Hail Damage Prevention Tips

Hail damage can have high repair costs, and it’s been the most common reason for filing a business or homeowner’s insurance claim in Colorado in recent years.

Fortunately, while you can’t predict most hailstorms, you can take steps to protect yourself, your car, your home and your business from hail damage.

Hail Safety Tips for You

• Don’t go outside during a hail storm.
• Stay away from windows. Close window treatments in case glass breaks.
• Keep pets indoors.
• If you are outdoors, get indoors as soon as possible. Don’t take shelter in a ditch or anywhere that can flood. Trees aren’t preferable for shelter because they can drop branches.
• If you can’t find shelter, protect your head as best as possible.

Hail Safety Tips for Your Car

If You Aren’t Driving:

• Keep your car in the garage.
• If you don’t have a garage, put blankets or your car’s floor mats over the windshield to protect it before the storm.

If You Are Driving:

• If you are driving during hail, pull off the road as soon as safely possible. Hail damage is greater when a vehicle is moving.
• It’s best to pull beneath a covering, such as a gas station or parking garage.
• If it’s not possible to get cover, get your car out of traffic and angle it so the hail hits the windshield, which can be harder to break than the side or back windows.
• Stay inside your vehicle. If possible, lie down away from the window or put a coat or blanket over your face to protect it from breaking glass.

Hail Damage Prevention for Your Home or Office

Check the interior and exterior of your roof for loose shingles or sheathing (plywood nailed to the rafters) and other signs of disrepair such as leaks. Make sure your storm drains and gutters are clear of debris.

Also, check the trees near your property for weak tree branches that could fall, cracks in the trunk, or signs of decay.

Consider installing storm shutters or keeping wood on hand that you can use to protect windows in a storm. (Remember that just before a storm, home supply stores may run out of window boarding materials.)

Hail Damage Repair

While precautions can prevent a lot of hail damage, some damage may be inevitable. If your home has been damaged by hail or you want to know what else you can do to prevent hail damage, just give us a call at 303-922-4001 or contact us online.

We know that roofs often take the brunt of hail damage, and we have decades of experience in repairing them quickly. We’ll walk you through the process of filing an insurance claim, assess the damage, and help repair your home or office.

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