After a windstorm the first steps are safety, documentation and a call to your insurer. Palouse winds have produced reported gusts above 70 mph, and trees have fallen onto houses, so the roof needs a careful look before anyone climbs it. This page covers how a claim generally proceeds. Your policy and your insurer decide coverage.
Key takeaways
- Palouse windstorms have produced reported gusts of 61 to 77 mph at Pullman, Colfax and south of Moscow.
- Trees have fallen onto homes in Moscow during recorded windstorms, and the College Hill area of Pullman was hit hard in one of them.
- The National Weather Service and NOAA's Storm Events Database are the public records that describe these events.
- A claim is decided by the policy and the insurer, not by the contractor and not by this page.
- Photographs and notes made before any repair are what the claim is built on, so take them first.
- A roofer who offers to handle a claim should be asked for the state registration that covers the house's side of the line.
What does a Palouse windstorm do to a roof?
Wind lifts shingles, tears flashing loose and drives debris into the covering. Recorded storms on the Palouse have also dropped trees onto houses, which is the damage most people picture first.
The National Weather Service and NOAA's Storm Events Database record Palouse windstorms as gusts reported by spotters and stations. The records include a November 2006 event with gusts of 71 mph south of Moscow, when trees fell on homes in Moscow, and a December 2006 event with a gust of 77 mph on West Hill at Colfax. These are reports for the region. They describe the storm, not the wind measured at any one house.
Wind damage is uneven. A roof on a hilltop sees more of a storm than one in a draw a short distance away, and the rolling hills of the Palouse make exposure vary from street to street. Damage tends to start where wind gets under the covering, at edges, ridges and flashing, so those are the places to look first. The storm and wind damage service covers the repair side. The same reports also show that a single storm can bring down trees and power lines over a wide area, so the damage at one house is often part of a larger pattern that the insurer and the building department will see across the neighborhood.
What should I do first after a storm?
Make the house safe, then document the damage before any repair. Keep the photographs and notes, and call your insurer so the claim starts on the record.
Stay off a damaged roof, keep clear of any tree that has come down, and treat any line that has been torn loose as live. Power was lost across wide areas of the Palouse in past windstorms, and downed lines are a hazard whether or not the power is on. Once it is safe, photograph the roof from the ground, the eaves and the yard, and note the time, the wind you saw and where the debris came from.
Temporary protection is part of the first step. A tarp can keep rain out of the attic, and a technician can place one. Take the photographs before the tarp goes on, and keep any debris you can, because the damage record is what supports a claim later. A repair that covers the evidence before it has been recorded can make the claim harder to document.
How does a claim generally proceed?
A claim usually starts with a report to the insurer, followed by an inspection of the damage and a written estimate of the repair. The policy and the insurer decide what is covered, and the process differs from one company to another.
The insurer will ask for the date of the storm, a description of the damage and the photographs. An adjuster may inspect the roof, the attic and the interior, and the result is a written scope of the repairs the claim covers. Ask for that scope in writing and read what it includes, including the flashing, the gutters and any interior damage that followed a leak. Ask the insurer to explain in writing what the next step is and who is responsible for it.
A roofing contractor may offer to prepare a scope or to meet the adjuster. That can help, but the policy decides coverage and the insurer decides what it pays, so keep your own copy of every document. Do not sign anything that waives rights or assigns the claim until you have read it closely and understand what it does.
Why does the state line matter for a claim?
The insurance policy is a contract, but the house's state decides the building rules and the contractor's registration. A roof on the Washington side is repaired under Washington rules, and a roof on the Idaho side under Idaho rules.
Idaho contractors register with the Division of Occupational and Professional Licenses, and working unregistered in Idaho is a misdemeanor. Washington contractors register with the Department of Labor & Industries and carry a bond and liability insurance. A contractor who works on both sides of the line holds both registrations, and neither one covers the other state.
Permits follow the same split. Moscow treats a reroof as a small permit category, and Pullman lists reroofing as a permit category that requires the contractor's state registration number. A claim that involves a repair should be checked against the building department for the address before the work starts. The Pullman area page and the Moscow area page describe the local detail for each side.
What should I ask a roofer before hiring for a storm repair?
Ask for the state registration for the side of the line where the house sits, a written scope and the permit details for the address. Those three answers show whether the job is set up to be done properly.
