claim
A claim is tied to one event on one date, and everything else in the file hangs off that date.
Causation. Homeowners policies cover sudden, accidental physical loss. They don’t cover wear and tear. When a roof shows damage from more than one source, a carrier can attribute the damage it sees to a prior event, to age, or to “pre-existing” conditions and reduce or deny on that basis. United Policyholders put the counterpoint well in a published Q&A on a Texas hail denial: “Wear and tear is a condition, not a peril unto itself.” A worn roof can still have covered hail damage. You just have to show which marks belong to which storm.
Deductibles. As State Farm explains it, “In general, each time a covered claim is filed, the deductible applies.” Two storms can mean two deductibles, and some policies carry a separate wind/hail deductible. Blending two events into one scope just muddies the file.
Prior claims on the same roof. If the homeowner filed and was paid after the June storm but never replaced the roof, expect that payment to come up. How a carrier accounts for an earlier payment on damage that wasn’t repaired depends on the policy and the state. We couldn’t find a uniform rule, so read the policy and get the prior claim history on the table early.
Reporting windows and endorsements. Many policies require notice “as soon as practicable,” and endorsements can add terms of their own. A storm that happened 13 months ago may be outside the window even if the damage is obvious. Our post on policy endorsements that kill a supplement covers where those deadlines hide.
Aerial imagery. Carriers can check dated aerial images to see what a roof looked like before the claimed storm. Georgia’s HB 1344 goes as far as requiring carriers to share the date-stamped images they relied on when they cancel or nonrenew a homeowner based on aerial images, starting with policies issued or renewed on or after January 1, 2027. That’s an underwriting rule, not a claims rule, but the date on the picture clearly matters.
Step one: build the storm record
Before you look at a shingle, know what hit that address and when.
Free sources
- SPC storm reports. The NWS sends preliminary reports in real time to the Storm Prediction Center, which does limited quality control. They’re fast and free, but they’re preliminary, and a report is a point, not a footprint.
- NWS local storm reports. Often more detail on location and whether a size was measured or estimated.
- NOAA’s Storm Events Database. This is the verified record compiled by NCEI. It’s the source that carries the most weight, but NCEI notes it’s updated monthly “with up to a 120 day delay possible,” so a September storm may not show up until winter. Pull it again later for any file that goes long.
Paid hail history reports
Several companies sell address-level hail history built from radar and ground reports, showing estimated size at the address for each event over several years. Use one consistently and read its methodology notes. Radar-estimated size at an address is a model, not a measurement.
The deliverable is a simple list: every hail event near the property over the last few years, with date, source, and size.
Step two: match the damage to the storm
None of these indicators proves a date on its own. Together, they build a picture a desk adjuster can follow. For the photo side, use our photo requirements checklist.
Hail size against damage thresholds. A Haag Engineering study, Hail Damage Threshold Sizes for Common Roofing Materials (Marshall, Herzog, Morrison, and Smith), found threshold sizes of about 1 inch for 3-tab shingles and 1.25 inches for 30-year laminated shingles, and noted that older, thinner products were the most susceptible. So quarter-size hail in June and half-dollar hail in September don’t carry the same weight on a laminated roof. Match the storm record to the roof type before you argue which event caused the fractures.
Fresh vs. weathered marks. A fresh hit on an asphalt shingle usually shows displaced granules, dark exposed asphalt, and sometimes a fractured mat. Exposed asphalt fades and oxidizes over time. A mark that’s faded, with softened edges and granule loss that looks weathered, points to an older event. These are indicators, not lab results, so describe what you see and photograph it next to a fresh hit with a scale.
A note of caution that cuts both ways: Haag reports that simulated hail impacts that did not fracture shingles “showed no identifiable changes in granule coverage” after 11 years of natural weathering. An old unfractured hit may be invisible today, and a carrier may use the same research to argue that marks you’re calling “hail” are something else. Your documentation should show fractures and mat exposure, not just dimples.
Collateral damage. Soft metals are your timeline. Dents in gutters, downspouts, vents, and AC condenser fins, plus spatter marks on painted surfaces, can help size the hail and suggest recency. Haag’s protocol lists junction boxes, fences, gutters, downspouts, decks, and condenser fins as good surfaces to check. Fresh spatter and clean-edged dents tell a different story than dents that have weathered with the surrounding surface. Our wind vs. hail post covers the patterns in more detail.
Dated photos and metadata. Original files with intact date and GPS metadata beat screenshots and forwards. If the homeowner photographed hail in the yard or damage after the June storm, ask for the originals.
The homeowner’s timeline. Ask plainly: When did you first notice damage? Did you file before? Were you paid? Was anything repaired? Any old inspection reports or estimates? Write down the answers. Don’t coach them.
Claim history. Homeowners can get their CLUE report free from LexisNexis by requesting a consumer disclosure report. The Texas Department of Insurance notes it shows claims filed for homes and cars for the past seven years, including date of loss, loss type, and amounts paid. Insurers share claim information through CLUE, so assume the carrier has seen it. Your file should include it too.
