How to repair auto hail damage? - StormWise Hail Repair Blog

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Category: Auto Hail Repair Blog

We’re here to help you learn how to get the best auto hail damage repair.
Because let’s face it, we can’t live without our cars (not easily at least).

auto hail repair employees check quality

The Challenges of Auto Hail Repair: Not a DIY Project

According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, there were 5,396 major hailstorms in the United States last year. Hail damage is a frequent problem for car owners and one that cannot be anticipated. If your vehicle has been dinged in a hailstorm, you are probably considering options for hail damage repair. Do-it-yourself internet instructions for all types of projects have been increasing in popularity. If you are generally handy with repairs, this option may be tempting. After all, minor dents and dings appear to be easy to fix. However, repairing a dent in your vehicle is not an easy task at all, not to say, fixing hundreds of it – it’s quite normal to have hundreds of dents from a hailstorm. In fact, you could even cause greater damage to your vehicle’s surface or paint job. Think twice about trying to repair it yourself. There are new methods of dent repair available that are both cheap and efficient. With proper insurance policies and our deductible coverage, you may not pay anything out-of-pocket. And some minor damage could be fixed within a couple of days. Before venturing out on your own dent repair endeavor, take a look at the information below. Having a professional repair your vehicle can be affordable and seamless. And it will give you the assurance that the job is done properly. Auto Hail Repair Options There are two types of professional hail dent repair. There is a conventional method and what is known as paintless dent repair, or PDR. Traditional dent repair involves using filler on the dent or ding, then repainting it. The technician grinds off the external paint, then bangs the metal back to its approximate original form. They then apply putty to smooth out the surface. Once the putty is dry, the technician sands it, then applies primer, base paint, and a final layer of paint. These processes can take a lot of money and a long time to complete. However, the traditional method of repair is necessary for some dents. Paintless dent repair is a process where the technician removes the paneling inside the car opposite the damage. They then use specialized equipment to reshape the metal back into its original form. The tools leverage rods and body picks to push it back into its original shape. Without sanding/grinding/painting, PDR can produce an exact pre-dent texture and contour that keeps your original paint intact. Advantages of PDR Although it involves a meticulous process by experienced technicians, PDR is usually much faster than traditional dent repair. Using the conventional method, severe hail damage could take a few weeks to over a month to finish. PDR requires fewer steps – at StormWise, most of our auto hail repair is done within two weeks. Since PDR requires fewer materials and less labor, it can be much more affordable than conventional dent repair. Traditional methods can cost well over tens of thousands of dollars. Whereas, PDR allows for the efficient repair of minor dents and dings for a fraction of the cost. Another primary reason to opt for PDR is that it restores the surface of your vehicle to its original form. Although traditional dent repair will mask any damage to the naked eye, there is an advantage to PDR beyond aesthetic reasons. Returning the vehicle to its original state can help it retain its value. Depending on the extent of the damage, this could mean a big difference in the amount of money you receive when you can resell your car. Finally, since the PDR method does not use paints and chemicals, it is more environmentally friendly than conventional repair. Variables That Determine Repair Method A big deciding factor regarding which methods can be used is the condition of the paint. It must be intact for PDR to work since the process involves no repainting of the surface. The size of the dent also can be a determining factor. Major dents usually require the use of traditional methods, but not always. If the metal has been stretched significantly, then it may not be possible for PDR to return it to its original form. In these cases, the conventional method of repair is necessary. A final determining factor is the material of the damaged part. PDR is an excellent choice for dented metal, but not possible for plastic. Other Considerations It is easy to find a repair shop that can fix your car using conventional dent repair techniques. But finding a PDR specialist could end up saving you a lot of time and money. According to the Insurance Information Institute, hail damage claims in the U.S. average between $8 and $14 billion every year. If you have comprehensive insurance coverage on your vehicle, it covers weather-related damage like hail. Get a quote from a specialized hail repair shop or use an online hail damage repair cost calculator before you file a claim. When you contact us at StormWise, we will handle the insurance process for you. Don’t Rely on DIY Auto hail repair may seem like a simple process, but it is best left up to professionals. Given the available options like PDR and the insurance coverage, why risk doing a poor job repairing the dent yourself or even causing greater damage? Most prominent repair shops provide lifetime guarantees so that you know the repair will be done right. Contact a reputable hail repair shop for a free estimate. You have nothing to lose by determining what a professional repair will cost. You may be surprised how economically and efficiently an experienced company can fix your dent and get you back on the road.

