Hail damage in Arlington Heights, Illinois — what to do next

The adjuster who inspects your roof is hired and paid by the insurance company.

They stand in the driveway, look up at the slope, and ask a question you have no reason to know the answer to: this looks like wear and tear to me — which of these marks is hail?

That question is the whole claim. Knowing which mark is hail, documenting it, and defending it when the answer is challenged is what a licensed public adjuster does.

Two things worth knowing before you call. Your deductible is yours to pay on any claim, whether or not you have help with it. And the fee for that help is set in writing before any work begins.

Arlington Heights covers a wide stretch of northwest Cook County, running from the older neighbourhoods near the downtown station out to the newer subdivisions at the northern edge. Storms crossing this corridor usually catch Palatine and Rolling Meadows in the same pass.

One village, two very different roofs

The spread of housing ages here is unusually wide for a single village, and it changes how a claim is argued. On an older roof the carrier's likely position is wear and tear; on a newer one it is that the damage is cosmetic and does not affect function.

Both are answerable, and both are answered the same way — by documenting impact patterns, soft metal strikes and damage consistent with a dated storm. What is not answerable is a roof nobody inspected.

Cosmetic damage is not automatically excluded

Some policies carry a cosmetic damage exclusion for hail, and some do not. This is worth checking on your own declarations page before accepting that dents are not covered, because whether that exclusion is in your policy is a fact about your document rather than a general rule.

Even where such an exclusion exists, it addresses appearance. Hail that compromises the covering's function is a different matter from hail that merely marks it.

Your claim clock

There is no Illinois statutory deadline for filing. Your policy's suit limitation clause is the operative limit, generally around one year from the date of loss, with your policy's own terms controlling. 215 ILCS 5/143.1 suspends that period between proof of loss and denial.

Common questions

Do you work in Arlington Heights?

Yes. Arlington Heights is in Cook County, one of the six counties covered here with DuPage, Lake, Will, Kane and McHenry.

The adjuster said my hail damage is only cosmetic. Is that the end of it?

Check your declarations page for a cosmetic damage exclusion, because not every policy has one. Where there is no such exclusion the characterisation carries much less weight, and even where there is, it speaks to appearance rather than to damage that affects how the roof performs.

My house is new. Can it really have hail damage?

Yes. Hail damages new roofs as readily as old ones — a newer covering is not a more resistant one, and impact marks on soft metals show up the same either way. A common carrier position on newer homes is that the damage is cosmetic, which is a scope argument rather than a coverage one.

How long do I have after an Arlington Heights storm?

Your policy's suit limitation clause sets it, commonly about a year from the date of loss, and Illinois adds no statutory deadline. Read your policy for the actual term. Submitting a proof of loss pauses the clock while the carrier decides, under 215 ILCS 5/143.1.

Prefer not to call? Text 847-208-8380 or email tom.jtpa@gmail.com

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Cook County

Claim guides:
Condo & townhome claims
Historic district roofs
Commercial roofs
Hail damage or wear?
Cosmetic or covered?
Denied claims
Supplements
Did hail damage my roof?