How to Prepare Your Home for Hailstorms

When it comes to dangerous storms one of the forms of storms that can be most threatening for damage to our homes is a hailstorm. Hailstorms are one of the most common and costly severe weather events with more than 5,000 yearly hailstorms occurring across the United States creating approximately $1.5 billion in roofing damage alone each year.

A hailstorm occurs when pellets of frozen rain fall from clouds creating a storm. They can be common occurrences during thunder storms and can also be accompanied by hurricanes and tornadoes. The size of one hail pellet ranges in size, typically between the size of a pea and the size of an egg but can get as large as a baseball in severe cases. A hailstorm can begin unexpectedly at any time and poses a threat of damage to your home’s roof, windows, and siding, so it is best to prepare in advance to ensure your home is always ready for a hailstorm. Here is everything you need to know to properly prepare your home in advance to protect it from hailstorm damage.

Prepare An Emergency Plan

Hailstorms by themselves are not typically severe enough to require an emergency plan for your home and family, but they can often be accompanied by other severe weather storms like hurricanes and tornadoes. They also can cause electrical damage that can disrupt electrical service and break windows and cause roofing damage that could lead to flooding waters coming in to your home. It is best to have an emergency plan prepared for you and your family for the potential damages that a hailstorm could bring. Your emergency plan should include a well-prepared emergency survival kit, a place for you and your family to wait out the storm within your home (such as an enclosed hallways, basement, bathroom, or closet) and an emergency evacuation plan.

Prepare Your Roof

One of the most common and costly damages resulting from hailstorms is roofing damage. Because your roof covers your entire home, it is your home’s first line of defense in any severe weather event. This means you need to make sure your roof is always strong and prepared for severe weather. The best way to protect your roof from hailstorm damage is to inspect your roof for any current damage or weak spots regularly and repair them as they are found. You should also ensure your home’s roof is made up of roofing materials designed to resist the impact of hail, and if it is not then you should invest in these materials when it is time for you to replace your current roof. Impact resistant roofing materials include asphalt shingles, metal, tile, and slate, and should be identified as a Class 3 or Class 4 material.

Prepare Your Windows, Glass Doors, And Skylights

Hailstorms pose a serious threat to your home’s windows, glass doors, and skylights because even the smallest pellet can crack and break a window. It is important to make sure your home’s windows, glass doors, and skylights are made up of wind and impact resistant materials. In addition to using wind and impact resistant materials, you can further protect your windows, glass doors, and skylights with shutters. And when your home is involved in a hailstorm, you should also close any blinds and drapes you have covering them as this can help contain shattered glass and minimize the amount of debris and broken glass flying into your home that can pose a risk of injury to you and your family.

Maintain Tree Trimmings

Ensuring that you are keeping up with routine maintenance on any trees surrounding your home is important to protecting your home from damage in any type of severe weather event, hailstorms included. Hail can easily cause branches to crack and fall on your home during a storm, especially if the branch is already weak. Any branches that could potentially fall onto your home’s roof or into a window during a storm should be removed. Keeping up with your routine maintenance on the trees surrounding your home will ensure all your trees are strong and remove potentially dangerous branches and limbs.

Review Your Insurance Policy

Even when we do everything we can to prepare and protect our homes from damage caused by a severe weather event we never know the extent of damage our homes could potentially be impacted by. It is important to make sure you have reliable financial protection for any damage that does occur. Many homeowner’s insurance policies do not include coverage for damage that occurs due to severe weather events such as hailstorms, so make sure you review your coverage carefully and know exactly what is and is not covered by your policy.

Contact Fearnow Insurance to speak with a licensed insurance agent today that can review your current homeowner’s insurance policy and make sure you have the coverage you need!