Celine Hobbs October 6, 2020

Is It Worth Fixing Hail Damage on a Car?

You’re outside enjoying your lawn when you feel those first few pebbles of hail. You can see the storm picking up, so you run into the house. You’re relieved to be inside for a split second before you realize your car is outside with no protection, getting pelted with hail. When the storm passes, you see the telltale dents of hail damage and you’re faced with a decision. Should you repair it? Is fixing hail damage to your vehicle worth the cost and effort? Is It Worth It to Repair Vehicle Hail Damage? Your finances are your own and every person needs to do their own cost-benefit analysis. In general, though, fixing hail damage will pay off in the long run. In fact, there are several reasons why prompt hail damage repair is the way to go. Insurance Coverage If you have comprehensive auto insurance, your insurance company should cover the damage. Your only cost is your deductible, which is often waived when you work with us. Contact us to find out how much we can cover for your deductible. Most people don’t love dealing with insurance claims, and you don’t need to. Our team at StormWise will coordinate with your insurance directly. You get your car fixed without the hassle of the back-and-forth. Lease Requirements Every vehicle owner weighs the pros and cons of leasing a vehicle compared to buying one. A downside of leasing you may not have considered is that you don’t have a choice about fixing damages. In most cases, your lease will require that you repair any damage to the vehicle. That includes hail damage and other storm damage. The same goes for a car you’re renting. Maintaining Your Car’s Value If you own your vehicle, it’s an asset in your financial portfolio. You want to keep its value high so you can sell it from a stronger price and get the money out of it in the future. As you can imagine, hail damage puts a serious damper on your vehicle’s value. It often decreases the value by more than the cost of repairs. In other words, if you try to save money by skipping hail repair, you’re likely costing yourself more money. Insurance Claim Values Speaking of your car’s value, that value will have an impact on future insurance claims too. Imagine you have hail damage that has reduced your car’s value by $10,000. If you get into an accident and the vehicle is totaled, you get $10,000 less than you would have received. This is also an issue if there is a future claim that doesn’t total your car like a minor accident. The insurance company can claim that they don’t know what damage is from the accident and what damage existed already. At best, this means a more complicated process. At worst, the insurance company doesn’t pay for all the new damage and you lose thousands of dollars. Avoiding Further Damage Hail damage doesn’t end when the storm does. In the right circumstances, unrepaired hail damage can lead to further damage to the vehicle. Hail sometimes scrapes or chips your vehicle’s paint. This can expose the metal below your paint which leaves the metal vulnerable to rust. As you might expect, a rusted hole through your car’s body isn’t a cheap fix. If you repair the hail damage sooner, though, you save yourself the expense and the risks. Vulnerability to Future Hail Damage Hail storms are more common in Colorado than in most parts of the country. Some people get hail damage and they say, “What’s the use in fixing it now? Another hail storm will come soon so I’ll fix my car after that one.” The problem is that not all hail damage is cosmetic only. Hail can weaken the metal of your vehicle’s body. If you don’t repair it, the weakened metal will sustain even more damage from the second hail storm. The better strategy is to repair your damage after each hail storm. If you find your car with hail damage time and time again, it may be time to find a safer parking option. Preparation for Future Sales You never know when you might need to sell your vehicle in a hurry. Perhaps you fall on hard times and need the cash. Maybe you need a different vehicle in a rush and you need to trade in your current car so you can afford it. Selling or trading in a vehicle with hail damage is very difficult. If you can find a buyer at all, you’ll bring in far less money than you should. The best choice is to fix your hail damage before selling or trading in the car. The problem is that hail repair can take time. Especially during Colorado winters, you might find long waits at body shops due to the higher rate of weather-related accidents. If you’re strapped for cash, waiting a week or more for repairs could be a deal-breaker. What’s the better solution? Fix your hail damage soon after it happens. That way, your car is ready to sell at the drop of a hat. What To Do If Your Insurance Company Totals Your Car Due to Hail Damage? Your insurance company may decide your hail damage costs so much that your vehicle is totaled. While you can’t change that decision, there are ways to get the best value from the situation. Pro tips: Always negotiate your vehicle’s value. The insurance company wants to pay out as little as possible. They will find the lowest comparable vehicles out there as a benchmark to assess your car’s Actual Cash Value (ACV). That’s why you will always want to contest that initial ACV. We advise all our customers to find three or four comparable vehicle sales and listings and send them to the insurance company. How to Start the Process of Fixing Hail Damage to Your Vehicle? If you’re ready to get started fixing hail damage on your vehicle, there’s no time like the present. Call our storm damage specialists to get your estimate.

