Michigan Storm, Wind and Hail Damage Insurance Claims

A limb is through the roof, the back bedroom ceiling is stained, and the siding on the west wall is cracked in a pattern that wasn’t there last week. Then the estimate arrives, or a letter says part of the damage was flood, wear and tear, or something your policy doesn’t cover.

Our property damage claims attorneys at Vahdat Weisman Law represent Michigan homeowners in disputes over storm, wind, hail, and ice damage claims. Call (734) 469-4994 for a free consultation. No attorney fee unless we recover for you.

On August 24, 2023, the National Weather Service in Detroit confirmed six tornadoes across southeast Michigan, including near Canton, Belleville, and Gibraltar, with straight-line gusts of 60 to 80 mph across the region (NWS Detroit/Pontiac summary). In late March 2025, an ice storm left much of northern Michigan without power for days.

What Your Homeowners Policy Usually Covers After a Storm

Most Michigan homeowners policies cover direct damage from windstorm, hail, and the weight of ice, snow, or sleet: torn shingles, dented gutters and vents, cracked siding, broken windows, and a tree or limb blown onto the house. Your own policy controls, so start with your declarations page and the full policy form, not a summary.

How the loss is valued. Every Michigan fire and property policy must cover at least the actual cash value of the property at the time of the loss (MCL 500.2833(1)(a)). Many policies offer replacement cost but pay the depreciated value first and release the rest after you repair. Ask in writing how much depreciation was withheld and what you must do to recover it.

How much of the roof is replaced. The state insurance regulator notes that when wind or hail lifts shingles, the policy covers the damaged portion and “the insurance company is not required to replace the entire roof” (DIFS: Tornado and Severe Storms). Our denied roof claims page covers roof disputes.

A Tree Fell on Your House. What Does Insurance Cover?

If a tree damages your house, garage, or fence in a windstorm, insurers generally treat the structural damage as a wind loss, whether the tree was yours or your neighbor’s. You usually claim under your own policy.

Removing the tree is a separate, smaller coverage. Many homeowners forms pay up to $1,000 per loss for removing trees felled by windstorm, hail, or the weight of ice, snow, or sleet, with no more than $500 for any one tree, and only if the tree damaged a covered structure or, in some forms, blocks your driveway or a ramp built for a person with a disability. A tree that falls across the yard and hits nothing may not be covered for removal at all.

Water Came In. Is It Wind Damage or Flood?

Most homeowners policies exclude flood and surface water. Flood coverage comes from a separate policy, usually through the National Flood Insurance Program.

Rain through an opening the storm created is different. Many policies exclude damage inside the building from rain, snow, sleet, sand, or dust “unless the direct force of wind or hail damages the building causing an opening in a roof or wall and the rain, snow, sleet, sand or dust enters through this opening.” Water through a hole the wind tore in your roof is usually covered. Water through a window left open, or rising water from outside, usually is not.

Many policies also contain an anti-concurrent causation clause, which says an excluded cause such as flood defeats coverage even when a covered cause such as wind contributed at the same time or in sequence. That makes the source and order of the damage the central evidence: dated photos of the roof opening, any waterline on the walls, and where water appeared first. Interior leaks with no storm opening are covered on our water damage claims page.

Ice Storms, Power Outages and Spoiled Food

Weight of ice, snow or sleet is a named peril in most homeowners forms, so a roof, gutter or awning that collapses under ice is generally covered.

Food spoilage is narrower. Many policies exclude loss from a power failure off your premises, such as a downed line down the street, though an outage caused by a covered peril on your property may be treated differently. Some policies include a small refrigerated property coverage or offer it as an endorsement, and your deductible often applies first. Separately, Michigan utilities must give automatic bill credits for long outages under Michigan Public Service Commission rules; that is a utility remedy, not insurance.

Your Deductible May Not Be a Flat Number

Some policies carry a separate windstorm or hail deductible stated as a percentage of your dwelling coverage. On a home insured for $300,000, a 2 percent deductible is $6,000. Check your declarations page before you decide a claim is or is not worth filing.

Do You Have to Wait for the Adjuster Before Tarping?

No. Standard policy duties after a loss include protecting the property from further damage and making reasonable, necessary repairs, and most forms reimburse those costs. Letting rain keep coming in while you wait can give the insurer an argument that later damage came from neglect rather than the storm.

Before you tarp, board, or tear anything out, photograph and video every damaged area with dates, including hail strikes on gutters, vents, and other soft metals. Keep removed shingles, siding, and damaged contents for inspection when you can, and keep every receipt for tarps, board-up, tree work, and water extraction.

If your home is not fit to live in after a covered loss, the loss of use coverage in most policies pays the increase in your living costs, such as rent and extra mileage, for the time reasonably needed to repair.

A Contractor Knocked on Your Door After the Storm

The Michigan Attorney General advises asking for the contractor’s 10-digit residential builder license number, verifying it through LARA’s license verification tool, getting more than one written estimate, and contacting your insurer before signing (AG consumer alert, April 2025). Tree services are not licensed, so vet them just as carefully. The office’s September 2026 alert adds that you “should never pay for an entire home repair up front.”

