Guide

How insurance companies verify weather claims

Updated October 29, 2026

When you file a weather claim, the adjuster checks your claimed date of loss against archived records. Here is what they look at, why dates get disputed, and how to make sure the records match what you say happened.

1. What they check

The Storm Prediction Center storm reports list hail, wind and tornado reports for each day, with times and positions. The NCEI Storm Events Database is NOAA's reviewed record, including tornado paths. NEXRAD radar hail and wind appear in the Severe Weather Data Inventory, and the Iowa Environmental Mesonet warning search archive shows which warnings covered your address. An adjuster will compare your date of loss against all of these.

2. Why dates get disputed

The date of loss is the day the storm happened, not the day you found the damage. NOAA records often use UTC time, so a storm late in the evening can already be the next day. And "no hail report near you" does not mean "no hail" — reports are sparse in rural areas, and a report may simply not have been filed.

3. The distance problem

A report is only as useful as its distance from your property. An adjuster will weigh a measured gust three miles away very differently from a report twenty miles away. For every record, the distance and direction from your address matters.

4. What to attach

Attach the weather records for your address and date, plus photographs and any repair estimates. The goal is for the records and your claim to agree: same date, same place, same event. Where they disagree, be ready to explain why — a different day, a nearby station, or a preliminary report.

See what the adjuster sees

Our report is the same public records an adjuster checks, organized for one address and date — hail, wind, warnings and lightning, each with its distance and direction. Run it before you file, so you know what the records say before the insurer does. $9.99.