Celine Hobbs September 29, 2020

How to Choose an Auto Hail Repair Company?

Colorado ranked second in the US for the number of hail loss claims in 2019. Living in Colorado means it’s very likely that your car will have hail damage at some point. When you need hail repair for your vehicle, you want to be sure you’re using the best repair company. Here are some important factors to consider helping you find a company that meets your needs. How They Treat You and Your Car The first thing to consider is the quality of service you’ll get from an auto hail repair company. Do they really care about you and your car? You rely on your vehicle, and you need it repaired quickly to the highest possible standard. Look for an auto hail repair shop that listens to you. They should treat you and your car with respect. Paintless Dent Repair Does the hail repair shop offer paintless dent repair (PDR)? For most hail damage, PDR is your best option. What Is Paintless Dent Repair? PDR will repair hail damage as well as other dings and dents. PDR will work as long as your vehicle’s paint didn’t chip or crack. Modern automotive paint is extremely hard and resilient, and it remains intact through the impact of most hail. A PDR technician will first determine the extent of the hail damage. The technician then accesses the back side of the dent by getting behind the body panel. Finally, the technician uses special tools to carefully work the metal back to its original shape. Advantages of Paintless Dent Repair PDR has several advantages over traditional body shop repairs for hail damage. 1. Speed of the repair PDR is faster than a repair from a body shop. Your car could be repaired in as little as a few hours depending on the extent of the hail damage. 2. Less expensive PDR takes less time, less materials, and less labor than a body shop repair. You will pay less for PDR. 3. Preserves your vehicle’s resale value A body shop has to replace entire panels of your car. If anything in the repair doesn’t exactly match the rest of the vehicle, you lose resale and trade-in value. PDR restores the original appearance of the car without replacing panels or repainting. Maintaining your factory finish helps protect your car. You will also keep the manufacturer’s paint warranty. Body shop repairs can show up on a Carfax report. PDR is a less invasive repair and doesn’t leave a record on Carfax. A clear Carfax report reassures potential buyers when you sell your car. 4. Better for the environment PDR doesn’t use harmful chemicals or solvents like paint and paint thinner. It’s better for the technicians’ health, and it releases less toxins into the environment. Paintless dent repair is usually the best and least-expensive way to fix hail damage. Look for a hail repair company with expertise in this technique. Repair Experience Choose a well-established automotive hail repair company with experienced technicians. It’s no secret that a company with a proven track record is more likely to give you the level of service you’re looking for. Performing a quality PDR repair requires skill and experience. During storm season, some dent repair shops hire less experienced technicians just to handle the demand. Even worse are the storm chasers who come into town after a storm to make a quick profit and leave. These types of businesses can leave you disappointed. Here are some questions to ask when you’re looking for an automotive hail repair company: How many years of experience do the technicians have? – StormWise has been repairing auto hail damage for more than 25 years. What are their quality check process? – We have a multi-point Quality Check inspection to ensure that nothing is missed and the car looks amazing when you pick it up. How do they stay up-to-date with the latest repair methods? – Our paintless dent repair (PDR) technicians go through a rigorous audition process prior to onboarding with StormWise. This is how we guarantee you’re leaving your car in good hands. Quality of Work A good hail repair company will stand behind their work with a warranty. Anything less than a lifetime warranty should make you think twice. If a dent is repaired properly with PDR, it won’t ever come back. In addition to a comprehensive warranty, look for a company with a documented quality check procedure. You want to be sure that nothing is overlooked. Your car should be as good as new when the repairs are finished. Quality of Service A reputable auto hail repair shop will make the repair process easy and convenient. Here are some services to look for in a top-notch company: Can come to you for the inspection and estimate Valet service to drop off and pick up your vehicle Free rental car if necessary Can replace the windshield and aftermarket parts if necessary Will help you file an insurance claim Will waive your insurance deductible Will work with your schedule Having a repair shop handle the insurance claim on your behalf is a big advantage. Dealing with the insurance company by yourself can be stressful. You can feel pressured to use one of the insurance’s contracted partner shops, which is almost never in your best interest. Look for a hail repair shop that will be your advocate and give you five-star customer service. Repair Timeline Some shops put customers on a long waiting list, especially during storm season. Look for a company large enough to handle high demand. They should be able to tell you how they scale up when they need to. Customer Reviews See what other customers say about any hail repair company you’re considering. Google, Yelp, and Facebook are good resources to get an idea of a company’s reputation. A few bad reviews are normal. The overall rating will tell you what most customers’ experience with the company was like. Choosing the Best Auto Hail Repair Company When you need hail repair for your car, you want

