What insurance covers hail damage to your home, car and belongings?
Short answer. Hail damage is covered, but by different policies depending on what was hit. Homeowners insurance covers the house, roof and other structures; comprehensive auto coverage covers your car; renters insurance covers a tenant's belongings; and for condos, the association's master policy usually covers the roof while your condo policy covers your unit.
Matching the damage to the policy
- Your house: the dwelling coverage of your homeowners policy pays for roof, siding, gutters, windows and other parts of the house, minus the wind and hail deductible.
- Fences, sheds, detached garages: other structures coverage in the same policy.
- Your car: comprehensive coverage on your auto policy, with its own deductible. Liability only auto insurance does not cover hail.
- A rented home: the landlord's policy covers the building; a renters policy covers your belongings if hail breaks in.
- A condo or townhome: the association's master policy usually covers the roof and exterior; check the governing documents, since some townhome associations leave roofs to owners.
- A rental house you own: your landlord or dwelling policy.
Same storm, separate claims
A hailstorm that damages your roof and your car creates two claims with two insurers or two policies, each with its own deductible. Document both with the same storm date.
Roof specifics
On a home, adjusters look for functional damage, meaning fractured shingle mats and exposed asphalt, not just granule scuffs. Policies may also have cosmetic damage exclusions, especially for metal roofs. See hail size and roof damage and cosmetic damage exclusions.
Check your storm date
Free hail history for Georgia zip codes is at northgeorgiahailmap.com, which helps tie damage to the right event. See date of loss.