How can I tell if my roof has hail damage?

You can check for hail from the ground without going near the roof. Hail that was big enough to damage shingles dents soft metal, so look at the gutters, the downspouts, the vent caps on the roof, the fins on the AC condenser, and any metal awning or mailbox. Dimples in those mean the roof got hit.

The second ground-level check is the downspouts. Hail knocks the protective granules off asphalt shingles, and those granules wash down into the gutters and pile up at the bottom of the downspouts. A fresh pile of coarse sand after a storm is shingle wear you can hold in your hand.

On the roof itself, which is the contractor's job and not yours, hail damage looks like round bruises where the granules are gone and the black mat shows through, soft to the touch, usually in a pattern across the slope that faced the storm. It is different from blistering, which is heat damage, and from wear, which is even across the roof. The reason it matters: hail damage is usually covered by insurance and wear is not, so a proper inspection that documents which is which is the difference between a claim and a bill.