A summer hailstorm in Airdrie can go from blue sky to white lawns and back again in fifteen minutes. What follows takes much longer: checking the house, calling the insurer, fending off door-knockers, waiting for an adjuster and eventually deciding who fixes the roof. Most homeowners go through this only once or twice, which is why it’s easy to do things in the wrong order. This guide lays out a practical timeline — the first hour, the first day, the first week and the first month — so you know what matters now and what can wait.
It’s written for homeowners, not contractors. For the full insurance process itself, see the step-by-step guide to roof insurance claims in Airdrie; this article is the checklist that sits around it.
Why the order matters
Airdrie sits in Alberta’s hail corridor, where summer storms build over the foothills and track east across the prairie. The June 13, 2020 storm that hit Calgary, Airdrie and Rocky View County was one of the costliest natural disasters in Canadian history at the time, and smaller storms damage roofs somewhere along the QEII most summers. After a big one, insurers are busy, roofers are booked, and out-of-town crews arrive within days.
In that environment, the homeowners who come out best are usually the ones who:
- kept themselves and the house safe first,
- documented what happened before anything was cleaned up or repaired,
- stopped any water quickly and kept the receipts,
- and chose their roofer on their own schedule, not a salesperson’s.
Everything below follows that logic.
The first hour: safety and quick evidence
Stay inside until the storm has fully passed. Hail often comes with lightning and strong gusts, and the back edge of a storm can be as rough as the front.
Do not go on the roof. Not today, and ideally not at all. Wet shingles covered in loose granules and hail pellets are extremely slippery, and hail bruises are hard to judge without experience anyway.
Check inside for water. Walk the top floor and look at ceilings, especially around bathroom fans, skylights and light fixtures. If you see a drip, put a bucket under it and move valuables away. If a ceiling is bulging with water, keep people out of the room below.
Photograph the hail while it’s still on the ground. This is the one piece of evidence that disappears fastest. From a safe spot, take photos of:
- hailstones next to a coin, ruler or tape measure for scale,
- hail piled on the deck, lawn or driveway,
- the time on your phone or a clock, if you can include it.
These photos are often the best record of how big the hail really was, and they cost you nothing.
The first day: document from the ground and stop any water
Once the storm is gone and it’s safe to be outside, spend some time on documentation. Everything here can be done with your feet on the ground.
What to photograph from the ground:
- Each side of the roof, as wide as you can get it
- Roof vents and flashing — dents in soft metal show hail size clearly
- Granules washed onto the driveway, patio or lawn below the roof edge
- Siding, window frames and screens with chips or holes
- Fences, decks, outdoor furniture and vehicles with dents
- Any interior stains, drips or wet insulation you can see safely
If you took dated spring photos of your roof — as recommended in our hail season preparation guide — put them in the same folder now. Before-and-after is the most persuasive record you can have.
If water is getting in, temporary protection comes first. Most policies expect you to take reasonable steps to prevent further damage. That usually means a tarp or temporary patch over the leak area, and it should be done by someone with the right equipment, not by a homeowner on a wet ladder. An emergency roof repair is designed for exactly this: make the roof watertight now, then deal with the permanent fix once the claim is sorted. Keep every receipt and take before-and-after photos of the temporary work. For a sense of scale, emergency tarping and temporary patches in Airdrie commonly run around $500–1,500 depending on size and access (2026 Airdrie market estimates), and reasonable emergency protection is normally part of the claim.
Write down the basics while they’re fresh: date and time of the storm, how long it lasted, the largest hail you saw, and anything unusual such as strong wind or a tree limb coming down.
The first day, continued: calling your insurer
You don’t need to have a roofer’s report to let your insurer or broker know a storm hit. Many homeowners make a first call the same day or the next to report that there’s been hail and ask how the insurer wants to proceed. At that stage, useful questions include:
- What is my deductible for wind and hail?
- Do you want me to get the roof inspected before an adjuster is assigned?
- Is there a deadline to report the claim or submit documents?
- Are temporary repairs covered, and what receipts do you need?
Write down the name of the person you spoke to, the date and any claim number. Whether and when to open a formal claim is your decision; the roof insurance claim guide explains how that process usually unfolds in Alberta, from inspection to adjuster visit to settlement.
