Storm Damage to Your Roof: The First 24 Hours, Step by Step

What should you do in the first hours?

• Make it safe. Stay off a wet or damaged roof. If water is coming in, contain it — buckets, towels, furniture moved — from inside.
• Photograph everything before you move or throw away anything. The NJ Department of Banking and Insurance is explicit: document the damage first, and keep damaged material until the adjuster has seen it.
• Make the temporary repair. You have a duty to mitigate — stop further loss. Tarp the opening, and save every receipt: mitigation costs are part of the claim.
• Report the loss to your insurer quickly. The DOBI hotline is 1-800-446-7467 if you hit problems with the process.

What happens when we get there?

We secure the roof first — tarping and emergency dry-in — then document the damage the way adjusters need to see it: dated photos of the failure, the water path, and the interior damage. Only after the roof is dry and documented do we scope the permanent repair, in writing.

What will insurance actually pay for?

Generally, sudden damage from a covered event — wind, a fallen tree, storm-driven water through a storm-made opening. What insurance does not cover is wear, age, and a leak that was quietly developing for two years. Flood damage is separate again: it needs a flood policy, and new flood policies carry a 30-day waiting period. Keeping those categories straight — with photos — is most of a successful claim.

What if the damage is to a flat roof?

Flat-roof storm damage in Camden usually looks undramatic from the street — and is worse than it looks. Hours of driven rain overwhelm scuppers, pond water deepens, and seams that held running water give up under standing water. Photograph the roof's ponds and the interior stains as soon as it is safe, and note when the water appeared; the timeline matters for the claim. Then get the drains cleared and the seams checked before the next storm, because a seam opened by one storm is an open door for the next one.