You might have to claim auto insurance if your vehicle has hail damage. Fortunately, one comprehensive claim only sometimes affects your rates.
Assessing the damage will require thorough documentation. This will assist in determining the amount of the damage and providing vital documentation to the insurance company for them to approve your claim.
Damage Assessment
When you notice damage from a hailstorm, take some time to assess the extent of it. Look for dents in your windshield or windows, dings or chips in paint, and scratches in the clear coat on your car. If the paint is intact, a specialist in paintless dent repair (PDR) can fix it and return your car to its pre-hailstorm appearance.
More serious dings and scrapes will require more conventional methods, such as grinding, sanding, painting, and panel replacement. Depending on the extent of the damage, you can take a cash settlement from your insurance company instead of having it repaired.
Getting your car repaired quickly after a hailstorm is essential, even if the dents do not seem significant at first glance. Over time, dents that have yet to be repaired can lead to more extensive damage and a lower value for your vehicle. An auto insurance adjuster will consider the cost of repairs against the actual cash value of your car to determine whether it is worth repairing or should be considered totaled.
Repair Estimates
Hail damage can range from barely perceptible dents to massive craters that total your vehicle. Regardless of its severity, you should immediately seek professional hail storm vehicle repair Denver CO. Your car is exposed to additional rust and other damage every day you wait. It also may lower its resale value and increase the risk of future safety hazards.
People should avoid assuming they can identify hail damage by scanning their vehicles for dents and dings. However, the process is much more involved than that. Even a small ding can hide underneath a layer of paint or beneath the surface of your windshield or windows.
Generally, filing an insurance claim for hail damage will not affect your car’s rates. However, if you live in an area with frequent hailstorms, it may be wise to have a comprehensive policy to cover this type of damage.
Documentation
While it’s difficult to predict what hail will do during a specific storm, there are precautions you can take to protect your property. For your car, this includes parking it in a garage or other covered area and using car covers designed to keep out hail. For your home, a disaster preparedness plan is critical. Make sure your family members know how to reach one another and how to respond in an emergency and that you have an inventory of items for insurance purposes.
Once the storm has passed and it’s safe to head outside, document all damage with a camera. Save any debris that could prove the severity of the damage if needed. Also, save records of any expenses incurred due to the hail damage – for example, hotel receipts if your home is uninhabitable. An adjuster from your insurance company will visit the damage to assess it personally. Before they come, your vehicle must be clean so the extent of the damage can be seen.
Insurance Claims
Many car owners who don’t file an insurance claim for hail damage will find that the value has dropped considerably when it comes time to resell their vehicle. A damaged vehicle can sometimes lose thousands of dollars in value.
If the repair costs are high enough, an auto insurance adjuster may decide that the vehicle should be considered a total loss. In this case, they’ll give you a settlement check equal to the vehicle’s cash value.
This decision is often made when the original estimate only includes some operations or parts needed for the repairs. In this case, a supplement will be necessary to document the additional operations or parts. This step can sometimes extend the repair timeline.
