After storm damage, do three things: document the damage with photographs, mitigate to prevent further loss, and check your deductible before filing. The Colorado Division of Insurance advises photographing damage when it is safe to do so and mitigating further damage by tarping roofs or covering openings (doi.colorado.gov/news-releases-consumer-advisories/consumer-advisory-divi…).
The detail that costs Front Range homeowners the most is the deductible. Most Colorado policies now carry a separate wind and hail deductible set as a percentage of the home’s value, not a flat amount, and it is far larger than people expect.
If storm damage has let water into your home, call 303-816-0068. American Restoration answers 24/7 across Lakewood and the mountain communities.
What counts as storm damage
Storm damage covers several perils that a homeowners policy treats differently, and the difference between them decides your claim.
Wind and hail storm damage to the roof, siding, and windows is the most common kind on the Front Range and usually covered, subject to a separate deductible. Wind-driven rain entering through storm-created openings is generally covered when the opening itself came from a covered peril. Water backing up from an overwhelmed drain may need a specific endorsement. Flooding, meaning water arriving across or up through the ground, is excluded entirely and needs a separate policy.
That last distinction is the one homeowners discover at the worst time. Whether insurance covers flood damage covers where the line falls between storm damage and flood.
Document before anything moves
Photograph everything before you touch it. The claim is settled on this evidence, and most of it can only be collected once.
Record the storm date and approximate time. Carriers cross-check against NOAA storm records for your area, so the date matters. Photograph the roof from the ground rather than climbing wet or damaged shingles, plus siding, gutters, windows, screens, and any interior water entry.
Keep damaged materials until the adjuster has seen them. A hail-dented gutter or a wind-torn shingle is physical evidence that the damage was sudden rather than wear.
Keep receipts for everything, including emergency tarping and any temporary housing.
Mitigate to prevent further damage
Every policy requires you to prevent further loss after a covered event. This is an obligation, not a courtesy, and skipping it can reduce a claim.
Tarp the roof, board or sheet over broken windows, and get standing water out. The Colorado DOI specifically advises tarping roofs and covering openings as appropriate.
Speed matters most where water is involved, because a wet building becomes a mold problem fast. The EPA states that drying wet materials within 24 to 48 hours will in most cases prevent mold growth (epa.gov/mold/brief-guide-mold-moisture-and-your-home). Storm damage that admitted water starts that clock immediately. Emergency water mitigation covers that phase.
Do not make permanent repairs before the adjuster inspects the storm damage. Temporary protection preserves both the building and the claim; permanent work done early can be disputed.
Know your deductible before you file
The wind and hail deductible is the single biggest surprise in Colorado storm damage claims of any kind, and it is on your declarations page right now.
Most major carriers in Colorado have moved from flat deductibles to a percentage of the dwelling limit for wind and hail, commonly 1 to 5 percent. The Colorado DOI confirms that many homeowner policies carry wind and hail deductibles expressed as a percentage of coverage, giving 1, 2, and 5 percent as examples.
The math is what stuns people. On a home insured for 500,000 dollars, a 2 percent deductible is 10,000 dollars out of pocket before the carrier pays anything. That is not 2 percent of the roof. It is 2 percent of the whole insured value.
The DOI is also direct that you are responsible for the deductible, and that if the damage estimate falls below it, no payment issues. A minor storm damage claim against a percentage deductible can return nothing while still appearing on your loss history. How your deductible works covers that in full.
Watch for the cosmetic damage exclusion
Some Colorado policies now exclude cosmetic hail damage, and it is buried in the policy language.
A cosmetic damage exclusion lets a carrier decline hail damage that dents or marks a roof without stopping it from shedding water. Dented shingles, vents, and flashing may be judged cosmetic and denied even when the hail impact is undisputed.
Whether damage is cosmetic or functional is frequently the core dispute in a Colorado hail claim. If you are unsure how your carrier draws that line, ask them to define it in writing before a storm rather than after. Hail damage covers this in detail.
The roof age and ACV trap
Many Colorado policies now pay roofs on actual cash value rather than replacement cost, which changes the number dramatically.
Under actual cash value, the carrier subtracts depreciation for the age and condition of the roof. A ten year old roof that costs 20,000 dollars to replace may settle for a fraction of that after depreciation and the deductible, leaving the homeowner to cover the rest. Actual cash value covers how that calculation works and how depreciation is recovered.
Check your declarations page for ACV next to the roof coverage. Some carriers also decline to cover roofs over a certain age without a recent inspection. Knowing this before hail season is worth more than any argument after it.
Choosing who does the work
You choose the contractor, not the carrier, and in Colorado that is written into law.
Colorado Revised Statutes section 10-4-120 requires an insurer to inform a claimant that they may select any repair business of their choosing (codes.findlaw.com/co/title-10-insurance/co-rev-st-sect-10-4-120/). Whether you must use a preferred contractor covers that right.
Be cautious with the crews that appear door to door after a storm. Any contractor offering to waive, absorb, or rebate your deductible on an insurance job is proposing insurance fraud, which is illegal in Colorado, and it is a reliable sign to look elsewhere.
American Restoration has operated in Lakewood and the surrounding mountain communities since 1996 and holds IICRC Triple Master Certification in Water Restoration, Fire and Smoke Restoration, and Textile Cleaning.
If a storm damage claim is denied
Ask for the reason in writing, tied to specific policy language, then escalate.
The Colorado Division of Insurance advises asking the adjuster for an itemized explanation and, where there is a disagreement, asking the company for the specific policy language in question. The Division investigates complaints and assists consumers at 303-894-7490.
Colorado also has a bad-faith statute. Under C.R.S. sections 10-3-1115 and 10-3-1116, a carrier that unreasonably delays or denies payment of a covered claim can be liable for two times the covered benefit plus attorney fees. That is a matter for an attorney, not a contractor, but it is worth knowing the protection exists.
The bottom line
After storm damage, document first, mitigate second, and read your declarations page before you file. The wind and hail deductible and the cosmetic exclusion decide most Colorado claims, and both are set long before the storm.
If storm damage has let water into a home in Lakewood, Morrison, Evergreen, Conifer, Pine, Bailey, Kittredge, or Littleton, call 303-816-0068.