The first week: storm chasers and door-knockers
Within a day or two of a large storm, expect knocks on the door. Some come from legitimate companies. Many come from crews who follow storms from city to city and won’t be around when a warranty question comes up next year.
A few rules make this simple:
- Take a card, close the door. You don’t have to decide anything on the doorstep.
- Don’t sign anything the same day. In Alberta, contracts signed at your door generally come with a cancellation period — read it, but better still, don’t rely on it.
- Never let anyone “handle the claim” for you by signing over the claim or a direction to pay before your roof has even been inspected.
- Walk away from anyone offering to cover your deductible. That only works by overstating the invoice to your insurer, and it puts your coverage at risk.
- Be careful with deposits. In Alberta, contractors taking payment before the work is finished generally need a prepaid contracting licence. Ask to see it.
- Check for a local address and a phone that gets answered. You’ll want that phone number in three years.
If someone says they “noticed damage” on your roof from the street, thank them and book your own inspection with a company you chose.
The first week: get the roof inspected
Once the rush of the first days calms down, book a proper inspection. A good post-storm inspection should give you:
- photos of every slope, not just the worst one,
- damage located on a simple roof diagram,
- notes on soft metals — vents, flashing and ridge caps,
- an honest opinion on whether the damage is likely to justify a claim or whether a repair makes more sense.
The hail damage roofing page explains what hail does to shingles and what a thorough assessment looks at. On steep or very large roofs, a drone inspection can capture every slope without adding foot traffic to already bruised shingles.
This is also when roof age starts to matter. As a general pattern among Alberta insurers (your policy decides), roofs under 15 years may be paid at full replacement minus the deductible, roofs 15–25 years often see a depreciated payout, and roofs over 25 years may get actual cash value only. That’s why a builder-grade roof from 2012 and a 1990s roof in Old Town can have very different outcomes from the same storm.
The first month: the adjuster visit and the scope
Depending on how widespread the storm was, the adjuster may come within days or several weeks. A few practical tips:
- Ask whether your roofer can attend. Walking the roof together is usually the quickest way to agree on what’s damaged.
- Have your photos ready — the hail on the ground, the ground-level shots, any spring reference photos and the inspection report.
- Mention interior damage even if it seems minor.
After the visit, the insurer issues a scope of loss. You don’t need to read it like an estimator, but a high-level check helps:
- Does it cover the right slopes? If the inspection found damage on four slopes and the scope names two, ask why.
- Is it repair or replacement? Widespread damage usually means replacement; scattered damage might be a repair.
- Are the soft metals listed? Vents, flashing and ridge caps are easy to miss.
- Is there depreciation or a holdback? Many replacement-cost policies pay a first amount, then release the rest once the work is finished and invoiced.
- What about matching? Many builder-grade shingles used in Airdrie subdivisions have been discontinued or changed colour. If only part of the roof is being replaced and the shingle can’t be matched, raise it.
If something looks missing, your roofer can write it up with photos for you to send to your insurer. You stay the policyholder and the person the insurer deals with.
The first month: choosing who does the work
With a scope in hand, you can compare contractors calmly. Look for a written quote that lines up with the insurer’s scope item by item, a clear note on any upgrades priced separately, and a local business you can reach afterwards. If you’re replacing the roof anyway, this is also the natural moment to ask whether an impact-rated shingle is worth the difference — our article on whether Class 4 shingles are worth it in Airdrie covers that decision.
Don’t let a crew start without a signed contract, a start window, and clarity on who pulls any permits and how the insurer’s holdback will be paid.
The whole plan on one page
- First hour: stay safe, stay off the roof, check ceilings, photograph hail with a coin for scale
- First day: photograph the house from the ground, stop active leaks with a temporary repair, note the storm details, call your insurer or broker
- First week: turn away door-knockers politely, book an independent inspection, gather all photos in one place
- First month: meet the adjuster with your evidence, review the scope at a high level, compare contractors and decide on upgrades
When you’re ready
After a storm, the best thing you can have is a clear picture of what actually happened to your roof. If you’d like one, you can request a free estimate whenever it suits you — there’s no need to decide anything on the spot.