The Hail Shop USA

Auto Hail Repair Denver

Insurance

Can you claim hail damage twice?

Old & New Hail Damage

It hailed again before I could get existing damage repaired. I was paid for repairs for the first damage, how will my insurance company know how much to pay for the second round of damage?

A vehicle with a lien

Instance 1: If there is a lien on the vehicle, getting the hail damage repaired is mandatory. Therefore, if a hail claim has already been made on previous damage and the money wasn’t used to repair the vehicle, you will not get paid on the previous claim. You also run the risk of being dropped by your insurance company or even worse, pinned with insurance fraud.

Instance 2: You had filed a claim for the first storm, waited to get your hail damage repaired, and it hailed again on the same vehicle. This isn’t that big of a deal. Actually, it happens all of the time. This is how it works. An insurance adjuster will come out and assess the damage again. ALL of the damage. Next, they will subtract the amount from the first storm from the total. This is the amount you the check will be written for.  The only problem you might run into is paying the 2nd deductible. Good news? The Hail Shop USA will cover the cost of both deductibles.

Learn more about comprehensive insurance coverage.

A vehicle owned outright

If you own the vehicle outright, what you do with the check is totally up to you. You can get the hail damage repaired or not. The check will be written to you only.

The same process applies as stated above. The entire vehicle will be inspected again and the pay-out from the first hail claim will be subtracted from the total.

If the vehicle is still new or in other words, if you intend on selling the vehicle sometime in the future, we do suggest looking into getting the vehicle repaired. Hail damage will greatly depreciate the value of the vehicle.

No Claims Made 1st or 2nd Hail Storm Damage

If you live in Colorado or Texas, this is not uncommon. There won’t be an issue when it comes to getting paid to get the hail damage repaired.  The only problem you might face is having to file a claim for the first storm and then again for the second storm. BUT this is only if the insurance adjuster SUSPECTS there was previous damage. You might run into this issue if all of the rest of the vehicles in your immediate area don’t share the same amount of damage.

How long do you have to claim hail damage on car?

Auto Hail Claim Time Limit – Statute of Limitations

Hail Claim Time Limits

The time limit for filing an auto hail damage claim should be stated in your policy. It is recommended that you double-check your insurance policy rather than make an assumption about filing time limits.

The  American Family Insurance website states the following in their FAQ section,
Q: “How long do I have to file my claim?
A: You should notify us as soon as reasonably possible. Please provide the date, time, place and details in addition to the names and addresses of the people involved with the claim.

Answer Financial says this,
“…most insurance policies do not put a specific time limit on how long you may take after an incident before you file your claim. Most policies state that claims should be filed “promptly” or “as soon as possible”, but that is usually not further clarified, so in theory, you could argue that a year later is still “as soon as possible” – especially if you can show extenuating circumstances as to why you decide or had to wait to file your claim.

Like many of the recent hail storms, if the storm was severe enough to damage many homes and vehicles in a large geographic area, the insurance company will usually extend the deadline for filing a claim.”

File Hail Claim As Soon As Possible

The Hail Shop USA does strongly suggest that you file a claim as soon as possible. It is not unusual for states in hail alley to see 2 or 3 damaging hail storms in a single season.  If your vehicle sustains hail damage in one storm and then again in a subsequent storm, a repairable vehicle can quickly turn into a totaled vehicle.

Hailstorm law usually puts the time to file at two years from the date of the hail event, although it may depend on the severity of the storm and the location of the natural disaster strike.

I have pre-existing auto hail damage, should I wait until the next storm to file a claim?

Waiting Out The Storm

A time and money saver or a not so good idea?

If my car has hail damage from an earlier hail storm, can I want to wait and see if it hails again before I file a hail damage claim with my insurance company?

It would seem like a logical thing to do, right? Especially if you live in a state that gets frequent hail storms like Texas, Oklahoma, and Colorado. But there are a few details you might not have considered if you are thinking about waiting for the next storm to roll through.

One hail storm might not total your vehicle but two? The likely hood of having your vehicle going from repairable to “totaled” in a matter of 5 minutes.

5 minutes? What does that mean?

Why you shouldn’t wait for the next storm.

Hailstorms usually don’t last long — only about 5 to 10 minutes — but they can cause a lot of damage in that time. Also, “the bigger it is – the harder it falls” makes a huge difference in the amount of hail damage a vehicle can take in a mere 5-10 minutes.

  1. In this example, we will say your vehicles pre-damaged fair value worth is $12,000.
  2. So let’s say the first storm only lasted a couple of minutes and the cost to repair was $2,000. You decide to hold off on the repairs and wait for the next hail storm to roll through.
  3. Sure enough, it happens again but this time, the damage caused $7,000 worth of repair bills.
  4. Now, your total amount of hail damage is $9,000.
  5. AND your vehicle is not considered totaled.

Instead of forgoing the first repair in order to save time and possibly try to save on a 2nd deductible, your vehicle is now unrepairable.

