Local Guides · 7 min read
Calling your insurer is not the first step after hail. It is the fourth or fifth. Drivers who prepare before they call have a shorter, clearer conversation and make a better decision about whether to file at all.
Here is the preparation, in order.
1. Inspect the vehicle properly
Open daylight, low angle, one panel at a time. Roof first, then hood and trunk or tailgate, then the upper edges of doors, fenders and quarter panels. Note separately anything where the paint is broken, along with any cracked glass or damaged lamp lenses.
2. Photograph everything
Low-angle daylight shots of each affected panel, wide shots from each corner, and a note of the storm date and where the car was parked. These are your record and they do not depend on anyone's schedule.
3. Find your comprehensive deductible
It is on the declarations page. Hail is normally handled under comprehensive rather than collision. Without this number you cannot judge whether filing is worthwhile.
4. Get an independent assessment
Knowing how many panels are affected and how heavy the damage is turns a vague call into a specific one. It also protects you from under-scoped estimates, since hail counts often rise once a vehicle is read under a light board.
Send your photographs through our free assessment form and we will tell you what we see, whether or not you end up filing.
5. Decide what you want from the call
Go in with your questions written down: how a comprehensive claim is handled, what your deductible is, whether any claim forgiveness applies, and how they want the vehicle inspected. Those are carrier questions and only they can answer them.
What we can answer is the repair side. What we will not do is guess at coverage or promise an out-of-pocket figure that depends on your policy and your insurer's decisions.
Then book the repair
Whichever way the decision goes, book early. South metro schedules fill quickly after a storm and holding a slot costs nothing. Littleton details are on our Littleton hail damage repair page, and general city information is on the Littleton dent repair page.