Hail can ruin a roof without leaving a mark you can see from the yard. Here is what it does to shingles, what to photograph, and how a claim goes step by step, with the rules Missouri and Illinois set for contractors.
Missouri recorded 253 major hail events in 2025, fifth among the states, and Illinois recorded 167, ninth, in the Storm Prediction Center figures compiled by the Insurance Information Institute. Those are statewide counts, not St. Louis figures, and we do not dress them up as one. What they do tell you is that hail here is a routine insurance event, not a freak one.
A storm claim is also where homeowners get pushed hardest: by door-knockers, by fine print, and by offers that sound generous and are not legal. This page covers what hail and wind do to a roof, what to photograph, how a claim runs with us, what to check in your policy, and what each state's law says about contractors and claims.
NOAA's National Weather Service Storm Prediction Center counts major hail events (stones an inch across or larger) by state. The 2025 figures, as published by the Insurance Information Institute:
| 2025 hail events, 1 inch or larger | Count | National rank |
|---|---|---|
| Missouri | 253 | 5th |
| Illinois | 167 | 9th |
| United States | 5,432 | (5,373 in 2024) |
The insurance side looks the same. State Farm reported paying more than $5.6 billion in hail claims in 2025, and listed Texas, Missouri, Illinois, Wisconsin and Oklahoma as its top states for them.
Those counts leave out the smaller storms. Research from IBHS, the Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety, found that sub-severe hail, under an inch, happens far more often and knocks protective granules off asphalt shingles, which speeds their aging. In its tests, shingles that had weathered outdoors and then taken two rounds of simulated small hail were as much as ten times easier for later large hail to damage than new ones. A roof can be worn down by storms that never made the news.
Hail damage on asphalt shingles is easy to miss and easy to confuse with ordinary wear, so it helps to know what an inspector is looking for:
None of this is a manufacturer's problem. Owens Corning's standard shingle warranty excludes hail and wind above the rated speed as acts of God, which is why storm damage runs through your homeowner's policy instead. If the claim ends in a new roof, IBHS advises choosing a covering with a Class 4 rating under UL 2218 or FM 4473; the roof shingles page compares the options.
Good photos make every later step easier, and you can take nearly all of them from the ground:
Then leave the roof itself to someone with a harness. Missouri's insurance department also advises against letting any contractor inspect your home when you are not there to watch.
Missouri's Department of Commerce and Insurance has warned that roof coverage has changed a great deal over the last decade. Some policies pay to replace a damaged roof in full (replacement cost value); others pay only a depreciated amount (actual cash value), and the gap can be large. The department's own example: with a 20-year-old roof destroyed by a covered storm, a replacement cost policy pays the full replacement, while an actual cash value policy may pay as little as 20% of it, because a roof's useful life is usually about 25 years.
So read the declarations page now. Look for:
The department publishes a roof coverage comparison of the state's largest home insurers, and its consumer hotline takes questions about claims. It also explains public adjusters: state-licensed, paid from a share of your settlement, and never required. Its advice is to consider one only after the insurer makes an offer, and only if the likely increase would more than cover the fee.
Missouri. RSMo 407.725 covers contracts for roof and exterior work paid from a property insurance claim. A contractor may not advertise or promise to pay or rebate any part of your deductible, and that includes discounts, gifts, referral fees or credits offered in its place. If your insurer tells you in writing that all or part of the claim is not covered, you may cancel the contract until midnight of the fifth business day after that notice. The contractor must hand you that right in boldface, with a detachable Notice of Cancellation, before you sign, and must return your payments within ten days of a cancellation, keeping only the reasonable value of emergency work you agreed in writing was necessary. Violations count as unfair practices under the Merchandising Practices Act.
Illinois. The Roofing Industry Licensing Act requires a state license and a written contract that states, among other things, that the contractor cannot pay, waive or rebate your deductible, and that gives you 72 hours to rescind with a full refund of any deposit (225 ILCS 335, Section 5.5).
The Missouri department's advice applies on both sides of the river: be wary of offers of upgraded or free materials, and never pay the whole bill before the work is done.
After a big hailstorm, crews from out of state work the metro door to door. Some do fine work. Others are two states away by the time a problem shows up. Missouri's insurance department says fraudsters arrive quickly after storms, and suggests finding out where an unfamiliar contractor is from and asking for references before you sign or pay anything.
A few checks take minutes:
Nobody from our company will turn up at your door uninvited after a storm. Book a free inspection when you are ready, and the photos are yours whether or not you hire us.
No. Have the roof inspected first. Missouri's insurance department suggests getting a damage estimate to help decide whether a claim is worth filing, and our inspection is free. If we find nothing that justifies a claim, we say so, and you can skip the call to your insurer.
No. In Missouri, RSMo 407.725 forbids a contractor to promise to pay or rebate any part of an insurance deductible, and in Illinois every roofing contract must say the contractor cannot pay, waive or rebate it. Billing an insurer for more than you actually pay is insurance fraud, whatever the salesman calls it.
In Missouri, you can cancel a contract paid through insurance until midnight on the fifth business day after your insurer tells you in writing that all or part of the claim is not covered. The contractor must refund your payments within ten days, minus the reasonable value of emergency work you approved in writing.
It depends on the damage and the policy. If the adjuster finds storm damage across the roof, replacement may be covered. How much you receive depends on whether your policy pays replacement cost or actual cash value; Missouri's insurance department says an actual cash value policy may pay as little as 20 percent for an old roof.
Soon. Missouri's insurance department tells homeowners to contact their insurer as soon as possible after a loss, and policies set their own deadlines for reporting one. Hail bruises are often invisible from the ground, so an inspection within days of the storm gives you facts before you decide anything.
It does not void it, but the warranty will not pay for it either. Owens Corning's standard warranty, for example, excludes hail and winds above the rated speed as acts of God. Shingle warranties cover manufacturing defects; storm damage is a homeowner's insurance matter.
Storm damage across greater St. Louis, from the city and St. Louis County out to St. Charles, Jefferson and Franklin Counties and across the river into the Metro East. Each city has its own page with the permit rule and code edition that apply there:
Sources: Insurance Information Institute, Facts + Statistics: Hail (NOAA Storm Prediction Center counts, State Farm claims) · IBHS, Is It Hail Damage? (bruises, random pattern, collateral damage, look-alikes) · IBHS, Impact Testing of High Concentrations of Small Hail · Missouri Revised Statutes 407.725 (deductibles, cancellation, no claim representation) · Illinois Roofing Industry Licensing Act, 225 ILCS 335 (Sections 5, 5.1, 5.5, 9) · Missouri Department of Commerce and Insurance, Resources for Severe Weather Victims · Missouri Department of Commerce and Insurance, Raising the Roof on Insurance Coverage · Missouri Department of Commerce and Insurance, guidance after severe weather (damage estimates, public adjusters) · Missouri Department of Commerce and Insurance, post-storm fraud guidance · Owens Corning, Standard Product Limited Lifetime Warranty, Pub. 10023873 (hail exclusion, wind ratings) · City of St. Peters, Building Code Guide (115 mph design wind). Codes, programs and prices change; confirm the current rule with your city before you rely on it.
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