Siding damage claims in Chicago, argued wall by wall
A hailstorm rarely hits all four walls of a house, so the dispute with the insurer is about which walls get new siding. I'm a licensed public adjuster and a HAAG certified inspector. I document each wall, price it and negotiate the claim.
- Hit by the storm
- Undamaged, seen together with a hit wall
- Undamaged, seen alone
What hail and wind leave on each kind of siding
Find your own wall first. Each material marks differently.
Vinyl
Hail: Cracks, holes and broken corners, worse when a cold panel turns brittle.
Wind: Panels unlock at the bottom edge and fall, or stay up with a torn nailing strip.
The lock on each course, and whether the colour and profile are still sold.
Aluminum
Hail: Round dents in clusters, with paint chipped at the hits.
Wind: Panels bent back or lifted at the corners.
Dents seen in low side light, matched to dents on the gutters of the same wall.
Fiber cement
Hail: Chipped edges and cracked paint; a hard hit can crack a board.
Wind: Boards loosened where the nails pulled through.
Cracks along the nail lines, and how much of the wall needs repainting.
Wood and cedar shake
Hail: Dents in the soft wood and fresh splits.
Wind: Split or missing shakes, mostly near corners and eaves.
Fresh splits with bright wood inside, against old weathered checks.
What sits behind and around the panels
An estimate that prices only the panels leaves out most of a wall.
- 1
Panels and their trim
Corner posts, the channel around windows and doors, the starter strip. Estimates often skip them.
- 2
House wrap
The weather barrier under the siding. Where panels blew off it is often torn, and new siding over torn wrap still leaks.
- 3
Sheathing
The boards the siding is nailed to. Where water got behind the panels, I check them for soft or stained spots.
- 4
Soffit, fascia and window wraps
The same storm usually reaches them, and they go in the same claim.
Wind damage is often written up as "reattach panels". A panel with a torn nailing strip cannot be reattached.
What my file shows for every wall
- Photos from a fixed point
- Each wall wide, then close on every mark.
- The marks tied to the storm
- Counted per wall, with the dents on gutters, downspouts and window wraps on the same side and the storm date.
- The product
- Maker, profile, exposure and colour, and whether a distributor still sells it.
- The cost of the wall as built
- From the starter strip to the last course, with the trim, wrap and labour I priced as a licensed contractor.
Whether walls nobody hit get new siding depends on your policy wording and on whether a match exists: see my guide to matching in Illinois.
When I tell you a siding claim is weak
- One or two dented panels on a rear wall, in a colour you can still buy.
- Cracks on a south wall that has faded and gone brittle over years, with no other storm marks on the house.
- A repair that costs less than your deductible.
I say it on the day of the inspection, and the inspection is free.
Send me the photos and the insurer's estimate
I read both before I walk the walls.
Photos that help before the visit
- A wide shot of each wall.
- Close shots of cracks, holes and dents.
- A leftover panel or its box label.
- The full policy and the estimate.
Siding questions homeowners ask me
Will insurance replace siding on all four walls if only one was damaged?
Not automatically. It turns on your policy wording, on whether the same product is still sold, and on which walls are seen together. I document all three.
My siding is 30 years old. Can I still claim storm damage?
Yes, if a storm damaged it. Age matters to the payment when your policy pays actual cash value, because depreciation comes off what you receive.
The insurer's adjuster wrote up only the front wall. What now?
Ask in writing how the other walls were inspected. I answer with a wall-by-wall record and ask for the scope to be revised.
A public adjuster works for the policyholder and does not practise law. What you are paid is set by your own policy wording, and this page promises no outcome.