What happens with a “branded title” or a vehicle title that has been reported as “totaled?” – learn more by reading this great article about “branded titles.” What will happen to my title with hail damage?

Not Totaled but Now Auto Body Shop Bound

The next scenario is when your vehicle isn’t quite “totaled” but pretty darn close. If your insurance company deems your vehicle repairable but NOT by paintless dent repair – your next dent repair option lies in the hands of an auto body shop technician.

Replacement Panels

At a body shop, you face replacement panels. Replacement panels are used when the paint has been damaged or the dent damage is so severe that it just doesn’t make sense to try to push them out. When this happens, you run into the world of paint matching. When repainting comes into play – your factory paint warranty is now obsolete.

Drilling, Fillers & Paint-Matching

Another repair option at an auto body shop it the use of drills to accommodate dent pulling. With drills come BONDO, fillers, and again – paint-matching and no more paint warranty.

Worried About Paying 2 Deductibles?

At The Hail Shop USA – your deductible is always waived. This hopefully will help set your mind at ease. Our goal is to take the stress out of auto hail repair &  make the entire dent process as easy as possible.

Final Thoughts & Considerations

File Your Claim Promptly. Finally, filing your claim promptly avoids later confusion and makes the entire process much easier for everyone. In some cases, insurance companies may even make the process difficult if you have waited to file your hail claim for an extended period or waiting out the storm!

Second Opinion. Additionally, it is always a good idea to get an estimate or second opinion from a paintless dent repair shop near you because in most cases – your insurance adjuster’s estimate is almost always inaccurate. For example, their $900 estimate might actually be nearly 35-40% low.

Direct Repair – Get the Facts

Direct Auto Body Repair Shops

Before we address the big question of “What is Direct Repair?”, let’s take a minute to really break it down & put it into perspective.

Everybody wants a deal. There is nothing wrong with that. In fact, you should ALWAYS shop around. But does “finding the best deal” mean you should sacrifice quality? Just like all things in life, it really all depends on what the “best deal” is for.

For example, if you or someone in your family needs a root canal, are you necessarily looking for the best deal or are you looking for a well qualified, licensed endodontist with years of experience performing the procedure with a reasonable price tag?

The same goes for your vehicle. Why would you settle for a sub-par repair when you have paid for the extra insurance coverage to protect that investment? The answer is – because you probably have no idea what a “Direct Repair” shop is AND what it means for you.

Comprehensive Insurance Coverage

If you live in an area that gets frequent hail storms, you probably have comprehensive coverage for your vehicle(s). If you don’t, you might want to think about it. With comprehensive insurance coverage, your vehicle is protected under the policy. In other words, if it hails and your vehicle ends up with hail damage – your comprehensive insurance policy will cover the damages – minus your deductible. Comprehensive coverage is NOT full coverage. Full-coverage doesn’t cover hail damage.

If you have comprehensive coverage on your vehicles, you probably know it as it is considerably higher in cost than full-coverage but if your vehicle HAS been damaged in a hail storm, you already know the value of this level of coverage.

The average cost to repair a vehicle with hail damage is anywhere between $1.8K – $8K.

Now that we’ve covered what comprehensive coverage is and it’s value, let’s move on.

It’s Your Money. It’s YOUR Choice.

So, what happens when your vehicle has hail damage?

  1. First, you should document the damages yourself by either taking pictures or noting the number of dents per panel. You need to also document the date of the loss.
  2. The next step is to contact your insurance company. They will assign you an adjuster that will come to your home or office to access the damages.
  3. The adjuster will look at your vehicle and determine the amount and severity of the hail damage. They will also provide you with a dollar amount it will take to repair those damages.
    Note:     You will notice that the adjuster does not use any special lighting or tools to access your damage. They might even try to access the damage in the rain or on a very sunny day. All of these factors will affect the ultimate cost to repair.  As a reputable paintless dent repair shop AND the next step in the process, we will have to reassess the damage – mostly because your insurance adjuster will most likely miss 15-30% of the hail damage. That extra damage that was not accounted for will have to be renegotiated with the insurance company in order to get the additional funds to cover ALL of the hail damage repairs. This is called a SUPPLEMENT.
  4. Get a second opinion from a local paintless dent repair company. This is where the “Direct Repair” part is introduced into the equation. Some insurance companies more than others will offer and even encourage you to choose from their list of “Preferred Shops” or “Direct Repair Shops” in your area. They might even lead you to believe that the PDR shops or auto body shops on their “Direct Repair” list are your ONLY option.

What Is Direct Repair?

To answer the question of “What is Direct Repair,” we needed to set the stage so you know when to be wary of the “Direct Repair” delivery.

As mentioned above, everyone is looking for a deal. This doesn’t exclude your insurance company.

In the event of a hail catastrophe, or a hail storm that damages multiple vehicles and homes in a city(ies), insurance companies get inundated with hail claims. This is when your comprehensive insurance coverage swoops in to save the day and ultimately save you a lot of money on hail repairs. This is also when your insurance company has to come in and make good on their contractual promise to cover damages caused by Mother Nature.

