Hail verdicts turn on one distinction: functional versus cosmetic. On shingles, functional hail fractures or bruises the mat under the granules, felt as a soft, crushed spot, and it shortens the roof's life whether or not it leaks today. On metal, dents that do not breach seams, fasteners, or coating are usually cosmetic, however dramatic they look from the ladder.
Golden Triangle hail arrives married to wind, and the test square is what separates the spouses. Bruised mats in a counted pattern are hail; creased tabs at edges are wind; corroded fasteners are neither, and no honest packet files them as either. Metal dents are cosmetic until a seam speaks. The packet discipline matters doubly here because the triangle's adjusters work storm volume: the file that arrives complete is the file that gets paid complete.
Adjusters evaluate hail in test squares: a marked 10 by 10 foot area per slope, hits counted and photographed, with soft metal damage (vents, flashing, gutters) as supporting evidence. A roofer's inspection that follows the same method produces a record your insurer can actually use.
Timing matters twice: policies set windows for reporting storm damage, and bruised mats weather faster after the hit. An inspection within days of a named storm, with dated photos, is the difference between a documented claim and an argument about an old roof.
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