Celine Hobbs September 1, 2020

How to Get An Accurate Estimate on Hard-To-See Hail Damage on Cars?

Learn the tips to take the most comprehensive photos for your insurance claim.

Celine Hobbs August 25, 2020

FAQs about Rental Car Hail Damage

This may be the last thing on your mind when taking a vacation, but dealing with a rental car hail damage can be complicated and sometimes extremely expensive ($21,494 in this case). The “common-sense” of not being responsible for damages caused by others (Act of God) doesn’t apply to rental cars. Rental car contracts specifically address the types of damage/loss that the renter will be responsible for. Here’s an example from Enterprise Car Rental Terms and Conditions: “Renter accepts responsibility for damage to, loss, modification or theft of, Vehicle, Optional Accessories or any part or accessory regardless of fault or negligence of Renter or any other person or act of God. “ This kind of practice is not unique to Enterprise either. Every rental car contract follows suit. Budget Rental Car Contract Hertz Rental Car Contract Avis Rental Car Contract Alamo Rental Car Contract So logically, you may ask: Should I buy rental car insurance? The insurance at the rental car counter is probably a Collision Damage Waiver. It means that if your rental car is damaged or stolen, all you have to cover is the fees up to the deductible amount – you’re not responsible for any amount after that to repair or replace the rental car. Getting the Collision Damage Waiver is the safest option – no matter what happens, you just hand them the keys. But if you’re a savvy buyer and want to weigh your options, in the following scenarios, it’s best to purchase additional rental car insurance: Rental Car for Business: If you are renting a car for business purposes, by all means, add that Collision Damage Waiver. Because no matter what you have for your car insurance, those typically only apply to personal usage, and not cover business rental cars. Also, chances are your company is picking up the tab, so taking the safest bet makes the most sense. No Collision Coverage or Comprehensive Coverage for Your Personal Auto Insurance: As hinted above, your auto insurance may cover damages to a rental car. That is if you have Collision Coverage and/or Comprehensive Coverage. If all you have is Liability Coverage, your insurance will not pay for the loss on a rental car. If you don’t have any rental car insurance, when you drive through a hailstorm, you’re likely receiving a large bill from the rental car company. If you have Collision Coverage, it may still make sense to get additional insurance, especially during the hail season in Colorado, as Collision Insurance doesn’t cover hail damage. Important Note: Even with your comprehensive insurance covering rental cars, you may still receive a bill from your rental car company. The rental company will likely claim for loss of income, for days when the vehicle is being repaired and not rented out to make money. And Loss of Income is not covered by your personal insurance company. Credit Card Coverage Many credit cards indeed offer some types of insurance to rental cars. But that coverage is often complicated and changes from time to time. Very few credit card rental insurance include hail damage coverage. And some may even cover loss of use and other administrative charges by the rental company, given that the rental car company provides sufficient proof. Here’s a comprehensive summary of what credit card may provide regarding rental car insurance support. I’m covered. What should I do? If you’re driving in a massive hailstorm, try to stay calm and pull over to the side of the road. Don’t get out of the rental car until it stops hailing. Once the hail stops and you’re safely parked, you can take photos and videos to document the damage. If the damage is cosmetic and the car is safe to drive, you can return it to the car rental center. Ask the car rental agent to inspect the vehicle with you, and confirm the damage as you documented as well. If no agent is looking over it, take the pictures anyway. If the damage is extensive and you’re not sure the car is safe to drive, call for road assistance to pick up the vehicle. You should call the rental company’s emergency number and ask what they advise you to do with it. It’s a good idea to document the service rep’s name and phone number and what the representative tells you. Then file for a claim and fill out any paperwork necessary. What to do if I receive a hail claim on a rental car? Remember Act of God is not your free pass from responsibility for rental cars. Whether you’re aware of the hail damage when you return a rental car, the rental car company may make a claim and try to charge you for the damage. If you have before/after photos to show that the car was intact when you returned it, send a copy to the rental car company to prove your case. Be sure to ask the rental company for their repair bill, photographic proof, and detailed info of the damage. Suppose it’s been a while before you receive the claim. You can ask for the vehicle’s utilization log, a record to show who else rented the car since you did, and ask for the rental company to prove that the damage happened during your rental period. Believe it or not, rental car hail stories are real in Colorado. What begins as a fun trip could turn into a rental car horror story without the right coverage. We hope the tips in this article help protect you in the event you have to deal with rental car hail damage/claim and wish you a safe trip.

