How Long to File a Roof Claim in NC?
In this article
North Carolina's Department of Insurance does not publish one statewide number of days for reporting storm damage to your roof. Its advice is to contact your homeowners insurance agent or company to report the loss. Anything more specific comes from your own policy, so the practical answer is to report as soon as you know about the damage and read what your policy says, or ask your agent.
What the Department of Insurance asks you to do after a storm
The Department's windstorm and hail page puts it in order: report the loss to your agent or insurer, list the damage and take clear pictures before any temporary repair, then patch what you need to so it does not get worse and keep the receipts, since reasonable costs to protect your property may be reimbursed.
Permanent repairs wait until your insurance company has had a chance to inspect the damage and you have agreed on the cost, the Department says. Check with your insurer before you throw out damaged materials, too.
So if water is coming in, the first move is a tarp. We put up emergency tarps for active roof leaks, which counts as a temporary repair in the Department's terms, and the permanent fix waits on the adjuster. One reviewer wrote that we fixed their roof and came out late at night to put up an emergency tarp. Another wrote that our owner did the inspection, provided pictures and an explanation, patched the roof and then met with their insurance adjuster.
The dates that are written down
Two dates come from the Department's homeowners FAQ. Your insurance company should acknowledge receipt of your claim within 30 days, though there is no set time limit to settle it, since every claim is different.
The 180-day one is about how you get paid. Your claim can be paid on an actual cash value basis first, which takes depreciation for age and use off the payment. You can then make a claim within 180 days after the loss for any additional reimbursement under the loss settlement terms in your policy.
Neither of those is a deadline for reporting the storm itself. That part sits in your policy, so ask your agent if you cannot find it.
Why the report should not wait
Hail bruises the shingle mat without tearing anything you would notice from the driveway, and a wind-lifted tab usually settles back down looking fine. Two of our reviewers had storm damage they did not know about until an inspection found it.
One of them wrote that a storm the summer before had caused damage they never saw. Our owner pulled a drone out of the truck, flew it around the roof for a few minutes and showed them pictures of the damage. They called their insurance agent from there, and our owner handled the rest. The other had a free inspection turn up hail damage they had not noticed, and the roof was replaced through insurance with Owens Corning shingles.
After hail or a hard wind, get the roof looked at so you know whether there is anything to report.
Your deductible and what your policy covers
The Department explains that on a windstorm or hail loss, the deductible is a percentage of your Coverage A dwelling amount, shown on your policy declarations page. Its own example: with $200,000 of coverage and a 1% deductible, you pay $2,000 out of pocket on each wind or hail claim.
The Department also warns that some homeowners policies exclude windstorm or hail damage entirely, depending on the insurer's underwriting. If you have never checked, your agent can tell you.
What we do after a storm
Our owner inspects the roof by hand and by drone, photographs every hit slope by slope, and checks the soft metals too: vent caps, gutter lips, drip edge and flashing. Those photos go into the report your insurer asks for, and our owner is on the roof with the adjuster when they come out.
The inspection is free, and it is the same inspection whether it ends in a claim or in nothing at all. If the claim comes back as a partial repair instead of a full roof, what your insurer has to replace is covered in our post on the 25% rule for roofing in North Carolina.
Once the claim is decided, the work is the same replacement or repair we do on any roof. Tear-off to the decking, new synthetic underlayment with ice-and-water in the valleys, new drip edge, pipe boots and flashing, a ridge vent, and Owens Corning Duration architectural shingles. The finished roof carries our 5-year workmanship warranty.
If a storm has come through and nobody has been on your roof yet, book a free photo inspection through our storm damage and insurance claims page.
