Joe Dvorak | Modern Exterior Systems • June 7, 2026
⚠️ A note before we start: Everything below is what I've learned walking Twin Cities roofs after 20 years of storms. It is not insurance advice. For anything about your specific policy, coverage, or deductible, call your licensed insurance agent — that's their job. This post is about what to do at your house, not what to tell your carrier.
Most of the homeowners I meet start thinking about hail the day after it falls. By then they're standing in the driveway looking at a dinged car and a roof they can't see, trying to remember whether they ever read their policy.
The ones who come out of a storm in the best shape did a little work before it ever hit. Not much. An afternoon, maybe. But it's the difference between a clean, fast claim and three weeks of arguing with an adjuster over what your roof looked like "before."
We're heading into the part of the Minnesota summer where this matters. June through August is when the western suburbs get hit — I've pulled hail-bruised shingles off homes in Eden Prairie, Minnetonka, Plymouth, and Chanhassen more Junes than I can count. So here's the checklist I'd run through if it were my house. It takes one afternoon, and you only have to do it once a season.
Why "before" beats "after"
Here's the thing nobody tells you: an insurance claim is an argument about change. The adjuster is trying to figure out what the storm did versus what was already there. If you've got no record of what your roof looked like last week, you're arguing from memory — and memory loses to a photo every time.
When you document the house before a storm, you flip the whole conversation. Now you're not claiming damage happened. You're showing it, side by side. That's a faster claim, a cleaner scope, and a lot less back-and-forth.
It also helps you avoid the other trap: the storm-chasers who show up the day after a hailstorm, knock your door, and pressure you into signing something on the spot. When you already know the condition of your roof and you've already got a contractor you trust, you don't have to make a panicked decision with a stranger on your porch.
The pre-storm checklist
1. Photograph the whole exterior — date-stamped
Walk the perimeter of the house with your phone. Shoot:
- All four sides of the roof from the ground (zoom in on the shingles where you can)
- Gutters and downspouts
- Siding on every elevation, especially the soft metals — gutters, vents, flashing, AC fins
- Windows, screens, and the deck
- Anything on the property hail loves to dent: the grill, the mailbox, patio furniture
Your phone stamps every photo with a date and location automatically. Don't turn that off. That metadata is gold if you ever need to prove timing.
2. Get up-to-date photos of the actual roof
You can't see your own roof from the ground, and that's exactly the surface a claim turns on. If you're comfortable on a ladder, shoot the roof edges. If you're not — and most people shouldn't be up there — this is worth a free inspection. We'll go up, photograph the shingles, and give you a baseline document of the roof's current condition. No charge, no pressure. That's what our free hail inspection is for, and doing it before a storm is honestly more useful than after.
3. Find your policy and read two numbers
Dig out your homeowners policy — or pull it up on your carrier's app — and find two things:
- Your deductible. This is what comes out of your pocket before insurance pays a dime. On most Twin Cities policies it runs $1,000 to $2,500, but some have a separate, percentage-based wind/hail deductible that can be much higher. Know yours now, not after.
- ACV vs. RCV. Does your policy pay Replacement Cost Value (what it costs to replace the roof today) or Actual Cash Value (replacement cost minus depreciation)? The difference can be thousands of dollars. If you don't know, this is the call to make to your agent this week. I wrote up the full breakdown in ACV vs. RCV on Minnesota roof claims if you want the detail.
4. Clear the gutters and trim back branches
Hail and wind travel together. The wind is what turns a branch into a problem and a clogged gutter into a backed-up overflow. Twenty minutes clearing gutters and cutting back the limbs hanging over your roof removes the two most common "preventable" sources of storm damage that carriers love to deny.
5. Know who you're calling before the phone rings
After a storm, your roof and your patience are both getting hammered by door-knockers. Decide now who your contractor is. Look for someone local, licensed in Minnesota, with real reviews and a real address — not a truck with out-of-state plates that showed up the day after the hail. Save the number in your phone. When something does happen, you make one call to a person you already trust instead of fielding fifteen from people you don't.