Celine Hobbs August 18, 2020

How much does insurance cover hail damage?

Find the correct numbers on how much your coverage for hail damage could cover.

Celine Hobbs August 11, 2020

car parking after no deductible hail repair

Auto Hail Repair No Deductible – Facts & Myths

Every year, thousands of cars suffer from hail damage across the United States. If you have comprehensive insurance to cover auto hail repair and are looking for auto hail repair, you’ve probably seen advertisements about “Auto Hail Repair, Pay No Deductible.” While waiving deductibles is becoming common in the auto hail repair industry, a few customers question the legality and how it works. For us at StormWise, assisting customers with deductible coverage is a business decision. We are on a mission to provide the fastest, easiest, and best experience for hail damage repair. Let’s explore the ins and outs of insurance and deductible options for hail damage repair: Is it legal to waive a deductible for auto hail damage repair in Colorado? This is the burning question on everyone’s minds, so let’s talk about this first! The reason people commonly think that waiving an insurance deductible for an automotive claim is illegal is based on Colorado Senate Bill 38 (C.R.S 6-22-101 to 6-22-105), signed into law in 2012. The bill specifically states in section C that the bill is intended to protect consumers by “Prohibiting roofing contractors from paying, waiving, rebating, or promising to pay, waive, or rebate all or part of any insurance deductible applicable to an insurance claim made to the property owners property and casualty insurance for payment for roofing work on the residential property covered by a property and casualty insurance policy.” You may notice one key word the text from the bill itself, which is “roofing.” Contractors whose business involves residential repair are not allowed to waive, rebate, or promise to pay any part of an insurance deductible. The good news is that most automotive repair facilities are NOT repairing homes or signing customers up for residential insurance claims and repair, so if an auto hail repair shop in Colorado has offered to waive your deductible, it is 100% perfectly legal to do so. There are two things that must occur for a company to break the law under this bill: 1) they have to be a residential contractor, and 2) they have to be performing work as covered through an insurance claim to residential property. Since you wouldn’t have a residential contractor fix your car or ask an auto body repair facility to repair storm damage to your home, there’s really no way for an automotive repair facility to break this law. Automotive hail repair specialists, such as StormWise, are not residential repair contractors, and thus wouldn’t be violating C.R.S 6-22-101 by waiving all or part of your automotive hail claim deductible. Average insurance payout for hail damage There’s not much info out there about this because hail damage estimates can be quite complicated. We’ve written an article explaining the details on how to assess hail damage on a car. But if you Google average insurance payout for hail repair, you’ll