Hail damage: the underpayment playbook
Hail claims get underpaid more often than almost any other peril. Adjusters mark hits as 'cosmetic only.' Test squares get cherry-picked. Matching gets denied. Here's the playbook.
How carriers underpay hail damage claims
- Marking visible bruising as 'cosmetic only' to deny shingle replacement
- Cherry-picking 10x10 test squares from low-impact slopes
- Refusing slope-by-slope replacement when granule loss isn't 'continuous'
- Denying step-flashing, ridge cap, and underlayment when only the field is mentioned
- Excluding matching even when state law (CO, IA, IL, TX) requires reasonable uniformity
The industry standard you can cite
RIA Best Practice: Matching
Matching of Like Kind & Quality (RIA Position Statement)
Restoration Industry Association (RIA)
**Key provisions:** RIA position: line-of-sight matching requires reasonably uniform appearance for materials in continuous architectural plane. Partial replacement on a continuous wall, floor, or roof slope creates visible inconsistency that fails the policy's 'restore to pre-loss condition' obligation. Applies to siding, roofing, flooring, cabinetry, and countertops.
**How to cite in a carrier dispute:** Use when carrier refuses full slope/wall/floor replacement, offering 'matching the existing damaged section only.' RIA position supports continuous architectural plane standard.
Recent court opinions on hail damage disputes
Smith v. Forge Creek at Flowers Plantation Homeowners Ass'n, Inc.
Authority to Obtain and Share Statewide Voter Roll Data
Generation Changers Church v. Church Mutual Ins. Co.
Universal Property & Casualty Insurance Company v. Nelson Rodriguez and Yoseida Cuevas
Newrez LLC v. Tesdall
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