It Just Hailed. What Do I Do?
What to Do After Hail
It just hailed. What do you do? Hail is always scary. Because it isn’t something we experience every day, it’s often hard to know what to do. Then, of course, all the doorknockers descend. Roofers from all over the country appear in your neighborhood, and every single one tells you that you have hail damage. I want to let you know exactly what you should do if hail hits your home or vehicles. Should hail happen, the first thing to do is get an estimate.
Hail Damage to Your Vehicle
If you only see one or two dings on your car, get an estimate. Nowadays, they have techniques like paint-less dent repair. This option makes it very easy to fix without a new paint job, and it can be done inexpensively. If the damage is greater than your deductible, go ahead and turn in a claim to your insurance carrier. But if the damage is right around your deductible, we recommend paying for that claim out of pocket. Our previous blog discusses how hail claims can impact your auto insurance premiums.
Hail Damage to Your House
So, what do you do if your house has just been hit by hail and you’re worried about your roof? We recommend that you reach out to a trusted roofer. If you don’t know a trusted roofer, we have several roofers here at Hanby whom we have relationships with and whom we trust. We will gladly share their contact information and trust they will give you an honest opinion on whether you need to turn in a claim. Of course, if you have windows or skylights that are broken, that is more pressing, and we recommend turning in a claim for that right away. But if you have many roofers knocking on your door, and you’re not seeing any obvious damage, talk to someone trustworthy first before turning in a claim on your insurance.
Broken Windows and Skylights
If the skylights are damaged or windows are busted, we recommend taking any precaution necessary to prevent rain or water from getting into those open areas. Most of our trusted roofers will come out and tarp those for you inexpensively. Once you do turn in a claim, that would go towards your deductible.
Submitting a Claim on Your Car Insurance
If you have enough damage to your car and you’re going to turn in a claim, what does that look like? Over 80% of the time, the insurance company will work directly with the body shop. When you go to pick up your car, you’ll pay your deductible to the body shop. That said, you can choose to have your car repaired anywhere. So, if you choose a body shop that isn’t directly aligned with the insurance company, they might make the check out to you and the body shop. If they do that, you would take the check to the body shop once the repairs are completed and then write an additional check for your deductible. Or they might make the check out to you and your lienholder. In that case, once the repairs are made, you would have your lienholder endorse the check and they might ask for proof that the repairs have been made. Then you would take the check to the body shop along with your deductible.
Submitting a Claim on Your Home Insurance
On the house, it will work similarly, except that the insurance company will make the check out to you and your mortgagee – minus the depreciation and your deductible. Then, if you have replacement cost on your policy, which most of our Hanby customers do, you would get a second check after the roof has been completed for the recoverable depreciation. The first check would have the deductible taken out, and the second check would be the recoverable depreciation. Then you will sign those checks over to the roofing company and then write another check for your deductible, or you may deposit both of those checks and then write a check for the entire thing, including your deductible, to the roofing company. Please remember any roofer who says you don’t not have to pay your deductible is committing insurance fraud.
Hanby Helps
Here at Hanby, we are here to help you. We do have a full-time claims liaison in our agency who specifically walks all of our customers through the claims process. We’re your advocate. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to us, so we can make sure everything goes as smoothly as possible for you. Thank you!
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