Under your policy, it is the homeowner's job to prove the loss. Not the carrier's. This is the single idea our founder says brings the most clarity to homeowners, and almost nobody hears it before they file.
It sounds backwards. You pay premiums, so surely the company should find what is wrong. But that is not how the policy is written, and it explains most of the denials we see.
What the policy actually says
Every policy puts the duty to prove the loss on the insured. The carrier has no obligation to look for damage you did not point out. If the adjuster walks the roof, sees nothing they recognize, and writes "no damage," the burden is on you to show otherwise.
We call this the catch-22 of a policy. You are expected to prove something that takes a trained eye, a ladder, and weather records, and no one tells you the assignment exists. We wrote a related post on what adjusters do not volunteer.
What "proof" means in practice
Proof is not a feeling that the roof was fine last year. It is a stack of specific facts, and for a hail claim they look like this:
- Date. The storm date, confirmed by weather data, not a guess.
- Cause. Hail or wind, not age, install error, or foot traffic.
- Why it is new. One to two year old hits are hard to date. Five year old hits are easier, with grayed spots and exposed fiberglass. A pre-purchase inspection or older photos help.
- Size. How many hits per test square, how many slopes, how much of the roof.
- Directionality. Hail from one storm usually hits some slopes harder than others.
- Granule crushing. Loose granules and bruises at the impact point.
- Collateral damage. Dents on vents, gutters, screens, and the garage door.
- Weather data. NOAA storm reports show hail size and date.
- Prior condition. Evidence the roof was sound before the storm.
None of it is exotic. It is just work, and it has to be organized so an adjuster cannot easily wave it off. For the how-to on photos, see our post on documenting storm damage.
Why "come look" is not proof
When you call the carrier and ask them to come look, you are starting a claim. You are not carrying the burden. The adjuster's visit is the carrier's investigation, and it may be short, and it may be wrong.
Picture a $20,000 roof with a $2,500 deductible. The adjuster spends twenty minutes up there, finds two cracked shingles, and writes a $900 repair estimate. That is below your deductible, so you get nothing. If all you have is that visit, you have no answer. If you have dated photos, hit counts, and storm data, you do.
The flip side: what the carrier owes you
The burden is not one-way forever. Once you have presented real proof, the carrier has duties too. Minn. Stat. § 72A.201, subd. 8 describes practices that are unfair when a carrier does them: "denying a claim or any element of a claim on the grounds of a specific policy provision, condition, or exclusion, without informing the insured of the policy provision, condition, or exclusion on which the denial is based; denying a claim without having made a reasonable investigation of the claim;"
In plain terms, a carrier cannot deny without a reasonable investigation and cannot deny without telling you which provision it relies on. If your proof is on the table and the denial is a one-line email with no citation, that is the kind of thing worth putting in writing. We're public adjusters, not attorneys. This is how the statute reads and how we use it; for legal advice talk to a Minnesota attorney.
For the deadlines that go with this, see our guide to Minnesota claim deadlines.
Where homeowners get stuck
The most common trap is waiting. Homeowners assume the carrier will sort it out, so they do nothing while the adjuster's report becomes the only record. Months later, when they disagree with it, the roof has weathered, the hits look older, and the dates are harder to prove.
The fix is simple and unglamorous. Photograph early, write down the storm date, keep every document the carrier sends, and ask for what you do not have. You do not need to prove everything on day one, but you do need to start building the file.
How a public adjuster carries the burden for you
This is what we actually do. After you sign, we request the full policy and read it. Then we assemble the proof: photos, measurements, weather data, contractor and engineer input, and our own estimate. We present it to the carrier in writing and keep going when the answer is no.
A contractor can talk about the damage, but cannot discuss coverage or push back on a denial in the way a licensed public adjuster can. We handle the policy argument. The homeowner is copied on everything and does not have to speak to the carrier again.
It is slower than people hope. Carriers say no many times before yes, and some claims take a year. No one can honestly promise a result, and you should be suspicious of anyone who does.
The short answer
The proof is your job. The carrier has to investigate fairly once you provide it and has to cite the policy if it says no. If you would rather not learn how to do this on your own roof, our process page shows the steps, and our FAQ covers fees and what to expect.