If you sign at your home, you generally can cancel until midnight of the third business day after signing, unless you waived that right in a handwritten emergency statement (MCL 445.112). An unlicensed residential builder cannot sue in a Michigan court to collect for work requiring a license (MCL 339.2412(1)). Anyone who offers to negotiate your claim with the insurer for a fee must be a licensed public adjuster, and that fee is capped at 10 percent of what the insurer pays (MCL 500.1226(3)). Read anything labeled an “authorization” or “assignment” before signing it.

When FEMA or SBA Help Is Available

Federal help for homeowners comes only after a presidential disaster declaration that includes Individual Assistance for your county. The July 2025 declaration for the March ice storm covered 13 northern counties and was reported as Public Assistance for governments and certain nonprofits (Michigan Advance, July 23, 2025).

When individual aid is available, FEMA will not pay for a loss your insurance already pays. Apply even while your claim is pending, and give FEMA your settlement or denial letter. SBA disaster loans may also open in a declared area.

If Your Insurer Denies or Underpays a Storm Claim

A one-year suit clock, with tolling. You must sue within one year after the loss, or longer if your policy allows, and that time is tolled from when you notify the insurer of the loss until it formally denies liability (MCL 500.2833(1)(q)). Write down the storm date, your notice date, and the date of any written denial.

Appraisal for disputes over the amount. If you disagree only on the value of the loss, either side can demand appraisal in writing, and a written agreement signed by any two of the three (two appraisers and an umpire) sets the amount (MCL 500.2833(1)(m)). Whether a loss is covered at all is a question for a court, not the appraisers (Auto-Owners Ins Co v Kwaiser, 190 Mich App 482 (1991)). See our insurance appraisal process page.

12 percent interest for late payment. Your insurer must tell you in writing, within 30 days after receiving your claim, what it needs as proof of loss. A covered claim not paid on time bears 12 percent simple annual interest from 60 days after the insurer received satisfactory proof of loss (MCL 500.2006(3), (4)).

Michigan does not allow a separate bad-faith tort suit against your own insurer, and breach of the policy does not support emotional distress or punitive damages (Kewin v. Massachusetts Mutual Life Ins Co, 409 Mich 401 (1980)). Your claim is for what the policy owes plus statutory interest. You can also file a complaint with the Department of Insurance and Financial Services at 877-999-6442; filing a complaint does not pause your deadline to sue. Our underpaid and delayed insurance claims page explains those remedies.

Why Choose Vahdat Weisman Law?

Storm claims turn on the policy form, the denial letter, the adjuster’s or engineer’s report, and your own dated records. We request those documents in writing, compare them with independent repair and causation opinions, and track the suit deadline with tolling.

From our Livonia office, we represent homeowners and their families throughout Michigan. Founding partners Kara E. Weisman and Jordan S. Vahdat have each been honored as Super Lawyers Rising Stars. Our attorneys are members of the State Bar of Michigan and active in the Michigan Association for Justice. We advance case costs, we work in English and Spanish, and we are available 24/7.

Frequently Asked Questions

• A tree fell on my house. What does insurance cover? Your policy generally covers damage to your house, even if the tree was your neighbor’s. Removing the tree is a separate, limited coverage, often $1,000 per loss and $500 per tree.
• My insurer says the water damage was flood, not wind. Can they do that? They can take that position, but it has to fit the facts and your policy. Water that enters through an opening the wind or hail created is usually covered; rising surface water usually isn’t. Dated photos of the opening and of where water first appeared are the key evidence.
• Do I need to wait for the adjuster before tarping my roof? No. Your policy generally requires you to protect the property from further damage, and you can typically be reimbursed for reasonable costs. Photograph everything first and keep your receipts.
• A contractor knocked on my door after the storm. Should I sign? Not on the spot. Check the license through LARA and do not pay the whole job up front. A contract signed at your home can generally be canceled until midnight of the third business day (MCL 445.112).

About the Author

Jordan S. Vahdat is a founding partner of Vahdat Weisman Law in Livonia and handles negligence, premises liability, auto accident, and insurance dispute cases. He has been admitted to all Michigan state courts since 2014, practices in the Eastern District of Michigan, and has served as a case evaluator for the Washtenaw Circuit Trial Court and the 15th District Court since 2020. He is fluent in Spanish.

Talk to a Michigan Storm Damage Claim Lawyer

If your storm, wind, hail, or ice damage claim was denied, underpaid, or delayed, call Vahdat Weisman Law at (734) 469-4994 or contact us online for a free consultation. Available 24/7, serving all of Michigan, with Spanish-speaking staff.

Dedicated to Justice. Devoted to You. Winning for Your Future.

Reviewed by Jordan S. Vahdat, Vahdat Weisman Law. Last reviewed October 2026.

This information is for educational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Every case is unique, and prior results do not guarantee future success.