Thank you, Peter. Normally the asphalt would be more resilient to a hail hit than the soft metal accessories. Mother Nature is random and not consistently uniform. Also, the granules used on 3-tab shingles are coated with a ceramic material that is harder than even the hardest density of hail. The colored powder on the thumb would probably be crushed ceramic material. Whatever crushed the granules was most likely harder than ice, possibly steel...like a ball peen hammer. Sometimes, man-made "hail hits" are very close to the ladder--even an arms length away in a non-random arc.. In my contrived example, only four shingles were damaged but each shingle had a hammer hit centered on each tab. Even if those marks had been legitimate hail marks, the count should have been four....not 12 as I was taught to count the damaged shingles...........not just the marks. Also, I was taught to be wary if the insured meets you too eagerly as you drive up. Sometimes (not always) they want to define and quantify the damage, planting the suggestion, before you have a chance to discover it for yourself. RandyC |