News 12 at 6, November 12, 2008

AUGUSTA--It's been about 6 months since hail from a big storm damaged a lot of homes all over the area. You may have damage and not even realize it. Now, time may be running out to file an insurance claim on it.

Typically, you've got a year to file an insurance claim on something like hail damage. If you don't get that in on time, you'll be paying up if you find damage afterwards. And that can get pretty expensive.

James Powell's neighborhood took the brunt of a big storm last spring.
"I didn't think we had any damage." he said.

But after taking a look at his travel trailer, he started to put 2 and 2 together.
"This whole side of my trailer looked like someone took a hammer to it." he said as he walked by the now-repaired trailer.

Then he noticed the dents on his screen door.
"It got pelted along here." as he showed us multiple dings and dents in the aluminum.

Finally, James and his wife decided to get the roof checked out. And it turns out, they had hail damage on it too and now they're getting a new one.

After a storm it can be hard to see the damage on the shingles, but experts say the best thing to look at is the vents. If they have dents, imagine what the hail did on the roof.

But sometimes the damage can be hard to see, even for experts.

"It's hard for roofing inspectors to see hail damage, you gotta get down on your hands and knees." said Jonathan Brantley of Springfield Roofing.

The message here? Just because you don't see it, doesn't mean it isn't there. And if it is there, time is ticking. Check your insurance policy, but chances are, you only have a year to submit a claim on hail damage. That means you only have 6 months left if you have damage from May.

And what happens if you don't submit a claim?

"You'll have to foot the bill on leaks." Jonathan said.

Something James Powell is breathing a sigh of relief that he's not going to have to do.
"Great! At least, after the first rain."

And this storm hit a large area, parts of Belvedere, Martinez, Evans, Harlem and Gracewood all had damage. If you live in those areas, you may want to get your home checked over.