ACV (actual cash value)
What your roof was worth the day the hail hit, with age and wear subtracted. A 15-year-old roof has an ACV well below the cost of a new one.
Insurance Claims
Roof Insurance Claims in Calgary: The Complete Hail-Claim Process
Hail hits, an adjuster shows up, cheques arrive in stages. Here's the whole Alberta hail-claim process in plain English, from the first photo to the last cheque.
Step by step
How an Alberta hail claim actually runs
Calgary sits in the middle of Hailstorm Alley. The August 2024 hailstorm caused roughly $3.29 billion in insured damage, and the June 13, 2020 storm over northeast Calgary and Airdrie ran about $1.3 billion. Both figures are industry-reported. Own a roof here long enough and you will probably file a claim, so here is the process from start to finish.
- 1
The storm hits
Wait out the door-knockers. Hail damage does not get worse in a week, and nothing about a claim rewards signing a contract the same afternoon. If someone is pushing paperwork on your doorstep an hour after the storm, read our storm chasers page before you touch a pen.
- 2
Document what you can see from the ground
Photograph hail on the lawn next to something for scale, dented vents and eavestroughs, marked-up siding, and note the date. Stay off the roof. Ground-level photos are enough to open a claim.
- 3
Call your insurer and open the claim
Report the damage to your insurance company or broker. You get a claim number, and an adjuster is assigned to your file. Policies expect prompt reporting, so don't sit on it for a season.
- 4
The adjuster inspects the roof
Your insurer sends an adjuster to confirm hail damage and measure the roof. You are allowed to have your own contractor up there at the same time, and we recommend it: two sets of eyes on the same shingles, one of them working for you.
- 5
The scope of loss arrives
The insurer issues a scope of loss: an itemized list of everything they agree is damaged and what they will pay to fix it. Read it before you sign anything. Every dollar in the claim traces back to this document.
- 6
Your contractor prices against the scope
We put the scope next to the actual roof. Where they match, good. Where the scope missed something (a slope the adjuster couldn't walk, dented flashing, required code items), we photograph it, measure it, and file a supplement.
- 7
Approval and the first cheque
Once the scope and any supplements are approved, most policies pay in stages: a first cheque at actual cash value, with depreciation held back and your deductible subtracted. The glossary below covers each of those terms. One thing approval does not do is hire your roofer. The approved scope belongs to you, not to any contractor, and you still choose who builds it. Choose the one who wrote the scope.
- 8
The roof gets built
Materials ordered, roof replaced, site cleaned. An insurance roof gets the same materials and the same 15-year written workmanship warranty as a roof you paid for out of pocket. There is no insurance-grade shingle.
- 9
Depreciation release
After the work is done, the completion paperwork and final invoice go to your insurer, who releases the recoverable depreciation they held back. You pay your deductible, the file closes, and you keep every document.
The paperwork, decoded
Claim terms in plain language
Claims paperwork leans on a handful of terms that trip people up. Here is each one without the jargon. And if you're still deciding whether those dents are roof damage at all, our hail damage guide shows what hail actually does to shingles.
RCV (replacement cost value)
What it costs to put a new roof on today. Many Alberta homeowner policies pay replacement cost, but check yours, because the difference is thousands of dollars.
Recoverable depreciation
The gap between RCV and ACV, held back by the insurer until the roof is finished and they see the final invoice. Recoverable means you get it back. It is not money you lost.
Deductible
Your share of the claim, set out in your policy. The insurer subtracts it from the payout, so in practice you pay it toward the finished roof.
Scope of loss
The insurer's line-by-line list of what is damaged and what they will pay to repair it. Quotes, supplements and cheques all key off this one document.
Supplement
A documented request to add something the scope missed: rotted decking found at tear-off, a required code item, damage the adjuster couldn't see. Filed with photos and measurements, not opinions.