Aerial imagery. Nearmap’s historical aerial imagery lets users toggle between capture dates, with coverage that varies by location, and EagleView markets historical images for viewing pre-loss conditions. Imagery from between two storms can show the roof’s condition before the claimed event. Note the capture date on every image.
Step three: present it so the desk adjuster doesn’t have to guess
The goal is for the adjuster to agree with the date before opening the estimate.
Write a one-page date-of-loss summary. Put it on top of the supplement. Include:
- The claimed date of loss and the source for it (SPC report, local storm report, or hail history report)
- Reported hail size for that date near the property
- Any other hail events at the address in the lookback period, with dates and sizes
- The roof type and approximate age
- What the inspection found, tied to the claimed storm: fracture sizes, test square counts, collateral dents, photo references
- Anything you found that belongs to a different event, labeled as such
Don’t mix storms. If the roof has damage from June and September, don’t blend it into one scope under one date. It invites a causation denial on the whole file. Scope what belongs to the claimed date of loss and document the rest separately.
Be honest when it’s two events. Sometimes a roof genuinely has damage from both storms. Say so. Roofers document the damage and write the estimate; the carrier decides coverage and which event it falls under. When the date-of-loss question turns into a real coverage dispute, such as a denial based on prior damage, a question about whether an earlier payment should offset this one, or a late-notice fight, that’s a job for a licensed public adjuster or an attorney. Our posts on the roofer vs. public adjuster line by state and whether roofers can negotiate claims cover where that line sits.
Bring it to the meeting. At a reinspection, bring the summary printed and walk the adjuster to the fresh hits first. Our adjuster meeting guide covers the rest.
Date-of-loss checklist
Use this on any roof in a market with more than one hail event in the last few years:
- Pull SPC and local NWS reports for the claimed date and area.
- Check NOAA’s Storm Events Database (recheck later if the storm is recent).
- Run an address-level hail history report.
- Note roof type and age, and compare reported hail sizes to published damage thresholds.
- Photograph fresh hits with scale, and weathered marks separately, labeled.
- Document collateral damage on soft metals, with scale and location.
- Keep original photo files with metadata intact.
- Record the homeowner’s timeline: first noticed, prior claims, payments, repairs.
- Ask the homeowner to request their CLUE report.
- Gather any dated aerial imagery and prior inspection reports.
- Write the one-page date-of-loss summary and put it on top of the file.
- Scope only the damage tied to the claimed date. Flag anything else separately.
- Check the policy for filing deadlines and wind/hail deductibles.
For the rest of the storm-season process, see our 2026 hail damage supplement playbook.
Quick answers
What is the date of loss on a roof claim?
The date of the storm that caused the claimed damage. It drives the deductible, the reporting deadline, and whether the carrier accepts that the damage came from that event.
Can a roof have two hail claims?
Yes, if there are two separate covered events and each one’s damage is documented. Each claim generally carries its own deductible.
How do you tell new hail damage from old hail damage?
Compare indicators: dark exposed asphalt and displaced granules versus faded, oxidized marks; clean dents in soft metals versus weathered ones; and hail sizes that match the storm record. No single indicator proves a date.
Where can I find free hail reports for an address?
NWS local storm reports, SPC storm reports, and NOAA’s Storm Events Database, which is the verified record but can lag up to about four months.
Who decides which storm caused the damage?
The carrier makes the coverage decision. Roofers document the damage and write the estimate. If there’s a coverage dispute, the homeowner may need a licensed public adjuster or attorney.
The date comes first
Every supplement assumes the carrier agrees on what happened and when. On a roof hit twice, that isn’t automatic. Build the storm record, match the damage to it, and put a one-page summary on top. It keeps the conversation on line items, where it belongs, instead of on whether the claim exists at all.
Sources: Eagle Eye Renovations, “Elizabeth Hail Storm September 2026” (Sept. 2026); Hail.org, “Weekend Hail Reports Friday September 18th thru Sunday Sep 20th: 54 Hail Storms” (Sept. 21, 2026); Driftwood Builders & Roofing, “Converse, TX Hail Insurance Claim Guide” (Sept. 2026); NOAA NCEI, Storm Events Database dataset metadata; Wikipedia, “Storm Data”; Marshall, Herzog, Morrison, and Smith, “Hail Damage Threshold Sizes for Common Roofing Materials” (Haag Engineering, AMS conference paper); Haag, “Assessing Hail Damage: Part 2, Hail Inspection Protocol” (Oct. 18, 2019); State Farm, “How Homeowners Insurance Deductibles Work”; United Policyholders, “Looking for advice: claim denial for roof damage from hail”; Texas Department of Insurance, “Get a free CLUE about your insurance claims history” (Aug. 5, 2024); Nearmap, “Historical Aerial Imagery.” This post is general information for roofers, not legal advice; the policy in front of you controls, and coverage decisions belong to the carrier.
Working a roof that took hail twice this year? EOD’s roofing supplement services write the supplement in the carrier’s platform and follow it through, returned within 24 hours, for 10% of the increase, no increase, no fee, no minimums. Send us a claim.