This has the potential of being a MAJOR payout by your insurance company. This is where the “good deal” comes in.

Insurance companies will find paintless dent repair shops and auto body shops that will “work” with them on the cost of repairs. In return, they will “steer” their customers towards these shops.

What’s the Deal?

Like most “good deals,” someone is saving money. In the instance of “Direct Repair” shops and the insurance company that is negotiating a deal, it is the insurance company that is getting the deal.

The following list covers the top two deals your insurance company will get from their “Direct Repair” partners:

  1. Reduced cost of repairs.
  2. Supplement limits.

As a result, these “Direct Repair” shop partners are getting paid less for their work which in turn means less money for their PDR technicians. Because the shop still needs to make money to pay to keep their lights on, rent paid, and employees paid – the shop has to take on more “Direct Repair” deals. This results in lower quality work and rushed repairs.

This takes us back to, “It’s Your Money. It’s YOUR Choice.”

Where you take your vehicle for hail repairs is YOUR CHOICE. Your insurance company can not refuse to pay for your hail repairs simply because the paintless dent repair shop is not on their “Direct Repair” list of shops. In fact, the act of an insurance company “steering” their clients to a “Direct Repair” shop is unlawful and as a whole – effects the entire paintless dent repair industry.

What Can You Do?

Know your rights. The Hail Shop USA has gathered a list of articles that further explain the act of insurance “steering.” In conclusion, it is your choice where you decide to get your hail damage repaired, not your insurance companies. When it comes to hail repair, a “good deal” shouldn’t be the first thing that comes to mind. If you pay for comprehensive coverage, your hail damage repairs are covered under your policy.

Steering resources:

https://www.ican2000.com/statements/steering/index.html

http://www.bodyshopbusiness.com/when-does-insurer-steering-become-illegal/

http://ccbjournal.com/articles/12399/anti-steering-insurance-laws-state-censorship-consumer-information-treads-first-amend

http://www.seacoastonline.com/news/20180413/bens-auto-body-fights-price-fixing-by-insurers

Previous auto hail damage claims

Out With The Old (Hail Damage) & In With The New

What is covered by my insurance policy?

So, you’ve purchased your very first NEW car and made the mistake of not ensuring it on the same day that you bought it. Why? Because a big hail storm came through and left behind thousands of little hail dents all over the new vehicle while you ran into the supermarket to pick up some milk.

AND by the time you got to your car and called your insurance company to get coverage, the damage had already been done.

Months later, back to the store – there was yet another major storm (only in McKinney, TX, right?) that came through with a vengeance and caused even more hail damage.

The next day, you call in the hail damage claim to your insurance company. The Hail Shop USA lists important filing phone numbers and online filing options from multiple national insurance companies here.

Is My Previous Hail Damage Covered By Insurance?

Here are the questions:

1) Can I file a hail damage claim on the hail damage that happened between purchasing the vehicle and the hail damage that happened BEFORE the vehicle was covered?

Yes and no.

If you already have a vehicle(s) covered by a comprehensive insurance policy, many insurance companies will automatically give a 30-day coverage on new vehicles purchased. In any case, you should call your insurance company and ask about the specifics of your policy and what is covered.

Alternatively, if you do not have a current comprehensive policy on an existing vehicle with your insurance company, let’s say you only have liability, you will not be covered for the cost of hail damage repair.

2) Can the insurance company deny your new claim because there was previous hail damage, even though this storm did cause additional damage?

Going back to question 1 – if the insurance company was not made aware of the prior damage caused by a previous storm, their job will become a lot harder. There are multiple tiers of teams for catastrophic or weather-related claims. Your insurance company has seen it all. If you file a new hail claim and an adjuster suspects prior un-repaired hail damage, your claim will become a “case” and be escalated. Your insurance company WILL NOT pay for the pre-existing damage. They will determine what part of the damage was caused by Hail Storm A and Hail Storm B – then cover the damage from Hail Storm B.

3) How does the insurance company compute my previous hail damage to the new damages?

Please refer to our article, “Do I have to get my hail damage repaired or can I keep the money?” to learn more if you are in a situation where you chose to keep the money instead of getting the hail damage repaired.

If you purchased a vehicle with pre-existing auto hail damage – you should make your insurance company aware of this damage. If and when another hail event occurs, the insurance adjuster that comes to do the damage estimate will know the difference between the new damage and the existing damage.

Your comprehensive insurance policy will only cover the new damage.

Conclusion

Most hail storms last only about 3-6 minutes, but the damage caused in that short span of time can be extensive. A majority of the damage is cosmetic, causing only a few small dings and dents. But in a catastrophic hail storm, dents will cover an entire vehicle and windshields and other auto glass may be shattered.

Remember – no one will look out for you as well as YOU can!

Always cover your bases and make sure you always report hail damage, no matter the type of coverage you have. You will never fool an insurance agent and even if you try, you run the risk of getting dropped by your insurance company.