Insurance Claims Made Easy

Paintless dent repair (PDR) is the preferred method of repair among insurance carriers, especially for hail damage. PDR maintains the integrity of the factory finish, which maintains the value of the vehicle, thus allowing the manufacturer's warranty to remain intact. In addition, the work can be completed in days rather than weeks, which means lower rental car costs incurred by the insurance companies. These facts make it a better option for insurers and for their customers. A hail damage claim often leaves many questions and concerns. We are here to help. Contact us today if you have any questions that warrant a Q&A session with one of our technicians.

The Insurance Process If your car is damaged in a hailstorm, the first step is to contact your insurance company and let them know you have damage. Your insurer will create a claim and instruct you as to how to proceed. Usually, they'll ask you to go to a body shop and get an estimate; sometimes, the insurance companies will have their catastrophe teams on-site, providing estimates to all their customers.

A common misconception is that the claim will raise the customer's insurance rates. This is not usually the case, as most insurers have an "act of God" clause, which keeps the individual policyholder's rates from being raised due to the claim. This misconception is a very common reason that insurance customers hesitate to file a claim for their hail damage. Check with your insurance carrier to confirm that your comprehensive claim for hail damage falls into this category. If a hailstorm is large enough in a certain region, the insurance company's losses due to that storm may raise all of their policyholders' rates fractionally in the near future, whether they have filed a hail damage claim or not.

Upon Further Inspection

Once a hail damage claim has been established, we often advise the insured to bring the car in for an inspection of the damage and the estimate provided by the insurance company. This is simply to be sure that all the damage was properly noted by the insurance adjuster. With a hail damage claim, the customer's only obligation is their deductible based upon their comprehensive coverage within their policy. Any additional money needed for the repair is provided directly by the insurance company to the body shop or PDR business performing the repairs. This additional money is referred to as a supplement and is very common when dealing with a hail damage claim.

Once a customer has scheduled a repair, the car is dropped off, and all supplements will be submitted. Parts that need to be ordered will be ordered and replaced, and all repairs will proceed. Often, the car will be back in the customer's hands within a few days.