Storm damage roof repair in Eau Claire, with the insurance claim handled

This page is about the insurance path. When a storm hits your roof, the repair is the easy part; the hard part is getting the damage documented, the claim filed, the adjuster’s scope right, and the money paid. The Chippewa Valley has given us plenty of practice: the April 28, 2025 tornado outbreak and the May 15, 2025 hail event across Eau Claire and Dunn counties each set off months of claims work here.

We document storm damage every season, and we know what adjusters take seriously and what gets dismissed as wear and tear. The inspection is free, we tell you honestly whether you have a viable claim before you file, and you get the documentation whether or not you hire us for the repair. If water is coming in right now, that is a different page: emergency roof repair handles the tarp and the clock, then the claim path picks up here.

What adjusters look for on a storm-damaged roof

An adjuster is not asking “is this roof damaged?” but “does this damage match the storm being claimed?” The patterns matter, and they differ by peril:

Hail reads as random distribution. Strikes scatter across a slope without direction: round bruises on the shingle mat (soft spots that give when pressed), granule loss concentrated in gutters and downspouts, spider-cracking on aged shingles, and matching dents on soft metals like gutters, downspouts, and vent caps. Those soft-metal dents are the corroborating evidence adjusters check first, because shingles can be argued about and aluminum cannot. Hail of an inch and a half or larger cracks shingles outright; smaller hail does cumulative damage across a season.

Wind reads as directional. Damage concentrates on the windward slopes and edges: lifted and creased tabs in rows, missing shingles with clean tear lines, flashing peeled from the same compass direction. The subtle version is the creased-but-attached tab, folded back by a gust and laid flat again. It looks fine from the ground and fails in the next event, and a good inspection documents every crease before the adjuster arrives.

Tree and branch impact is the most self-evident peril, but even a small branch resting on the roof usually means trapped water, scuffed granules, and bent flashing underneath. Do not push a branch off yourself; what it drags with it becomes part of the claim.

The two perils leave different fingerprints and fail claims for different reasons; the hail versus wind damage guide shows what each looks like up close and how each gets documented.

Ice dam damage is the common winter claim in the Chippewa Valley. Water backs up under the lower shingle courses and shows up as ceiling stains near exterior walls. The damage is mostly inside the house, which is exactly why the documentation has to connect the interior stains to the roof-level cause, or the claim reads as a mystery leak.

Free storm damage roof inspection

Our storm damage inspections are free, with no obligation to use us for the repair. The process:

1. Schedule a visit, usually within one to three business days of your call, faster for active leaks.
2. We walk the roof if conditions allow and photograph everything we find: close-ups of damage, drone shots for context, gutter and downspout debris if there is hail granule loss.
3. We write a damage report with our findings, including the likely cause and a rough scope of repair.
4. You get a copy. If you are filing a claim, that documentation goes to your insurance company.
5. If you use a different roofer for the repair, we still want you to have the inspection. Thorough documentation makes the claim smoother no matter who does the work.

How a roof insurance claim works in Wisconsin

Roofing claims have a predictable rhythm, and knowing what is coming takes most of the stress out of it:

• You file the claim with your carrier. It has to come from the policyholder; we cannot file for you. Note the claim number, you will reference it constantly. Most Wisconsin homeowner policies give you 12 months from the storm date to file, but earlier is better: the damage keeps getting worse, and a claim filed within a few days of the storm has a clean timeline.
• The carrier assigns an adjuster, who usually schedules a roof visit within one to two weeks. After a regional event like the May 2025 hail, expect two to six.
• We attend the adjuster’s visit. Strongly recommended: adjusters miss things on a quick walk-around, and our documentation gives them the full picture slope by slope.
• The adjuster writes a scope of loss, the list of what they consider covered and what they will pay. If it runs short, the usual gaps are dump fees, ice and water shield on low-slope sections, and ventilation the current code requires even though the original roof did not have it. Code-required upgrades are covered when your policy carries ordinance-or-law coverage, which is worth checking with your agent before the scope is final.
• We file a supplement to add anything the scope missed. Carriers expect supplements; they are a normal part of the process, not a fight.
• You receive the actual cash value check (the depreciated value of the loss, minus your deductible) and, after the work is done, the replacement cost value check that pays the depreciation.
• The repair is permitted like any other. A storm-driven replacement takes the same building permit as a planned one, and the permit fee is part of the scope.

