North Texas hailstorm reminds of the need for insurance

After the hail storm that passed through, people were left to clean up the damage. Insurance companies are being bombarded with claims coming out of the Dallas area.

It can happen in an instant. The sky can be as blue as ever, a storm decides to roll in, and dump a ton of hail.

“We haven't been on our roof yet but I assume we probably got some more hail damage. I know we got some from last week so that's been the case around this area,” Ellen Cagle-Bush, Plano homeowner, said.

The Bush's captured cell phone video in the middle of the storm. Their home and backyard was being pummeled.

"I was hoping it wasn't going to hail again, it kind of started off as marble sized," Cagle-Bush, said.

The Bush's were some of the lucky ones. Areas like Wylie and Denton were slammed with hail reaching the size of baseballs and larger. Some homeowners say the hail was so large it broke through their roofs.  The Bush's say it's not something you can ever get accustomed to.

"I’ve been here a few years but I'm not used to the hail storm, but I'm thankful we have insurance,” Cagle-Bush said.

Although homeowners may not be thrilled about the monthly bill, insurance in these situations is crucial.

“Hopefully you do have insurance because if not it's a very difficult process trying to look for help from the government like FEMA," Ben Gonzalez, spokesperson of Texas Department of Insurance said.

Gonzalez is with the Texas Department of Insurance. They regulate private homeowner insurance companies.  He says they've been bombarded with claims questions out of North Texas.

"If you have damage it's likely many of your neighbors do, but it's a process of getting in line," he said.

Gonzalez says be careful not to fall prey to fake contractors.

"We're sending up some fraud team now to make sure there' no scams going around and preying upon people who are already suffering damage," he said.

For those like the Bush's , insurance has proven its worth.

The Texas Insurance Departments says rates will not go up statewide because of this wide scale damage in North Texas.