1. Inspect your car thoroughly for hail damage.  Small hail dents are hard to see. place your vehicle in the shade or inspect at dusk. Do not view in the sun. Viewing hail dents is also more noticeable if you look at an angle.

2. If you find your car has hail damage, the first thing to do is

contact your insurance company. to initiate a hail damage claim.

3. Check your insurance policy.  You need to verify three things:  your hail damage coverage, your deductible for comprehensive claims, and if you have rental car coverage on your policy.

4. In most cases, your insurance company will schedule a time to have your car inspected by an adjuster or CAT (Catastrophy team).  This could be at one of their claims drives or at your home or office.

5. It is important to note the adjuster will provide a preliminary estimate--

THIS IS JUST A INITIAL ESTIMATE TO START THE CLAIM PROCESS. 

For the real cost of repair, you will need to visit the repair facility that will perform the work.  The repair facility will negotiate with the insurance company on your behalf to settle any discrepancies.

Schedule the hail damage repair. Most hail repair jobs can be completed in 1-3 days if the entire repair can be fixed using the paintless dent repair process.  You should allow 1-2 weeks if conventional repairs (refinish and repainting) are required. However sometimes hard to obtain parts get backordered or the wrong parts are shipped, which increases the time it takes to finish the job.


Does making a hail damage claim raise my insurance rate?

NO. .  There are two types of car insurance: comprehensive and collision.  Comprehensive insurance offers protection against damage cause to your vehicle by any unknown cause or act of God or act of nature (this includes hail damage). Hail storms are considered a catastrophic event. So the damage to your vehicle is a comprehensive claim, unlike a collision that would raise your personal policy rates. Insurance companies do not raise rates for these types of claims. What the insurance companies generally do is increase rates on everyone's policy in the area affected by the storm. You may already have noticed an increase even though you haven't had your vehicle repaired.

. Hail damage is considered a Comprehensive claim, and will not make your insurance rates go up.

. Your insurance company might give you a list of vendors to choose from to get your vehicle fixed. These vendorsare under contract with the insurance company and must charge you the full price including the deductible.

. We choose to be independent , so we don't have to charge the exact same price as a insurance preferred shop.

. We will work on your behalf with your insurance adjuster to get an accurate estimate on the hail damage on your vehicle.

. As the policy holder you have the right to choose where to repair your vehicle.

By working closely with the auto insurance companies we are able to help with our customers claims and repair the vehicles the way insurance companies prefer, which is the "PDR" process that keeps the original paint and clear coat. Today all major insurance carriers prefer "PDR" Paintless Dent Repair.

 

---Should I get the hail damage on my car fixed or keep the insurance money?

If you are thinking about pocketing the money, we strongly urge you to think farther down the road.  While the money you will receive might make life easier today, this decision could have severe consequences

Most insurance companies are obligated to put an "un-repaired damage" restriction on your policy. This would mean any future claims will be denied until your hail damage is repaired. Also you are in-breach of your contract with your lein holder if your vehicle is not repaired. This lowers the value of your automobile when selling or trade-in, or another insurance claim.

This is especially true for leased automobiles. When you turn in the vehicle after the lease is up, you will be responsible for the cost of repairs at that time. Again the value of that vehicle will be lowered.

If you get in an accident in the future.  Your insurance company may reduce the amount