Our job is the roof and the documentation; the financial decisions are yours. A few things that catch homeowners off guard on the money side: wear and tear is not covered, so a 25-year-old roof with widespread granule loss is at end-of-life rather than damaged, and if that is your roof we will say so (a scheduled repair out of pocket beats a denied claim on your record). Some carriers exclude cosmetic hail damage on metal roofs, meaning dents that do not affect function. And deductibles are not always flat: a wind and hail deductible set at 1% of dwelling coverage on a $300,000 home is $3,000, not the $1,000 most people expect.

What to do in the first 48 hours after a storm

The hours after a major storm are where claims are won or lost, and roofing demand across Eau Claire spikes at the same time. In order:

1. Stay off the roof. Wet shingles, broken branches, and adrenaline are a bad combination. Assess from the ground.
2. Document what you can see. Walk the property and photograph the yard, debris patterns, and any damage visible from the driveway, including the neighbors’ (it reinforces the storm event for your carrier). Inside, photograph ceiling stains, water marks, and any daylight visible through the attic.
3. Tarp anything actively leaking before the next storm. Covering fixtures with plastic and setting out buckets is fine from inside; anything roof-level is an emergency roof repair call, and it is far cheaper than the damage that compounds while you wait.
4. Call your insurance company before you call a contractor. Filing within 24 to 72 hours anchors the timeline; filing two weeks later invites questions about which storm did the damage.
5. Get one inspection from an established local roofer and have that documentation in hand when the adjuster arrives. Not three: several crews walking a roof in a week can damage it further.
6. Do not sign anything on the spot. After every hail event, out-of-state crews knock doors for a few weeks, sign as many contracts as they can, and leave. Some ask you to sign an Assignment of Benefits, which hands the contractor your insurance proceeds directly and locks you into them with little recourse if the work is bad. We do not use AOBs, and you should not sign one without legal advice.
7. Keep every receipt. Tarp service, a hotel if you are displaced, spoiled food if the power was out; all of it may be covered under your policy’s additional living expense coverage.

Then the waiting starts. The adjuster visit is the slow part, and once the scope is approved, our schedule fills fast after a hail event: expect four to eight weeks out during peak season, less in the shoulder seasons. Active leaks do not wait that long; the emergency page covers how tarp service jumps the queue.

When a roof claim is denied or underpaid

A denial or a short scope is a step in the process, not the end of it. The escalation path, in order:

1. Get the denial or scope in writing and match it against the inspection documentation. Most short scopes are missing specific line items, and most denials hinge on a wear-versus-storm judgment call.
2. Supplement with evidence. Photos tied to specific slopes and measurements beat adjectives, and this resolves the majority of underpaid scopes.
3. Request a re-inspection. You are entitled to a second adjuster visit, and we attend it the same way, walking the documentation point by point.
4. Use the appraisal clause if your policy has one. Many Wisconsin homeowner policies include an appraisal provision where each side hires an appraiser and disagreements go to an umpire. Slower, but it exists for scope disputes.
5. Complain to the state. The Wisconsin Office of the Commissioner of Insurance takes consumer complaints about claim handling, and carriers answer OCI inquiries with more care than they answer phone calls.

None of this is legal advice, and a public adjuster or attorney is the right call for a large disputed loss. What we provide is the documentation that makes every step stronger.

Replacing a storm-damaged roof: materials and warranty

When the scope approves a replacement, the material decision is the same one on the roof replacement page, with one storm-specific twist: impact-rated shingles. A Class 4 shingle costs more per square than a standard architectural shingle, and many Wisconsin carriers discount the wind and hail portion of the premium for it; on a roof that just took hail, that upgrade often pays for itself, and the asphalt shingle page covers the products and the math. Ice and water shield goes on at the eaves and valleys of every replacement we do. Wisconsin’s dwelling code only mandates it on roofs pitched 4:12 or flatter, but an Eau Claire ice dam does not check the pitch first, and the adjuster’s scope will not include it on a steeper roof unless someone asks.

The warranty is the other reason the local-versus-storm-chaser question matters. A storm-driven replacement carries the same workmanship warranty as any replacement we do, and the manufacturer warranty on the shingles registers the same way. A crew that follows hail events across the Midwest is usually gone before the first warranty question comes up, and their paperwork goes with them.