6. Move the cars and bring in the loose stuff
This one's obvious and people still skip it. If a real warning comes through and you have a garage, use it. A car under a roof is a car that doesn't become its own insurance claim. Bring in or tie down patio furniture, grills, and anything light enough to fly.
When the warning actually comes
If a severe thunderstorm or hail warning hits your phone in the next few days:
- Get the vehicles covered
- Stay inside and away from windows
- Don't go up on the roof — not during, not right after, not in the dark
- If water starts coming in, get a bucket under it and photograph the entry point, then call
That's it. The roof can wait until morning and daylight. Nothing on it is worth a fall.
After it passes — the quick version
Once it's safe and it's light out, the after-the-storm process has its own playbook, and I wrote the whole hour-by-hour version separately: Your First 48 Hours After a Hailstorm. The short version: document everything again (now you've got before-and-after), don't sign anything on your porch, call your agent and a contractor you trust, and don't let anyone tell you to skip your deductible. We never waive deductibles — anybody who offers to is breaking the law and setting you up to be the one holding the bag. More on how we handle the whole thing on our storm damage roof repair page.
What homeowners get wrong
The biggest mistake I see isn't panic. It's waiting. Minnesota gives you a window to file a storm claim, but the longer you wait, the harder it gets to prove the damage came from that storm and not normal wear. Carriers know this. If you've got a roof you suspect took a hit, get it looked at while the storm is still fresh and documented.
The second mistake is treating every door-knocker like a roofer. After a big hail event, the metro fills up with out-of-state crews who chase storms, sign up as many homeowners as they can, do fast work, and are gone before the first leak shows up. If you want to see how often we actually get hit out here — and why the chasers come — take a look at the Twin Cities hail history. The prep above is how you avoid being the easy mark.
FAQ
How do I prepare my roof for a hailstorm?
You can't hail-proof a roof, but you can prepare your claim and your property. Photograph the whole exterior with date stamps, get current photos of the actual roof surface (a free inspection if you can't get up there safely), clear your gutters, trim overhanging branches, and read your policy for your deductible and whether it pays ACV or RCV. Then decide which contractor you'd call before you need one.
Should I get my roof inspected before a storm or after?
Both have value, but a before inspection is underused and powerful. It gives you a dated baseline of your roof's condition, which makes any future claim far easier to prove. After a storm, you inspect again to document the change. We do free inspections either way.
What size hail actually damages a roof?
Generally, hail around 1 inch (about a quarter) and up starts bruising asphalt shingles, and 1.5 inches and up does real, claimable damage. But it depends on the age and type of your shingles and the wind behind the hail. I broke this down fully in what size hail will damage a roof.
Does homeowners insurance cover hail damage?
Most standard Minnesota homeowners policies cover sudden storm damage including hail and wind, subject to your deductible. What varies a lot is whether you're paid replacement cost or actual cash value, and whether you have a separate wind/hail deductible. Confirm those with your agent before storm season, not during a claim.
Will filing a hail claim raise my rates?
Storm claims are weather events, not at-fault claims, so a single hail claim usually has less rate impact than, say, a liability claim — but it varies by carrier and your history. That's a question for your licensed agent, who can look at your specific policy. I'm a roofer, not your insurer, so I won't pretend to know your carrier's math.
How fast do I need to act after a Twin Cities hailstorm?
Don't wait. Minnesota gives you time to file, but documentation and proof get weaker the longer you sit. Get the house re-photographed and a roof inspection scheduled within the first few days while the storm is still clearly the cause. The first 48 hours is where the smart homeowners separate themselves.
Ready before the next one?
If you want a dated baseline of your roof before storm season really gets going, call Modern Exterior Systems at 952-206-6339. I'll come out, photograph the roof, and give you an honest read on its current condition. Free inspection, real numbers, no pressure — and no porch-step sales pitch. Or request your free inspection online.
Modern Exterior Systems is a women-owned, family-operated roofing and exterior contractor based in Eden Prairie, MN, serving the Twin Cities metro since 2007. Owner Joe Dvorak brings 20+ years of hands-on construction experience, CertainTeed ShingleMaster and Malarkey Emerald certifications, and a LIFETIME workmanship warranty to every project. BBB Accredited with an A+ rating.