find the only answer, stating $2,000 – $3,000. However, having worked in the hail repair industry for more than 20 years, the average hail damage payout is much higher than that. According to our database, the average insurance payout for hail damage is $6,500. That doesn’t mean we’ve never had a $2,000 hail repair, but most vehicles damaged in a hailstorm have extensive damage to the tune of $7,000 – $8,000. It can go as high as more than $15k sometimes. How much does comprehensive insurance cost for hail repair? When you have full coverage, your policy includes the standard 3 separate types of coverage: liability, collision, and comprehensive. Liability covers the other party’s vehicle in the event you’re at fault in an accident, collision covers your vehicle if you are at fault in an accident, and comprehensive is what covers your car in the event that an “Act of Nature” causes damage to your car, such as a flood, hurricane, hail storm, etc. In general, insurance companies will quote you a package price to include all three coverages when you request a quote for “full coverage.” The price will be evaluated by your insurance company based on your vehicle’s value, your driving record, the history of insurance claims, and some other factors. There are also extras you may elect to purchase on your policy such as glass coverage (usually a low price, low deductible option to cover the glass only damage to the car in the event of rock chips or a break in), rental car coverage (an extra monthly amount to provide a rental if your car is in the shop needing repairs), or vehicle replacement coverage (with some insurance companies, you can pay for them to actually give you 20% of your car’s value in the event that the car is totaled to put down on a new car…how great is that?!) We checked several insurance estimate calculators and came up with the average estimates based on general information below: Comprehensive insurance coverage for 2018, Subaru Crosstrek, for 80 miles/week, with lease (so we know the comprehensive coverage is included in the quotes). Nationwide: $1592/yr Allstate: $2784/yr Geico: $2478/yr Farmers: $2920/yr Progressive: $1684/yr State Farm $2679/yr Do I have to pay a deductible for hail damage? Indeed, comprehensive insurance usually comes with a deductible that has to be paid. Sometimes a zero deductible is an option at an additional cost. In most cases, customers carry a $500 to $1,000 deductible. If your car is hit in a hail storm, regardless of your deductible, the cost to repair your hail damaged vehicle will likely exceed your deductible amount. If you live in an area where hailstorms are frequent, your deductible expense can accumulate fast. Now comes the good news for Colorado residents: We can help cover your hail claim deductible! Not a myth: Auto Hail Repair No Deductible Unlike a direct repair shop, which doesn’t or can’t afford to assist customers with their deductibles, StormWise is an independent premium repair company in Colorado, specializing in auto hail repair. Paying for your deductible is a business decision we

Celine Hobbs August 5, 2020

Do I have to use a direct repair shop?