Why it matters
What an insurance-approved contractor changes
Roof Right Solutions is an approved vendor in the networks insurers use to assign restoration contractors, and we are HAAG-certified for residential roof inspections. In practice that changes three things about your claim. We write the estimate in Xactimate, the same software the insurer's reviewer prices claims in, so the documentation is right the first time and nothing gets lost in translation. We negotiate the scope: when the reviewer's numbers come back short we argue the line items, and when the scope missed damage we pursue the supplement with photos and measurements instead of a phone argument. And you stop being the messenger: we deal with the adjuster on scope questions and send the completion paperwork that releases your depreciation, so you are not relaying roofing terms between two parties who have never met.
Two honest limits. Approval decisions belong to your insurer, not to us, and no contractor can promise a claim outcome. And approved-vendor status does not make us the insurer's contractor. You hire us. We work for you.
You choose your contractor. Full stop.
In Alberta, the claim pays for the roof; it does not pick the roofer. An approved claim does not tie you to anyone either: approval releases the money, nothing more. Your insurer may pass along a list of contractors they work with, and that list is a convenience, not a condition. You are free to hire any qualified contractor, and your coverage does not change because of the choice.
So pick the company you would trust if you were paying retail: read the reviews, read the warranty, and ask who answers the phone in year ten. And if one contractor already wrote the scope your insurer approved, weigh that too. Nobody knows the claim line by line the way they do.
Timeline
How long a hail claim takes
The honest answer: it depends on the storm more than on you. In a quiet season an adjuster might see your roof within a couple of weeks of the claim opening. After a city-wide storm like August 2024, thousands of files land at once and every stage stretches with them: adjuster visits, scope documents, material supply, build slots. The build itself is usually the fast part. Depreciation release follows the final invoice. Plan in months, not days, and be suspicious of anyone promising firm dates for stages they don't control. A documented roof inspection up front is the one step you can book on your own schedule.
We are roofing contractors, not insurance advisors. Policies differ on coverage, deductibles and depreciation, and nothing on this page overrides yours. Confirm the details with your insurer or broker. What we can speak to is the roof itself: what is damaged, what it costs to fix, and the paperwork that proves both.
Questions
Hail claim FAQs
Do I really only pay my deductible?
On an approved replacement-cost claim, your out-of-pocket cost is typically the deductible, plus anything you choose to upgrade beyond what the scope covers. Be wary of any contractor offering to absorb or rebate your deductible. That money has to come from somewhere, and it is usually your roof.
What if the scope of loss misses damage?
It happens often, especially with damage you can only see from the roof or after tear-off. That is what supplements are for: we document the missed items with photos and measurements, write them into the Xactimate estimate, and submit them to your adjuster. A properly documented supplement is routine, not a fight.
How long does the whole process take?
From first call to depreciation release, think months rather than weeks, and longer after a major regional storm when adjusters and suppliers are swamped. The build itself is the quick part. Anyone quoting firm dates for stages they do not control is guessing.
Will filing a hail claim raise my premiums?
Ask your broker before you file. That question is squarely their territory. What brokers commonly explain is that widespread storm claims tend to affect rates across a region rather than singling out individual homeowners, but your own policy and claims history are your own. Get the answer in writing if it worries you.
Do I have to use a contractor my insurer recommends?
No. In Alberta you choose your own contractor, and going outside the list your insurer hands you does not reduce your coverage. Treat that list as a starting point if you find it useful, then hire whoever you would trust with the roof if you were paying for it yourself.
Is every hail hit worth filing a claim?
No. A few bruised shingles on one slope may cost less to repair than your deductible. Start with a HAAG-certified hail assessment, from $350 and waived in full when we do the work: you will know what the damage actually is, and whether a claim makes sense, before you ever call your insurer. And if the assessment finds no claim-worthy damage, we say so and file an honest no-damage report. We get paid for the report, not for finding damage.
Start with the assessment
Not sure you have a claim? Start with the roof.
A HAAG-certified hail assessment, from $350 and waived in full when we do the work, tells you what the hail did and whether a claim makes sense, before you call your insurer. If we find nothing worth claiming, we say so and file an honest no-damage report. You lose nothing but the assessment fee, and the fee pays for the same climb, photos and paperwork whatever we find. No pressure either way.
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