Hail Damage

Hail season is here and there are reports of storms all across the country already. Hail stones can do severe damage to the looks and value of your vehicle. 

Call Expert Dent Repair and let us meticulously massage the dents out of your vehicle using our Paintless Dent Removal technique restoring your vehicles original appearance while maintaining all the original paint and parts. 

Expert Dent Repair method of Paintless Dent Removal is the preferred technique for hail damage removal by  every insurance company in existence.

The benefits of PDR are numerous, not only save value of your vehicle, provide a non-caustic environmentally friendly and cost effective method of repair. Then there is the best part, we can repair your car faster than conventional repair methods.  It's a true win-win.  

We provide this service to top rated, metro St. Louis area Auto Dealerships.  Imagine what a mess it would be if a car dealership with 800 new vehicles in inventory were hit with hail and had to be body shopped. Using PDR, dealerships can quickly get back on their feet selling vehicles for retail value instead of being forced to have a “hail sale” or having the overwhelming task of having to send that many cars to the body shop. Expert Dent Repair has been trusted to repair millions of dollars worth of new car inventory, with 100% satisfaction for the dealer and the new car owners.     

 We have been in the hail industry since 1997 and are experienced in dealing with insurance claims as our process is widely welcomed by the insurance community.

Frequently Asked Questions About Hail Damage Repair

It is always best to allow your insurance company to do what you pay your premium for — restore your car to pre-incident condition. Pay your deductible, and have Expert Dent repair your car.

My car was damaged in the hail storm. What do I do now?

Hail damage is one of the few times you can use your insurance and it’s not held against you. Hail is an act of nature and no one is at fault. So, use it wisely!

Contact your insurance company and initiate a claim. Your insurance company will either send an adjuster to you or inform you as where to take your vehicle in order to have the damage assessed by the insurance adjuster.

I am meeting with my adjuster, now what?

Allow the adjuster to inspect the vehicle and write an estimate to repair the damages. This estimate may or may not be accurate, as it is just an estimate. Many times the adjusters have to inspect cars in less than desirable conditions, i.e. outside, bad lighting, and poor weather.  It is very easy to miss damage this way. In fact, the first step once we begin to repair your car, is to bring it into our shop and inspect it. We note all the damage not listed on the original estimate and contact the insurance company direct.  Expert Dent Repair will handle all this for you, this is a common practice known as a Supplement.  If necessary, we will show the insurance adjuster missing or additional repairs needed.  We work with all insurance carriers big and small.  

Some insurance adjusters will encourage you to have your car repaired by one of their “preferred vendors”.  Remember, it is YOUR choice to have your car repaired by the person or business of your choice. It is illegal for an insurance company or their representative to require you to have your car repaired by any specific vendor. It is not uncommon for the preferred vendors to have representatives present at insurance company claim centers. Do not feel pressured into using one of these vendors.  

I’ve got my check, now what?

Give us a call at 314.219.4142 ext 3  and we will schedule a time to repair your vehicle! 

What if I just keep the money and don’t repair my car?

Most insurance companies will issue you a check once they have estimated the damage to your car. It is not uncommon for the amount of the estimate/check to be substantially less than the actual cost of repairs.  It has been speculated that this is a tactic of insurance companies to minimize the cost of the claim. If you do not repair your car and you cash the check, you are, in effect, settling the claim for the amount of the estimate, when the actual amount of the damage could be, and probably is, substantially higher.

While it is tempting to just cash the check and not have your car repaired, there are consequences to consider before doing so. One consequence could be that in the event of a future damage claim the insurance company may reduce the amount paid on that claim by the amount previously paid for hail damage not repaired. Also, if the claim amount is not applied to any liens against the vehicle, then the vehicle value would not be sufficient to satisfy the lien in the event the vehicle is sold, traded or turned in at the end of a lease. In order to combat this, some insurance companies have started writing multiple party checks. For example, if you have your car financed through a bank, the check will be made out to you and your bank.