It’s a question we get all the time! Should I go with a Direct Repair Shop or take my chances with an independent repair shop? What is DRP? Direct Repair Shops, or commonly known as “DRP’s,” Direct Repair Programs, or Direct Repair Networks, are basically body shops with whom your insurance company has direct contracts to fix their customers’ vehicles. When you call in your automobile hail damage claim, many times your claims representative will encourage you to go directly to their DRP to have your estimate and repair done. Sometimes your insurance company will have their adjusters in-house at that body shop who are writing estimates and paying their insureds out for the covered damage. Other times, they may have a deal worked out with the shop where an employee at the shop writes the estimates, and your insurance agrees to simply pay whatever their estimate comes to, or provides a fee to the shop for each estimate written. Unfortunately, the way most insurance companies determine what shop to use as a direct repair shop is by going around to various shops in the area and seeing who will do the work the cheapest. Do I have to use a direct repair shop? The short answer is No! As a consumer, you have the right to request that your vehicle be repaired at a shop of your choice. If you’ve ever had body work done, you know that this is a disastrous way to determine who will work on your car. In this business, the proverbial saying “you get what you pay for,” definitely holds true. There are three main reasons I highly recommend NOT going with the direct repair shop your insurance company has selected. 1. No chance of any deductible assistance The first main reason is that DRPs are going to charge you your deductible no matter what! The Direct Repair Shops have to do this for a number of reasons; a major one is because the body shop’s agreement with the insurance is that they are required to perform the repairs for whatever the insurance company’s adjuster has written the damage at. Unfortunately though, adjusters miss damage more often than not. So the body shop can’t afford to lose any more money than what they’re already more-than-likely going to lose since the adjuster may have missed some things. In fact, about 99% of the cars we see have at least some damage that the adjuster has overlooked, which we typically send a “supplement request” to the insurance for so they will pay for the COMPLETE repair of the vehicle (since typically, people want ALL the dents fixed, not just a few of them :). As a DRP, they aren’t allowed to supplement in some cases, so they need that last $250, $500, or $1,000 to make a profit on the car. 2. Most DRPs don’t specialize in hail damage repair Here is the second main reason I’d recommend not going to your insurance company’s direct repair shop: many times DRPs are “Body Shops,” meaning they specialize in working on the exterior body of the car. This includes painting, replacing parts, and using fillers to fill in holes. Now, fillers and re-painting is not always bad, you just really need to make sure you’re going to a shop with a lot of experience and knows what they’re doing if you’re going to have fillers such as bondo put into your new car and are thus going to have it re-painted. Here’s a good video on the right and wrong types of bondo: Again, it’s very important to note that in this business you get what you pay for. When an insurance company has selected a body shop who agrees to do work for cheaper than any other body shop in town, it’s important to ask yourself why have they agreed to do the work cheaper? What corners are they going to cut in order to save money for themselves and still make a profit? Are they using quality products that will last as long as the car? Or are they going to fill it and re-paint it with cheap products that will crack out over time, fade poorly as opposed to the factory paint job, or just look plain sloppy? So, back to the subject here, that a reason a Direct Repair Shop may not be a good option is that they are usually body shops. Paintless Dent Repair is the preferred method to repair hail damage, and the easiest, least invasive way to fix it. StormWise is not a standard auto body shop. We are a paintless dent repair company specializing in hail damage repair and dent removal via craftsmanship and metal-working: a process which does not require new parts, fillers, or paint. As opposed to us, body shops are going to be more inclined to simply purchase new parts, such as a new hood, roof, or deck-lid, instead of using PDR to fix your car’s hail damage. That’s how they make their profit. Auto body shops do this because maybe they are not as quick at PDR as they are at simply purchasing and painting a new part, or because it’s actually cheaper to have their in-house guy who is well-seasoned at using fillers and re-painting perform the repair instead of paying a PDR specialist like the technicians we employ to fix the dents. As we previously mentioned, fillers and paint aren’t always bad, but good paint guys are very hard to find. After-market paint will in most cases devalue your car no matter how good it looks, after-market paint usually fades differently over time as compared to the factory finish, and after-market parts, such as hoods or decklids, may not always fit your car exactly as an original manufacturer part does. 3. Why not use a hail repair specialist? Lastly, if your insurance company is paying for this repair, wouldn’t you want to have the work done by people who can make it appear as if your car never had hail damage? Why take a chance at having a body shop do the work and potentially

Celine Hobbs July 28, 2020

How Much Does Hail Damage Devalue A Car?

