Hail damage · Winnipeg
After the hail: fixing storm-damaged windows
Prairie summers bring hail, and hail finds windows. One thing trips people up here: MPI insures your car, not your house, so window damage goes to your home insurer. After the storm, the order is simple: make it safe, photograph it, cover it, then fix it properly. We connect you with an independent local glass pro who can do the fixing.
- Safe, photographed, covered, then fixed
- Glass, screens and capping checked together
- No pressure to sign on the doorstep
Prairie hail
Winnipeg's hail history (1996 and 2023) and why neighbourhoods get hit differently
The July 1996 storm is still the benchmark, remembered as the largest catastrophic event in Manitoba Public Insurance's history. Those were vehicle claims, which is partly why hail feels like a car problem here.
Houses take their share. On 24 August 2023, large hail driven by strong winds shattered windows and dented houses across the northern part of the city, in West and North Kildonan, Garden City and Transcona.
Hail falls in narrow bands, and the wind decides which side of a house takes the hits. Check the side the storm came from, even when the front looks fine.
First hour
First hour: safety and covering the opening
Once the lightning has moved off, keep kids and pets away from broken glass, wear shoes and gloves, and leave glass hanging in the frame for the pro.
Photograph everything, then close the opening with plywood outside, heavy plastic inside, or a cut sheet of plexiglass. A sealed unit with one whole pane can wait. For help with the cover, see emergency glass and board-up.
For your insurer
Documenting damage for your insurer
Your insurer decides what's covered. Good photos make a claim easier to support.
Wide shots first
Each damaged side of the house, far enough back to show which window is which, including screens, siding and capping.
Then close-ups
Every broken pane, dent and torn screen, with a coin or tape measure in the shot for scale.
The hail itself
Hailstones beside a ruler, photographed soon after the storm, show what hit the house.
Keep a record
The storm's date and time, receipts for board-up, and each written quote. Talk to your insurer before permanent work if you plan to claim.
What breaks
What hail usually breaks: glass, screens, cladding, sills
Look at the whole window, and look again a few weeks later.
Glass
Picture windows and outer panes take direct hits. A sealed unit with one cracked pane is replaced whole, because its seal is gone.
Capping and sills
Aluminum capping dents easily. It's cosmetic until a seam opens and water gets behind.
Seals and leaks that show up later
A chipped unit edge can fog a season later, and a lifted cap can leak in the next summer storm.
Glass or window
Repairing the glass vs replacing the window
Most hail damage is glass damage. If the frame is sound, a pro replaces the broken pane or sealed unit, and dented capping can often be replaced piece by piece. A new window makes sense when the frame is split, the opening took damage, or those windows were near the end anyway.
What affects the quote
What shapes the quote after a storm
Storm quotes are built like any glass quote, plus a few extras:
- How many openings are damaged, and on how many sides
- Glass size and type: single, double or triple pane, tempered or laminated
- Screens, capping and trim replaced alongside the glass
- Board-up or a temporary cover while new glass is made
Ask for a written quote with each window listed. It helps with your insurer and makes quotes easy to compare.
Home or MPI
Hail hit the house and the car: two different claims
A storm that hits both usually means two claims: the car with MPI, the house with your home insurer. Check your home policy with your insurer or broker rather than assuming. Firms that work alongside insurers are on our insurance and restoration page.
Wind damage
Wind-driven damage and patio doors
The 2023 storm was as much wind as hail. Large glass on the windward side takes the force, patio and garden doors especially, and flying branches can do more harm than hail. Check the door's rollers too; see sliding door repair.
No pressure
Getting quotes after a storm (without the pressure sales)
Door-knockers follow big storms, and some push hard. Manitoba gives you a cancellation period on home improvement contracts signed at your door or in your home. When you send us photos instead, we pass them to a local pro who does that work, and the decision stays with you.
Questions
Hail and storm damage questions
Explore your options
Help after the storm
Local pros repair hail and storm damage across the city and in nearby towns, including North Kildonan, Garden City, Transcona, St. Vital and Selkirk.
Send photos of the storm damage
A wide shot and a close-up of each window is plenty. We'll match you with a local glass pro who'll quote the glass, screens and capping together.