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Hail Damage And Insurance Claims...


SW03ES

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Hey gang,

Well my wife was driving home on the GW Parkway yesterday evening and a monster storm blew up. Golf ball and baseball sized hail, she was in bumper to bumper traffic and trapped. I was still at my office in Bethesda and my car was safe in the garage...but it was an incredible storm...I've never seen hail like that. I was on the phone with her when it blew up and it sounded like she was being pelted with rocks...couldn't even hear her. She said it was terrifying, people with shattered windshields and rear glass. Somehow her glass all survived (which surprised me because of that huge and very flat windshield in the Prius) but the hood, roof, and hatch weren't so lucky. 50-60 up to silver dollar sized dents. Really bad.

I'm sure it can all be dealt with with PDR, but its going to be $1,500+ I'm sure even PDR...I mean it'll take all day to do. The biggest comprehensive claim I've ever filed has been for a windshield.

Any tips?

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If you have the money, and its cheap enough, dont claim it. The last time I had PDR done for hail damage was in TX and it was on a sedan, same situaton as your wife, but it only ran $480. I paid with cash, this was in 2003. You might get lucky and find a place that can do a good job cheap, but DC doesnt really have a history of hail. Depending on your deductible, and how long it has been since your last claim, you might get away clean. You might be suprised just how easily and cheaply PDR can be performed. The good places that do it well, do it fast. My car took half a day for 102 dents.

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Oh I've had PDR done many times. I'm definitely going to claim it though even if its only $500. Its a comprehensive claim and wont hurt my rates. They owe me ;) My comprehensive deductible is only $50. There's actually a small star in the windshield too that I didn't see originally, so that will have to be repaired or replaced too.

I bet it'll be more than that here. I paid $200 to have maybe 5 hail dents removed from the trunk, hood & roof of the Lexus. My neighbor had some hail damage repaired with PDR a few years back that was pretty similar in scope and it was $1,700. The hood and hatch of the Prius are aluminum too which is much harder to work on for PDR because it doesn't have any metal memory. So they may have to replace the hood and hatch and do PDR to the roof which is steel.

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Yeah, I can imagine it might be more expensive in that area. In Texas, hail happens every year, there are literally THOUSANDS of PDR shops to choose from, and competition keeps prices low right? LOL.

Yes, with a $50 deductible, I would claim it too LOL.

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PDR is a lost art, but there are many vids on you-tube that show you how to do a DIY. You probably dont want to start learning on your wifes "new" prius though... :whistles:

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Oh I would never do it myself...its usually so cheap I'll leave it to the pros.

Got some estimates.

From my bodyshop, with repairing and repainting the roof, top of the hatch, and replacing and painting the aluminum hood...$4,000-$5,000.

From my PDR guy, $2,000.

Plus the windshield too...

If the PDR can come out well no doubt thats what I will want to do to preserve the factory paint finish. I'm concerned about the aluminum hood though...what may wind up happening is the roof being done by PDR and the hood replaced and painted. We'll see. I'm meeting the insurance company on Thursday I just wanted to see some estimates first so I can be prepared to react to what they offer me...

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SW, that's horrible! :blink: Glad to hear no one was hurt.

I guess it all depends on your insurance company whether you decide to file a claim, i know with my family's company they're REALLY good about this stuff without raising rates.

Just make sure they repair everything correctly <_<

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Well by the terms of the agreement they cannot raise my rates for a comprehensive claim. Its considered an "environmental catastrophe". My agent and I go way back, if he had thought it would raise the rates he'd tell me.

I trust both these shops, it'll turn out great...

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Well by the terms of the agreement they cannot raise my rates for a comprehensive claim. Its considered an "environmental catastrophe". My agent and I go way back, if he had thought it would raise the rates he'd tell me.

I trust both these shops, it'll turn out great...

I would not even give it a second thought file this on your insurance. Comp claims are not going to mess with your rates...within reason. If you file (3) claims over a 6 month term that may be different. Comp claims can be used to determine levels of claim free discounts and/or tiers that you fall into on new business, and even some times renewals depending on the company but most of the time the impact if any at all is so small it still would be worth it to file the claim. A $50.00 deductible is what I carry as well and it is how I issue most policies too.

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Well by the terms of the agreement they cannot raise my rates for a comprehensive claim. Its considered an "environmental catastrophe". My agent and I go way back, if he had thought it would raise the rates he'd tell me.

I trust both these shops, it'll turn out great...

Oh awesome! Hope everything turns out great. Can your body shop get your wife into a rental for the time being? I know there's a law that states your insurance co MUST pay for a rental if you ask for one...

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Oh awesome! Hope everything turns out great. Can your body shop get your wife into a rental for the time being? I know there's a law that states your insurance co MUST pay for a rental if you ask for one...

Maybe in your state...but I can't imagine so. Absolutely not here in MD. Unless you have rental coverage added on your policy it is not covered for this type of claim. You may be thinking about Uninsured Motorist Claims which the rental would be covered.

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