The Cost of a Hail Storm It’s surprising to most how much damage a hailstorm can do: what looks like a few dimples here and there on your car can actually cost thousands of dollars to fix. But the real question is: will your insurance cover the car hail damage repair cost? There are 3 different types of insurance coverage a car can have. If you have comprehensive coverage, you’re in luck. If you have liability-only insurance for your car or truck, the hail damage will not be covered. However, if you don’t have comprehensive insurance or want to keep the insurance payout and sell your vehicle, you may be wondering how much un-repaired hail damage can devalue your car. It depends on the situation. Minimal hail damage is mainly cosmetic, but more serious damage can make a car undrivable. In general, it’s best to get car hail damage repaired as soon as possible — it could just save the value of your car. How Much Does It Cost To Repair Hail Damage? (Click to view the infographic) The cost to repair the damage can be quite steep. The average cost of auto hail repairs is $6,500 (After more than 20 years fixing hail-damaged cars, we know!). Repair costs could be as little as $2,500, or as high as $16,000, depending on various factors that will affect how the hail damage is estimated. While some mistakenly are told that hail dents can be repaired for as little as a few hundred dollars, beware that that is not referring to a bumper-to-bumper full hail repair. A small dent repair job may be relatively inexpensive, but when several panels have numerous dents, the price will likely be in the thousands. Car Value And Insurance Hail Coverage If you have comprehensive insurance to cover your hail damage, is it worth filing a hail claim? For extensive hail damage, the rule of thumb is that if the damage exceeds your comprehensive deductible, it’s advisable to fix it. But if the repair cost exceeds around 50% to 60% of your car’s value, your vehicle might be considered a total loss, otherwise known as “totaled.” If the repair cost does exceed 50% to 60% of your car’s value, you should still consider making the claim. Just keep in mind that if your car is deemed totaled by the insurance, the hail repair claim could become part of the Carfax vehicle history report—information that is public to potential car buyers. This could knock thousands of dollars off your car’s trade value when you go to sell it. How To Determine a Car’s Value After Hail Damage? The value of your car is evaluated on the following factors: The type and condition of your car The age of your car (mileage) Additional add-on features The industry standard for new and used car value is based on Kelley Blue Book (kbb.com). You can also get a rough idea of pricing from the National Automotive Dealers Association website. How Much Does Insurance Pay For Hail Damage? Once you file a hail claim, the insurance company will typically schedule an adjuster appointment to look at the damage and write an estimate. Since COVID-19, however, many insurance providers have been moving away from field adjusters and towards virtual estimating techniques. Either way, an adjuster will inspect the car in person or virtually. Then, they will put together an estimate for the repairs. From there, they will send you or the repair facility a check. This is typically a two-party check with both the insured and the repair facility listed. They do this to ensure the car gets fixed. If you haven’t selected a repair facility by the time the insurance is ready to initiate payment, they will sometimes make it out as a two-party check to you and your lien holder. The lien holder is the bank who has loaned you the money for the car. This is because technically you don’t own the car until it’s paid off. If you own the car outright, the insurance company may also simply mail you a check for the estimate minus your deductible. Sounds pretty straightforward, doesn’t it? Well, it’s not always like that. In fact, 99% of the time, the estimate you receive from a repair shop will be higher than your insurance tells you. That’s because the initial estimate from the adjuster didn’t capture all the damage. If that happens, don’t panic. A qualified provider (like us!) will write a list of items your insurance didn’t capture and send it to your adjuster to approve. This is called a “supplement.” An insurance supplement is a complicated matter, but it can be done. Besides the cost to fix the hail damage, your insurance policy may also cover a rental car while your car is in the shop being repaired. Even if your policy doesn’t include rental car coverage, if you fix your hail damaged car at StormWise, we’ll provide a loaner free of charge.*. Plus, we can usually help cover your deductible—simply ask one of our helpful customer representatives about the offer. Will Filing For A Hail Repair Increase My Insurance Premium? The short answer is NO, as hail damage is considered an Act of Nature. However, most insurance companies would tell you that they keep a record of every hail claim, and if you have an exorbitant amount of hail claims, they could drop you. We see this in very rare cases, and it only happens when it’s questionable whether the hail claims are legitimate. Insurance companies actually make up the loss when catastrophic hail damages a large number of cars and homes in one zip code by raising the rates for everyone in the affected area. They get away with this as it’s not technically singling any one individual out who has made a hail claim, but rather everyone in the area, whether they made a claim or not. Upon the next renewal, everyone will have slightly higher

Celine Hobbs July 21, 2020