What Happens During a Roof Insurance Adjuster Inspection (And What to Do Before It)

The insurance adjuster inspection is the most consequential single event in your storm damage claim. The scope of loss document the adjuster produces after this visit determines your initial payout — and in many cases, the starting point for every negotiation that follows. Understanding how this inspection works puts you in a better position to protect your own interests.

Who is the adjuster, and who do they work for?

Insurance adjusters come in two types. Staff adjusters are employed directly by your insurance company — they're on salary and their job is to evaluate and settle claims. Independent adjusters (IAs) are contractors hired by the insurer during high-volume events, like the aftermath of a regional hailstorm or hurricane, when staff adjusters can't handle the volume. Both types are paid by the insurer. Neither type works for you.

A public adjuster is the homeowner's counterpart — a licensed professional you hire independently to represent your interests in the claims process. If you hire one, they typically attend the adjuster inspection on your behalf.

Understanding this dynamic is important: the adjuster is not your advocate. They are the insurer's representative, evaluating the claim against the policy terms. That doesn't make them adversarial — most adjusters operate professionally and honestly — but their incentive structure is not aligned with maximizing your payout.

What adjusters actually look for on a roof

A trained adjuster inspects for hail damage using a protocol that includes both visual and tactile inspection. For hail damage on asphalt shingles, they are looking for:

• Granule loss in impact patterns: circular areas where hail has knocked granules off, leaving exposed fiberglass mat. Fresh impacts look different from weathering — the exposed area is consistent in size and shape, and the surrounding granules are disturbed.
• Hail bruising: soft spots felt by pressing with a thumb. A bruised shingle has fractured fiberglass beneath the surface even without a visible hole. Adjusters press multiple points across each slope to identify these.
• Dents on soft metal: gutters, valley metal, chimney caps, and ridge caps. Metal surfaces record hail impacts clearly and are often used to corroborate roof damage when shingle damage is ambiguous.
• Hit count per test square: Adjusters typically define a 10-square-foot test area on each slope and count the number of verifiable impacts. Industry standard is 8 or more hits per test square to justify full slope replacement. This threshold matters — borderline hit counts are a negotiating point.

What adjusters commonly miss — and why it matters

Adjuster inspections on storm-heavy days can be rushed. Common gaps include:

• North-facing or shaded slopes: granules are denser on cooler slopes and impacts are harder to see without optimal lighting. These slopes are frequently undercounted.
• Hip and valley sections: complex geometry makes systematic counting difficult. Adjusters may skip or undercount these areas.
• Underlayment: most adjuster scopes do not automatically include underlayment replacement. Storm-restoration contractors routinely supplement for this because the underlayment under damaged shingles is also compromised — the nail penetrations created during tear-off compromise it regardless.
• Ice-and-water shield: often excluded from initial adjuster scopes unless specifically required by state code or policy language. In many states, code upgrades are only covered if the policy includes ordinance/law coverage.
• Drip edge: frequently omitted in initial scopes. Required by code when new shingles are installed in most jurisdictions, and legitimately supplementable.

Before the adjuster arrives: what to do

Have an independent roof inspection by a storm-restoration contractor before the adjuster visit if possible. A good contractor will document impacts with chalk circles and systematic photos, count hits per test square on each slope, and give you a written damage report you can reference during the adjuster's visit and after.

Document the storm event independently — weather service records, commercial hail-tracking data, and date-stamped photos of the damage. Pull this information before the adjuster arrives so you have it ready if the adjuster's assessment conflicts with the evidence.

Be present during the inspection. You have the right to be on your own roof (or to have your contractor there as your representative) when the adjuster inspects. Ask questions. If an adjuster skips a slope or counts fewer hits than your contractor counted, note it on the spot. You can request that specific areas be reinspected.

After the inspection: reviewing the scope of loss

The adjuster will produce a scope of loss — a detailed line-item estimate of covered damage and repair costs. Most carriers use Xactimate, an industry-standard estimating software with regional cost databases. Compare this document against your contractor's assessment. Specific items to check:

• Are all damaged slopes included, or were any omitted or reduced?
• Is underlayment replacement included, and at what spec?
• Is ice-and-water shield included at code-minimum or upgraded coverage?
• Are code-required items (drip edge, permit costs) included, or does the policy require an ordinance/law endorsement for those?
• Is the labor rate consistent with current regional Xactimate pricing?

Any discrepancy between the adjuster's scope and the actual damage is the basis for a supplement request. Storm-restoration contractors file supplements routinely — it is a normal part of the claims process, not an adversarial action.

Connect with a storm-restoration contractor who can attend your adjuster inspection and handle any supplements your claim requires.