Hail is a type of weather phenomena that doesn’t come with every storm, and it’s often something that is very hard to predict.
One piece of property that you might feel is a bit of a sitting duck in the face of hailstorms is your car. After all, it sits outside most of the time, and you can’t really avoid where a hailstorm is going to strike. It doesn’t take prolonged storms or large-sized hail to do damage to your vehicle, either. Even minor storms could lead to thousands of dollars in body damage to an affected vehicle.
The good news, however, is that your car insurance can be there to help you out if hail damage occurs. However, you need to have appropriate coverage in place beforehand.
Comprehensive Car Insurance Covers Hail Damage
Auto insurance policies contain numerous types of coverage, each of which designed to cover the costs of unexpected or unavoidable vehicle problems.
When it comes to hail, a type of coverage called comprehensive physical damage insurance provides aid when the insured vehicle sustains damage in a hazard that is not related to a collision (collision damage insurance is offered separately). Storm damage (including damage caused by hail) may have coverage under most comprehensive damage policies.
Still, the thing about comprehensive coverage is that not all car insurance policies include this type of coverage. If you don't specifically have comprehensive coverage placed within your policy when you buy it, then you might be leaving yourself vulnerable to uninsured hail damage.
What Type of Damage Does It Cover?
Most of the time, your comprehensive coverage will cover any type of body damage wrought by hail. This includes damage to the vehicle’s frame, paint, windshield, chrome work and more. It is important to consider the value of filing a claim for limited damage, however.
If hail causes a pockmark on your car, it may be ugly to look at, but it may be inexpensive to fix without filing a claim on your plan. Most car insurance policies have a deductible, and if the cost of the damage does not exceed the deductible amount, the insurance company will not pay you.
Additionally, while filing a damage claim might help you cover your repair bills, it might also lead to a premium increase in time. While this might not happen after a hail damage claim, it still might not be worth the risk of filing a claim if you can easily make the repairs to your vehicle yourself.