24/7 Emergency Roof Tarping After Hail

Almost every homeowner policy contains a duty-to-mitigate clause. It says that after a loss you are required to take reasonable steps to prevent additional damage. If your roof is open and you leave it open through the next storm, the additional interior damage that results may not be covered, because it was preventable. Tarping is not just about protecting your house. It is about protecting your claim.

We locate the breach, which is not always where the water shows up inside - water travels along rafters and decking before it drops. We install a properly fastened tarp with battens over the affected sections, sealed at the edges so wind cannot get under it and lift it. A tarp thrown over a roof and weighted with bricks is not a tarp job; it is a tarp that will be in your neighbor's yard by morning. We photograph the damage before we cover it, because once the tarp is on, the adjuster cannot see what was underneath, and those photographs become part of your claim file.

The most damaging thing about a hail event is often not the hail itself but the second and third storms that come through in the following week over an already-open roof. Midwest storm systems travel in trains. If you have visible damage after a storm, the clock on getting it covered is measured in hours and days, not weeks.

Emergency mitigation is generally a covered expense under the same claim, separate from the roof repair itself. Keep the invoice. We document the work and provide the paperwork your carrier will want, and in most cases the tarping cost is reimbursed as part of the loss.