Hail Damage and Insurance Claims in Illinois: What Southland Homeowners Should Know

Updated August 11, 2026. A second round came through today — wind this time, not hail. Measured gusts ran over 90 mph across Will and southern Cook counties, topping out at 96, with trees and power lines down from Naperville through the south suburbs. Wind damage claims work the same way as the hail claims described below: same documentation, same ACV/RCV math, same rule about your deductible. If today’s storm hit your house, everything on this page applies. Wind damage on a roof reads differently than hail, though — look for lifted, creased or missing shingles, and torn or displaced ridge cap, rather than the bruising hail leaves.

On July 27, a serious storm corridor crossed the Southland — hail around two inches across much of the warned area, with one report near Lemont approaching five inches, and a tornado track that passed through Orland Park, Homer Glen, and Tinley Park. If you live anywhere near that path, this post is for you. No drama — the storm was newsworthy enough on its own. Just the practical side: what hail actually does to a roof, how an Illinois insurance claim works step by step, and where a contractor’s job ends.

Why hail damage doesn’t look like damage

Here’s the part that surprises people: from the driveway, a hail-damaged roof usually looks fine.

Hail doesn’t punch holes. It bruises shingles — soft spots where the impact fractured the fiberglass mat underneath — and it knocks the protective granules loose. The roof keeps shedding water for a while, then starts failing early, sometimes years later, when the claim window is long closed.

What the damage actually looks like up close: dark bruises that give slightly under a thumb, granules collecting in gutters and downspouts, dents in soft metal like vents and flashing. An insurance adjuster can see it up close. So can we. That’s the honest reason a free inspection after a real hail event is worth your time even when nothing looks wrong.

What to do in the first two weeks

• Photograph everything before any repairs — from the ground. Shingle pieces in the yard, dented gutters, damaged screens, the ceiling stain if one shows up. Date-stamped phone photos are fine.
• Stay off the roof. Walking hail-damaged shingles makes things worse, and nobody needs a ladder accident on top of a storm. Roof-level documentation is a job for people with fall protection.
• Call your insurance company and report the date of the storm. July 27 is on the record — carriers know it happened.
• Keep a written log: every call, the date, the name of the person you spoke with. If the claim gets complicated later, that log is worth real money.

How an Illinois hail claim actually works

Nobody explains this part in plain English, so here it is.

1. You report the damage to your carrier and they open a claim.
2. The carrier sends an adjuster to inspect the roof. The adjuster works for the insurance company.
3. The adjuster writes a scope and a number — a line-by-line list of what they’ll pay to fix or replace, and what it’s worth.
4. You’re allowed to disagree with that number. A first offer is a first offer, not a verdict. Supplemental documentation gets scopes revised all the time.

Now the two terms that decide what your check looks like:

RCV — replacement cost value — is what it costs to put a new roof on your house today. ACV — actual cash value — is that same number minus depreciation for your roof’s age and wear.

If your policy is RCV (many are), the carrier typically pays in two steps: an ACV check up front, and then the depreciation — called recoverable depreciation — after the work is done and the final invoice is submitted. That held-back money is yours to recover once the roof is actually replaced. Homeowners who don’t know this sometimes cash the first check, think that’s the whole claim, and leave thousands unclaimed. Don’t be that homeowner — see the job through the paperwork.

Your deductible is yours

Plainly: your deductible is your share of the cost, and it stays yours.

Illinois says so in writing. Under 815 ILCS 513/18(b), a contractor is prohibited from paying, waiving, rebating, or absorbing a homeowner’s insurance deductible. So if someone standing on your porch offers to “take care of your deductible,” they’re offering to break state law to win your roof. That’s worth knowing before they get near it.

Where a contractor’s job ends

Excel’s lane, stated clearly: we inspect, we document, and we show up. We photograph and measure the damage the way a carrier needs to see it and build a damage report — a line-by-line scope of what putting the roof back properly actually takes. Then we bring that report to the table when your adjuster comes out, walk the damage with them, and make the case for the scope. If their scope misses something we documented, we say so and show them why.

What we don’t do is file or negotiate the claim itself — that’s not a contractor’s lane in Illinois, and a contractor who says otherwise is doing you no favors. Coverage is your insurer’s decision and the claim is yours. Our job is the roof side of it: documented honestly, scoped properly, and argued for in front of the person writing it up.

When the damage does warrant replacement, we install GAF and Owens Corning systems — proven roofs with strong manufacturer warranties, put on by the same crews we send job after job. Most residential roofs are one to two days of work, weather permitting.

When a public adjuster makes sense

Some claims are bigger or messier than a homeowner wants to carry alone — a large loss, a dispute over scope, a denial that doesn’t hold up against the documentation. That’s what public adjusters exist for: unlike the carrier’s adjuster, a public adjuster is licensed to represent you, the policyholder, in the claim.

Full disclosure, stated in writing because Illinois requires it and because it’s the honest thing to do: A to Z Public Adjusters is affiliated with Excel. When homeowners ask us who does that work, they’re who we point to. Whoever you choose — choose someone who works for you, not for the insurance company, and get the relationship in writing.

Choosing who works on your roof

After every big storm, crews follow the weather into town. Some are fine. Some aren’t. You don’t need to know company names to protect yourself — watch behavior:

• Pressure to sign something today, before you’ve talked to your carrier.
• No local address you can drive to.
• An offer to “handle” or “cover” your deductible (see above — that’s against the law here).
• Out-of-state plates and no local job history anyone can show you.

A storm-damaged roof gets fixed once. Pick someone who’ll still be down the road in Mokena, New Lenox, or Frankfort when the warranty matters — we’ve been in Tinley Park since 1982, and we’re not going anywhere.

The next step, if you want it

If your home was anywhere near the July 27 corridor, schedule a free storm inspection. We’ll photograph and document what’s actually up there, give you a straight answer, and put it in writing. No obligation — and if the adjuster’s scope already got it right, we’ll tell you that too.

More on our roofing work: roofing at Excel.

Quick questions

How can I tell if hail damaged my roof?

Usually you can’t — not from the ground. Hail bruises shingles and fractures the mat underneath without leaving holes you’d notice from the driveway. The reliable signs are up close: soft dark bruises on shingles, dented vents and gutters, and granules collecting in the downspouts. That’s why a free inspection after a real hail event is worth taking, even if the roof looks fine.

What’s the difference between ACV and RCV on a roof claim?

RCV (replacement cost value) is what it costs to replace your roof today. ACV (actual cash value) is that number minus depreciation for the roof’s age and wear. If you have an RCV policy, the carrier typically pays in two steps: an ACV check up front, and the depreciation after the work is completed and documented.

What is recoverable depreciation?

On an RCV policy, the depreciation the carrier holds back from the first check isn’t gone — it’s recoverable. Once the roof is actually replaced and you submit the final invoice, the carrier releases that held-back amount. Homeowners who don’t know this sometimes stop at the ACV check and leave the rest unclaimed.

Can a roofer pay or waive my insurance deductible in Illinois?

No. Illinois law (815 ILCS 513/18(b)) prohibits a contractor from paying, waiving, rebating, or absorbing your deductible. Your deductible is your part of the repair cost, and it stays yours. Anyone offering to “take care of it” is offering something against the law — which tells you what you need to know about them.

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Alex Flack is the lead design consultant and marketing manager at Excel Windows, Inc. in Tinley Park — family-owned since 1982.