By John-Hayden Allen · Pro4mance Roofing · London, KY · Updated June 2026
Every spring and summer I get calls from homeowners in London and Corbin who noticed their gutters were full of dark grit after a storm. By the time they find me, it has sometimes been three or four months since that storm came through. The clock on their insurance claim is ticking. In a few cases they have already passed the one-year filing window their policy allowed and the damage is now on their dime.
Hail damage is not dramatic from the ground. There is rarely a hole. There is rarely a leak on day one. What hail does to an asphalt shingle roof happens at the material level — it bruises the mat, knocks off the granules that protect it from UV radiation, and starts a slow failure that becomes a leak one or two seasons later. Insurers know this, which is why Kentucky policies are written around functional damage, not visible holes. The problem is that functional damage is easy to miss if you do not know what you are looking at.
I have been inspecting storm-damaged roofs in Laurel County since 2014. Here is what I look for, and what you can check safely from the ground right after a hail event.
In southeastern Kentucky, hail events range from pea-size (under half an inch) that leaves no functional damage to baseball-size stones that can punch through decking. The threshold most adjusters and roofing engineers use is one inch — roughly quarter-size. At that diameter and above, a hailstone carries enough kinetic energy to fracture the fiberglass mat inside an asphalt shingle, displace significant granule coverage, and dent soft metals. Quarter-size or larger hail in Laurel County is not unusual during spring supercell events. The NOAA Storm Events Database shows multiple significant hail events for London, KY in recent years, several exceeding 1.5 inches. If your neighbors are getting new roofs and you are not, that is a sign worth investigating.
Do not climb on your own roof right after a storm. Wet shingles are slippery and damaged shingles can give way without warning. All of the following signs can be spotted from the ground with nothing more than binoculars and a walk around your property.
Asphalt shingles are covered in ceramic-coated granules that block UV and shed water. When hail hits, granules get knocked loose in circular or irregular patterns, exposing the dark fiberglass mat underneath. From the ground on a clear day, look for dark patches or splotches on the surface of your shingles — especially on south- and west-facing slopes that take the brunt of Kentucky's storm tracks. These spots are distinct from general wear because they appear suddenly after a storm event and cluster in the same impact direction.
After the next rain following a hail event, check your gutters and the concrete or gravel splash blocks at your downspout exits. A heavy, sand-like buildup of dark granules is one of the clearest ground-level indicators of impact damage. Some granule shedding is normal at the end of a shingle's life, but if it appears suddenly after a storm and fills the bottom of your gutters, that is hail doing it. I photograph this on nearly every claim I work in Laurel County — carriers accept it as supporting evidence.
Aluminum gutters and downspouts are soft enough to show denting at quarter-size hail and above. Walk your roofline and look at the face of your gutters — you are looking for small, random circular dents that were not there before. Fascia boards and aluminum wrapping around trim can show the same marks. This matters for your claim because metal components that dent at the same hail size that damages shingles are corroborating proof of the storm's intensity. Dented gutters alone are often enough for an adjuster to agree that the hail event meets the damage threshold.
Roof penetrations — plumbing vents, ridge vents, metal pipe collars, and step flashing at the chimney — are soft metal and will show impact marks from the same hail that bruises your shingles. If you can see your roof from an upstairs window, an attic hatch, or a dormer, look at exposed lead or aluminum flashing. Circular dimples or dings that follow no pattern (not tool marks, not installation creases) are hail signatures. I use these in documentation packages because they are undeniable — soft metal does not dimple itself.
Your outdoor air conditioner condenser sits in the open. The aluminum fins on the outside of the unit are extremely thin and will show denting at hail sizes that might only barely damage shingles. Walk to your AC unit after any significant hail event. If you see the fins on one or more sides are bent, dented, or pockmarked from impacts, you almost certainly have roof damage worth claiming. This check takes 30 seconds and is the fastest corroborating indicator I know of.
Larger hail — 1.5 inches and above — can crack shingles outright or fracture the fiberglass mat below the surface. The surface crack may be visible as a dark line or break running across a shingle tab. Mat fractures are sometimes invisible from the ground and only apparent when you flex the shingle by hand on the roof, which is another reason professional inspection matters. However, visible cracking from the ground almost always means there is hidden mat damage on adjacent shingles too. If you see any cracked shingles after a storm, that is enough reason to call.
