What to do after a hail storm in canberra
Canberra gets hit with hail more often than most people expect. The ACT sits in one of Australia’s most active hail corridors, and when a storm rolls through, it can leave behind damage that isn’t obvious until weeks or months later – long after the storm has been forgotten and the insurance claim window has complicated things.
Knowing what to do in the hours and days after a hail storm can make a significant difference to your roof’s condition, your insurance outcome, and ultimately how much the whole thing costs you. This post walks you through exactly what to do, step by step.
Step 1: Stay safe and wait for the storm to pass
This sounds obvious, but it’s worth saying – don’t go onto your roof during or immediately after a storm. Wet tiles and metal roofing are extremely slippery, and hail can leave debris that makes footing unpredictable. Wait until conditions are fully clear before doing anything on or near the roof.
Once the storm has passed, do a quick walk around the exterior of your property from the ground to get an intial sense of whether there’s visible damage.
Step 2: Check for visible damage from the ground
From ground level, look for:
- Cracked, chipped or dislodged tiles
- Ridge caps that appear shifted or out of alignment
- Visible dents or damage to gutters and downpipes
- Debris on the roof – branches, leaves or hail accumulation in valleys
- Any sections of roofing that look out of place compared to the surrounding area
Use binoculars if you have them – they’ll give you a much clearer view of tile surfaces and ridge capping from a safe distance. Take photos of anything the looks damaged. You’ll need them later.
It’s important to understand that what you see from the ground is rarely the full picture. Hail damage to tiles is often superficial-looking on the surface but causes hairline cracks that allow water in gradually. Ridge capping can be shifted by just a few millimetres in ways that aren’t obvious visually but create a water entry point. Flashing can lift without being visible at all.
Step 3: Check inside the roof cavity and ceilings
If you have roof cavity access, take a look inside with a torch after a storm. You’re looking for:
- Any daylight visible through the roof structure
- Signs of moisture or fresh water staining on the sarking or insulation
- Water pooling anywhere in the cavity
Inside the home, check all ceilings – particularly in rooms directly below the roof line – for new water stains, damp patches, or bubbling paint. These may not appear immediately; in some cases they take a few days to show up as water works its way through damaged sarking and insulation.
Document anything you find with photos and note the date.
Step 4: Contact your insurer promptly
If you believe your roof has sustained storm damage, contact your insurer as soon as possible – ideally within 24-48 hours of the event. Most home insurance policies cover strom hail including hail, but they typically require that you report the damage promptly and take reasonable steps to prevent further damage occurring.
What you call, have the following ready:
- The date and approximate time of the storm
- Photos of any visible damage you’ve documented
- Your policy number
Your insurer will likely ask you to get a professional assessment carried out and may send their own assessor. Don’t wait for them to schedule an assessment before doing anything – if there’s an active leak or your roof is exposed, you’re entitled to arrange emergency repairs to prevent further damage. Keep all receipts.
Step 5: Book a professional roof inspection
This is the most important step, and the one most Canberra homeowners skip – usually because the roof looks okay from the ground.
Hail damage is frequently invisible without a physical inspection from on the roof. Impact damage to concrete and terrcotta tiles often appears as small chips or hairline cracks that aren’t obvious visually but compromise the tile’s ability to shed water. Ridge capping mortar can be cracked by hail impact in ways that only become apparent when it rains again. Flashing can be lifted at corners and edges without any obvious sign from below.
A professional roofer will physically access the roof, check every section of the ridge line, inspect flashing at all penetrations, assess tile surfaces across the entire roof, check gutter and valleys from debris and damage, and provide you with a written report of findings. That report is exactly what your insurer needs to process your claim.
Don’t wait weeks to book an inspection. After a significant hail event, reputable roofing contractors across Canberra get booked up quickly. The sooner you get an assessment, the sooner you have the documentation you need.
Step 6: Arrange repairs before the next rainfall
If the inspection identifies damage, prioritise getting repairs schedules before the next significant rainfall – especially if there are cracked tiles, lifted flashing, or shifted ridge capping. These issues that are manageable when dry become much more serios when water starts getting through.
Emergency or priority repairs can often be carried out quickly even if a full repair job needs to be scheduled for later. A temporary fix to seal an active entry point is far better than leaving the roof exposed through another storm.
What about gutters and downpipes?
Hail storms frequently leave gutters blocked with debris – leaf matter, hail stones and dislodged material from the roof surface. Blocked gutters during subsequent rainfall cause water to back up under the roofline, which creates a secondary water entry risk entirely separate from any tile or flashing damage.
After a storm, clear your gutters or have them cleared as soon as it’s safe to do so. If your gutters sustained physical damage – dents, separated joints, or sagging sections – get those assessed at the same time as the roof’s inspection.
Does insurance cover hail damage to roofs in canberra?
In most cases, yes. Standard home and contents insurance policies in Australia cover storm damage including hail as a standard inclusion, provided the roof was in reasonable condition prior to the event and the damage is directly attributable to the storm.
What insurers look for when assessing claims is evidence that the damage is storm-related rather than pre-existing wear and neglect. This is where a professional inspection report is invaluable – it documents the nature of the damage, the likely cause, and the scope of work required to repair it. A well-documented claim supported by a professional report is significantly more likely to be processed smoothly than one based on self-assessed photos alone.
If your claim is disputed or the insurer’s assessor underestimates the damage, a report from an independent licensed roofer give you grounds to contest the assessment.
The Bottom Line
Hail storms are a fact of like in Canberra, and most roofs will go through several significant events over their lifetime. The homeowners who come out with the least damage and the smoothest insurance experience are the ones who act quickly, document thoroughly, and get a professional inspection done before assuming everything is fine.
If your property has been through a hail storm recently and you roof hasn’t been professionally inspected, don’t wait for a leak to tell you there’s a problem.
National Capital Roofing carries out storm damage inspections and emergency roof repairs across Canberra and the ACT. We provide detailed written reports suitable for insurance claims and can prioritise urgent inspections after significant weather events. Call us on 0407 121 491 or request an inspection online.
