Hail season ending means it's time to check your roof

While the start of Spring may offer some relief from the cold and snow to Akron residents, it also marks the end of hail season which brings with it several challenges to the more than 200,000 homeowners in the city. Experts caution homeowners that much of the damage to roofing caused by hail cannot be seen with a basic visual inspection by a non-professional. If these damages are not caught early and reported immediately, homeowners may face costly repairs not covered by insurance.

Hail can cause the granules on shingles to loosen or fall off, exposing the fiberglass mat underneath and causing it to breakdown from exposure to the sun and other elements. These cracks spread and ultimately cause leaks and compromise the integrity of the roof. In many instances it can take upward of 1-2 years after the hail damage occurs for the shingle to breakdown and crack. Homeowners need to repair hail damage immediately after it occurs to avoid further damage to their roofing and be eligible for coverage by their homeowners insurance policy.

The combination of hail and wind exacerbates an already bad problem by speeding up the rate of damage to the roofing material and causing homeowners an even bigger headache.

“Most insurance companies will not cover damage to roofing unless it is reported within a specified period of time from when the damage occurred,” said David Sipes of Akron-based Legacy Roofing Services. “When hail damages the roof of a house, the homeowner can’t see it and believes their roof made it through hail season unharmed when in fact there is a problem that will get worse with every day that passes.”

When it comes to hail damage, approximately 75% of the time the roofing will need to be replaced as opposed to repaired, making it a costlier proposition for the homeowner and even more important that it is reported to the insurance company within the specified timeframe from when the damage occurred.

Experts warn homeowners that all it takes to damage a roof is a two to three-minute hail storm with at least one-inch size hail. Homeowners are advised to have their roofing inspected by a professional who has been trained to recognize hail damage that might otherwise go unnoticed by the untrained eye.