Plan it

The knock at the door after the storm

Nothing on your roof is decided in the next ten minutes. Everything the person at the door wants is decided in the next ten minutes.

What is probably happening

Storm-following crews work the zip codes a hail map lights up. The pitch is a free inspection, a claim they will handle, and a deductible you will not pay.
NRCA's red flags after a storm: cash-only, out-of-state references, and deposits demanded before materials arrive.
Some are legitimate local roofers doing door-to-door. The test is the same either way: license, address, insurance, and a contract you can read overnight.

Do this in the next five minutes

Take a card. Do not let anyone on the roof today, and do not sign anything.
Look the license up yourself on your state board's site. Florida: certified contractors can work statewide, registered ones only in their local jurisdiction (F.S. 489.105). California: the class is C-39.
Check for a permanent local address and phone number (NRCA).
Ask for certificates of general liability and workers compensation, emailed to you.
Get two more quotes from local roofers you found yourself.
If you are in Texas, Colorado or Florida and the pitch included your deductible, stop there. That offer is illegal in all three.

Do not

Do not accept the free inspection as your damage report. Get your own from someone you chose.
Do not sign a contingency or assignment of benefits at the door. Florida bars AOBs on policies issued since 1 January 2023, and Colorado gives 72 hours to rescind a roofing contract for exactly this situation.
Do not pay a deposit to a truck. Colorado law requires the roofer to hold your payment in trust until materials are on site.

Who to call

A local licensed roofing contractor you found yourself

The roof may well need a roofer. The one who found you is not, on that evidence, the right one.

Get a free shortlist The seven questions for this trade

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What it should cost

$125 to $600

Roof inspection after a hailstorm, national range, paid to a roofer you chose

Source: Angi, hail damage roof repair cost, updated July 2026. View source

National published range, not a quote for your job. The full cost table for this trade is on the roofing page.

Ask this contractor, on the phone, before anyone comes out

Tap each one as you ask it.

What is your state license number, and what is the physical address of your office?
How long have you been working in this county, and can you give me three addresses of roofs you did here last year?
Will you be handling, negotiating or advising on my insurance claim in any way?
Are you offering to cover any part of my deductible?
Can I keep this contract overnight before deciding?

End the call if

A deductible offer. Florida: fines up to $10,000 per offense (F.S. 489.147). Texas: illegal under state law (TDI).
A truck with out-of-state plates and a temporary phone number. NRCA: look for a permanent place of business.
Pressure to sign before they leave.

Insurance. Storm damage is normally covered. Signing away your claim is not the way to collect on it: in Florida an assignment of benefits is not permitted on policies issued on or after 1 January 2023 (F.S. 627.7152).

Where this comes from

Not my problem, tap through instead Every roofing answer