Hail that hits siding at an angle can leave small chips or circular impact marks on painted wood, vinyl, or fiber cement. Look at the side of your home facing the direction the storm came from. On painted wood, you may see the paint chipped or knocked away in a circular spot. On vinyl siding, you may see small cracks or dents. Siding damage is documented in most comprehensive hail claims and may trigger replacement coverage under the same homeowner's policy that covers the roof.
I understand the impulse. You want to know what happened to your home, and the seven signs above may have you convinced there is damage up there. But damaged shingles are compromised shingles — they can slip, crack further under foot traffic, or give way at a bruised mat. Beyond personal safety, you can inadvertently worsen the damage and complicate your claim. If a cracked shingle is stepped on and the crack widens, an adjuster may characterize it as foot traffic damage rather than impact damage. Let a licensed contractor get up there.
What a professional inspection finds that a ground check misses: the difference between a surface granule scuff and a true mat fracture, bruising on the back side of the shingle tab, soft spots that feel spongy under hand pressure, damage patterns across the slope that confirm storm direction, and micro-cracking at the sealant strips that will lift in the next high-wind event. These are the findings that turn a claim from a patch job into a full replacement.
We do this every week across London, Corbin, and Laurel County. Our storm damage inspection process includes drone photos, satellite measurements, and a written report — everything your carrier's adjuster needs.
Most Kentucky homeowner insurance policies allow one year from the date of loss to file a claim. Some policies allow two years; a handful are shorter. The date of loss is the storm date, not the date you discovered the damage. That distinction matters because hail damage is often discovered months after the event, but your clock started running the day the storm passed through London. NOAA's Storm Events Database and local weather records establish the exact date, which is why we always pull storm data as part of our documentation.
Fresh damage also documents better. Within 60 to 90 days of a hail event, impact marks on shingles and soft metals retain their crisp edges. As months pass, UV weathering rounds those edges, dirt fills the impact craters, and an adjuster — or their third-party desk review — may call the damage pre-existing. Filing promptly after you confirm damage is simply good risk management.
For a complete walkthrough of the filing process, see our guide on how to file a roof insurance claim in Kentucky.
Here is the sequence I recommend to every homeowner in Laurel County who suspects hail damage:
For more on the insurance side of the process, see our page on insurance claim roofing in Kentucky.
As soon as possible — ideally within 30 to 60 days of the storm. Impact marks are sharpest when fresh, making them easier to document and harder for a carrier to dispute. That said, inspections are still valuable up to a year out if your policy window is still open. Call us and we will check NOAA records to confirm the storm date for your area.
Yes. Hail damage severity can vary between houses on the same street depending on roof slope, shingle age, and the storm's direction of travel. Your neighbor's replacement is evidence that the storm reached the damage threshold in your neighborhood, but the only way to know your roof's status is to have it inspected. Ground-level checks miss mat fractures and hidden bruising that only show up under hand pressure on the roof surface.
Weather-related claims (hail, wind, storm) are typically treated differently from at-fault claims. Most major carriers do not surcharge for a single weather claim, particularly in a declared storm area. That said, insurance policies vary and you should confirm with your agent. What I can tell you is that failing to file and absorbing a full roof replacement out of pocket when you had a valid claim is a far worse financial outcome for most families.
Yes. We serve London, Corbin, and all of Laurel County. We also cover surrounding communities. If you are in southeastern Kentucky and had a hail event, give us a call — we will let you know if we cover your area.
Pro4mance Roofing has been inspecting and replacing storm-damaged roofs in London, Corbin, and Laurel County since 2014. License #RC-2841. No charge for the inspection. No obligation. If there is no claim-worthy damage, we will tell you that too.
Pro4mance Roofing & Home Improvements · London, KY · License #RC-2841 · Serving Laurel County since 2014. This article is for informational purposes. Insurance policy terms vary; consult your carrier or a licensed insurance professional regarding your specific coverage and claim filing deadlines.
