As a Littleton, Colorado homeowner, you know that there’s a reason why the parts of Colorado including the Denver metro area has been dubbed “Hail Alley.” Our hot summers can bring powerful storms and sudden hailstorms which can damage your roof and your home. While your roof is an obvious target for falling hailstones, your gutter system is also at risk for significant hail damage. A few dents in your gutters may not seem like a big deal, but the problem can quickly escalate and compromise your home’s drainage system.Let’s explore more about hail damage to gutters and how to identify it. With the help of your Littleton hail damage experts, you can keep your home protected against future storms.

Types of Gutter Hail Damage

Multiple types of damage may impact your gutter system after a hailstorm, including:

Dents

Dents are the most common type of hail damage to gutter systems. Upon impact, hailstones may leave dents in the surface of your gutters. Dents can mainly be an aesthetic issue, diminishing the appearance of your home. But, dents will also diminish the durability of your gutters and could increase the risk of more severe damage after future storms.

Cracks

If hailstones are backed by enough force, they may hit your gutters hard enough to crack the surface. Cracked gutters are a serious problem, as the cracks will lead to leakage. When water flows through your gutters, water will leak through the cracks instead of being properly directed away from your home. This could cause water damage to your home’s siding and pooling water over your home’s foundation. Water accumulating over your foundation will trap in moisture, potentially leading to foundational damage if the water isn’t drained properly.

Chipped Paint

Your gutters’ paint job may be chipped after a hailstorm. Given that the paint is the exterior layer of your gutters, it will be the first thing to become damaged in a storm. You may notice pieces of chipped paint in your yard or accumulated in your gutters’ downspouts.

Checking For Gutter Hail Damage

Gutter systems are made to withstand storms of all kinds here in Littleton. However, hail can make an impact on the most durable of gutters, in the right circumstances. Since hailstorms can lead to leaking gutters, which may in turn cause water damage to your home, it’s important to check for gutter hail damage as soon as possible after a storm. This will allow you to have gutter repairs completed as soon as possible, preventing further damage to your Littleton home.

Homeowners Roofing Insurance Coverage

Since your gutter system is included as part of your house, gutter damage that’s out of your control will likely be covered under your homeowners insurance policy. You may receive compensation for the cost of the hail damage repairs to your gutters by filing a claim with your insurance company. If that claim gets approved, you’ll receive your rightful compensation.

Your homeowners insurance company will typically send an adjuster to your home after you file a claim. The adjuster will assess the damage to your home to determine your rightful compensation.

Your Littleton roof repair company can help you file a claim with your insurance company to cover the cost of gutter repairs. By enlisting professional help in the process of filing an insurance claim, you can boost the chances of getting your claim, as well as the speed with which it’s processed. Plus, you’ll save yourself the hassle of reaching out to the insurance company yourself, which is a convenience not to be underestimated.

Don’t Delay Gutter Repairs

Gutter damage after a hailstorm shouldn’t be delayed. For one, waiting to have your gutters repaired could lower your insurance claim’s chances for approval. This is because your insurance company could argue that in the time you waited to file a claim, the damage was exacerbated by other factors. So, to protect your hail damage insurance claim and the compensation that you deserve from your homeowners insurance company, make sure to file a claim ASAP.

Additionally, by having your gutters repaired promptly, you’ll save money in the long run. Completing the repairs that you need now, rather than waiting and seeing how the damage fares over time, will ensure that your gutters have the durability to last. This could spare you from having to replace your gutters sooner than would otherwise have been necessary.