10 things to know about auto hail damage repair
1) According to state law: Under the Consumer Bill of Rights, insurance companies are prevented from dropping you or raising your rates due to a hail claim. A hail claim is filed under your comprehensive coverage, not collision so it doesn’t affect your policy in the same way.
2) Know your rights! You can take your vehicle to the shop of YOUR choice to get it repaired with the parts that you want. Don’t accept inferior quality parts or be steered towards the shop of your insurance’s choice.
3) Know your responsibilities! If you still owe on your vehicle, your lien holder may require you to repair the vehicle. In this instance you will be issued a two-party check, either to you and the lien holder or you and the repair shop.
4) Is your car or truck new? Ask the repair shop if they are using OEM parts or aftermarket. Some shops will even use parts from salvage yards to cut corners, make sure this doesn’t happen to you.
5) Get a professional estimate! Hail damage can be difficult to see, but if you can easily notice a few dents, it is likely that there are many more. Beware of the outdoor estimate. Professionals know that an accurate estimate must be done in the controlled lighting of a shop.
6) Little dents can add up to a lot. That means that your vehicle has lost significant value. If you’re skeptical, call Cavender Toyota and ask them how much they are discounting vehicles in their “Hail Sale”. The discounted amount will be comparable to what they would subtract from your vehicle’s value in a trade-in or seller situation.
7) Do your research. Does the shop you’re doing business with have a good reputation? Ask for a BBB listing or references. Visit the shop and visually inspect their work and workplace. Every dent technician’s level of experience is different.
8) Take a close look. Upon completion of repairs, ask to see your vehicle under shop lights and perform a thorough examination. It’s going to be a hassle down the road to take the vehicle back to the shop to get small dent(s) fixed and you might encounter some resistance if you’ve driven off after saying everything looked good. This is also a good time to check that your headlights, sunroof, tail lights and cabin lights function correctly.
9) Don’t file too quickly. Once you’ve received payment for repairs, your insurance company expects your vehicle to be fixed. If you’re in a collision and your vehicle is not repaired, the amount the insurance company paid out will be subtracted from your vehicle’s value. In the case of an accident, this diminished value means there is a higher likelihood of your insurance totaling out your vehicle.
10) Ask Kelly. Blue book, that is. If your vehicle is a 2008 or older, get an estimate first, then compare that estimate to the kelly blue book value of your vehicle. Most insurance companies total out vehicles if the cost of repairs exceeds 60% of the KBB value. Also, don’t be rosy about condition or aftermarket accessories, the insurance company’s
11) cardboard and blankets. If you’re lucky enough to have advance warning, put your car in the garage. If you’re like me, your garage is full of crap. So how do you protect your vehicle? Place cardboard on the roof and windshield. Drape blankets over the cardboard. Open all doors and let the blanket ends fall inside the vehicle close the doors to secure blankets and cardboard in place. Most hailstorms come with high winds, any protection for your vehicle that is unsecured will fly away.
ask insurance that if I get paid on a hail claim, don’t fix it, and then get into a collision, what happens next?
1* http://www.tdi.texas.gov/rules/bor-auto-english.html
