Glen Ellyn sits on some of DuPage County's higher, hill-and-ravine ground, so wind catches the steep gables on its older homes harder than on flatter streets nearby. Winters bring repeated freeze-thaw swings and heavy ice damming along the deep eaves common on 1920s-1950s houses. Summer storms tracking off the prairie deliver pea-to-quarter-size hail and 60-plus mph gusts. The dense, mature tree canopy keeps north slopes damp, which shortens shingle life and feeds moss in shaded valleys. Glen Ellyn is one of the older villages in the western suburbs, and the roofs show it. Walk the streets around Lake Ellyn or Old Town and you see steep gables, deep eaves, dormers, and complex valleys on homes built between the 1920s and 1950s. Those rooflines look great and shed snow well, but they collect ice at the eaves and they take real skill to reroof correctly. We work on these houses every week, so we know where the leaks start before you do.
The six steps
Document the damage immediately
Photograph hail bruises, missing shingles, dented gutters, and any interior stains, with dates. Note the storm date, since local weather records will back your claim.
Get a contractor inspection before calling your insurer
Know whether a claim is even justified before you file. A documented professional inspection is the strongest evidence you can bring.
File the claim
Call your insurer or file online with the storm date and damage summary. Attach the inspection report, it does most of the talking.
Meet the adjuster, with your roofer there
The single biggest factor in claim outcomes. An adjuster walking the roof alone can miss or downplay documented damage.
Review the settlement scope
Compare the insurer's scope line by line against the contractor's. Gaps are negotiated through supplements, a normal part of the process, not a fight.
Build, then recover your depreciation
After installation, completion paperwork releases the recoverable depreciation your insurer held back. Your total out-of-pocket: the deductible.
A contractor cannot waive, rebate, or "eat" your deductible, that's insurance fraud under IL law, and it's your name on the claim. Anyone offering it is telling you how they do business. You pay your deductible, never the difference, and never more.