Ask the contractor to name the registration and to confirm it with the state agency that holds it. For Idaho, that is the Division of Occupational and Professional Licenses. For Washington, it is the Department of Labor & Industries. A contractor who cannot name a registration number has not answered the question, and the answer should be written into the contract.
Ask whether the repair needs a permit and who pulls it. A written scope should list the covering, the flashing, any decking that is replaced and the cleanup. Ask how hidden damage will be priced if it turns up after the old covering is off, and whether that change needs the insurer's agreement before the work continues. A contractor who will not put the price, the scope and the registration in writing before the work starts is a reason to keep looking.
What does a wind-damaged roof need from the technician?
A technician looks at the covering, the flashing, the decking and the attic. The goal is to separate storm damage from wear that was already there, because that distinction matters for the claim.
The inspection starts at the edges and the ridge, where wind lifts shingles and loosens flashing. A technician checks the decking for softness, the attic for daylight and wet insulation, and the gutters and fascia for fresh damage. Older damage, such as cracked tabs or lifted sealant, is noted separately so the storm damage stands out in the record.
A roof that has been struck by a tree needs a structural look as well as a covering repair. A limb through the decking or a damaged rafter is a framing question, and the technician may recommend a building official's review before the opening is closed. Ask for photographs of every area that is noted, and keep them with the claim file.
When do the insurer and the technician work together?
When the damage is large enough to need a claim and a repair, the two run in parallel. The insurer decides what it covers, and the technician carries out the repair that is covered. Keep both sides in writing.
The claim and the repair should use the same record. Photographs, a written scope and the permit details belong in one folder, so the adjuster, the contractor and the building department see the same facts. If the scope changes during the work, ask for an updated written version rather than relying on a phone call.
Windstorms recur on the Palouse, so a plan made before the next storm is worth the effort. Keep the insurer's claim number, the contractor's registration number and the permit number together, and call the line when the roof needs a look. The line is answered around the clock, and a technician attends the job when one is free. (833) 751-2102
What records should I keep after a storm?
Keep a dated set of photographs, the insurer correspondence, the contractor written scope and registration number, and any permit paperwork. Those items together tell the story of the damage.
Start with the photographs. Take wide shots of each side of the house and close shots of any damage, with a date and a short note on what each one shows. Store the originals, not only the copies on a phone, and keep a list of anything that came down, such as a limb, a gutter section or a piece of flashing. The list is useful even after the debris has been hauled away.
Then keep the paperwork. Save every letter, email and claim number from the insurer, along with the name of the adjuster and the date of each contact. Keep the contractor written scope, the registration number and the permit number in the same folder. When the scope changes, file the new version and keep the old one, so the history of the job stays readable.
Frequently asked questions
Does this page tell me what my insurer will pay?
No. Coverage depends on the policy, its terms and the insurer's decision on the claim. This page describes the steps that usually come up, and the policy documents are the final word on what applies to your roof. Read them before you agree to a repair scope.
Should I start repairs before the adjuster visits?
Make the house safe and keep it dry, but document the damage first. Take photographs before any repair, keep damaged materials where you can until the adjuster has seen them, and ask your insurer how to proceed. A temporary tarp is a different step from a permanent repair, so check with the insurer before the permanent work starts.
Can a roofer handle the claim for me?
A roofer can help document the damage and prepare a repair scope, but the insurer decides coverage. Before you sign anything that gives the contractor rights to the claim, read it closely and confirm the contractor's state registration for the side of the line where the house sits.
Are the rules different in Idaho and Washington?
The insurance contract follows the terms of your policy. The contractor, the permit and the building rules follow the state where the house sits. A Palouse roof on the Idaho side and one on the Washington side can therefore face different contractor requirements, even with the same insurer.
How do I check that wind was reported near my home?
Check the National Weather Service's Spokane monthly weather history and NOAA's Storm Events Database for the date of the storm. Those records describe reported gusts for the region, which may differ from the wind at your house, so treat them as context rather than proof of damage.
Do I need to keep damaged materials?
Keep what you can until the adjuster has had a chance to see it, and keep a note of anything you discard. A piece of flashing or a shingle with a clear tear can be a useful record. If something must be removed for safety, photograph it first and describe where it came from.
This guide is general information for Latah County homeowners, not a substitute for an on-site inspection. Prices are estimates. See our disclaimer.