Hail damage is a major concern for vehicle owners for several reasons – including the reduction in vehicle value, cost of repairs and the hassle of dealing with your insurance company and getting the damage fixed. Vehicle hail damage repair is essential to restore the aesthetic of your vehicle as well as the resale value. Dealing with your insurance company can be complicated during this process, so here are three important things to know about navigating the vehicle hail damage insurance claims process.
The Vehicle Hail Damage Insurance Claims Process Can Be Lengthy
The reality of getting your hail damage repairs covered through your auto insurance policy is that it’s usually a slow process. Once you file your claim, a claims adjuster will come to estimate the extent of the damage and the rough cost of repairs. Some people may have their vehicle repaired before receiving the check from the insurance company, while others may wait until the claim money comes in first before seeking repairs. However, if the estimate provided by the claims adjuster is inaccurate, you’ll need to obtain a second estimate to dispute their price evaluation then negotiate with them to ensure they’ll acknowledge and pay for the true cost of repairs.
Assuming nothing else happens to your vehicle in the meantime, there shouldn’t be any additional issues. However, as anyone who has been in a hailstorm knows, they can come in the blink of an eye. If additional damage occurs to your vehicle before your claim is processed, the original hail damage can be considered preexisting damage and not be covered. That’s why it is best to get the damage repaired as quickly as possible, through efficient and cost-effective methods like paintless dent repair.
Additional Vehicle Damage Can Invalidate Your Claim
The insurance industry is a major for-profit industry, a fact that many vehicle owners seem to forget. It should come as no surprise that insurance companies are not required to pay out claims that they consider superfluous or unneeded. This means if they find your claim to be invalid, they likely won’t pay for your hail damage repair or car dent repair. This can include denying your claim for hail damage repairs because of a fender bender that happened after the hail damage occurred. Or, if your car sustains damage that exceeds its value, your insurance company will consider the car is totaled. This not only means they won’t cover the price of your car dent repair, it also means your insurance company will only pay you the current value (including the value reduction due to damage) of your car.
Repair Estimates Are Not Always Accurate
A simple reality is that claims adjusters are human beings, which means that they can make mistakes like anyone else. Hail damage in particular is difficult to evaluate since there may be damage that is hard to see due to shadows, and without the proper lighting can be easily overlooked. Hail damage mostly occurs on the hood, roof and trunk of a car, but hail can ding and dent other places on your vehicle too. With hail damage there are often some dents can be small and harder to notice, making evaluating the damage a challenging job. Without specialized lighting, your claims adjuster can miscalculate the extent of damage, so make sure to seek out an itemized estimate from a reputable dent shop near you. Hail damage can be extensive, but it is often a repairable form of damage with modern techniques such as paintless dent repair.
Having to get vehicle hail damage repair can be intimidating for some car owners, and insurance companies may complicate the process if you don’t know how to communicate and negotiate with them. That’s why when you are researching local paintless dent repair shops, you should also ask if they can assist you with filing your claim and working with your insurance company. Not all shops are invested in providing this customer service, but it’s worth finding a repair shop that can provide accurate estimates and skillful PDR work along with insurance claim management assistance. At Dent Shop, we tick all those boxes in order to provide top-notch repairs and customer service. For a free estimate today to get started on your hail damage repairs, contact us at Dent Shop!