Auto Hail Repair and Covid-19: What are the new procedures?

Dealing with any type of auto insurance claim – be it from hail damage, a major collision, to minor door dings that pop up after a trip to your local shopping center – can be a bit confusing and overwhelming. This year, thanks to Covid-19, insurance companies and repair facilities, alike, are going above and beyond keeping the safety of their mutual customers and their employees a top priority! Due to these necessary changes in standard operating procedures, there can be more confusion than ever on what to expect when filing your claim.

Let’s see if we can shed some light on what you can expect from both your insurance company and your preferred repair center.

Normally…

Under normal circumstances, if you were to call and file a claim for damage caused by a hailstorm, such as the one that recently caused widespread damage to Lubbock and it’s metro areas, you would be simply asked a few questions like,

1. Where was your vehicle parked during
   the storm?
2. What date did the damage occur?
3. What was the approximate time of day?

Your insurer would then assign an adjuster to your case, and they would follow up with you on the best time and place to come and inspect the vehicle and assess the level of damage received.

• Alternately, you might be asked to visit one of their temporary drive through inspection sights that are often set up after a catastrophic hail event. These drive through options, allow a faster turn around on claims for a larger number of people and help to speed along the process to getting your car the repairs it needs.

Once the adjuster has had a chance to look over your damaged car or truck you will be assigned a claim number.

All future business relating to your particular claim will be connected with this number; if you have multiple vehicles, a separate number will be assigned to each one. You can refer to this number on any future calls with your insurance provider. The qualified repair facility, that you choose, will also ask for this number as a reference for when communicating with your insurer on your behalf.

New Plan…

When a large scale storm strikes, it means sending employees into the field that would be in close contact with you, the customer, and your vehicle, making social distancing nearly impossible. In an effort to minimize the amount of exposure to all parties, many insurance agencies have implemented a new protocol to better serve you.

Like so many other things in our world these days, Coronavirus has caused the world of damage assessment to become yet another virtual experience.

But have no fear, if our 1st graders can learn to read while our highschool students turn in Biology reports, and multi-billion dollar companies can continue to run all in this new frontier of virtual living, then we can certainly get through an insurance claim! But a little help never hurt anyone.

• That’s where the importance of finding the right hail or dent repair center can be so important. We all want our vehicles to look great, but our own personal health and safety need to come first.

Repair centers, like Hail Depot in Lubbock, are working tirelessly with your insurer to make sure you get the best of both worlds. Insurance agencies, such as Geico and Statefarm, are now

1. Requesting photos of all panels
2. Video walk around of the damaged vehicle
3. Uploads to their specific system

Once uploaded their adjusters review all documentation remotely. The good news is, this keeps you and the adjuster at a much safer distance than the recommended 6 feet, but can cause problems for those of us who are not quite so tech savvy as your average middle schooler.

The Struggle…

Many customers have been struggling to capture images that show the actual severity of the damage; and, to the untrained eye, damage could easily be overlooked leading to a smaller than required repair check being issued to you.

Another hurdle to overcome, are the difficulties that come from trying to upload video files that are of too large a size.

• Battling this can take time away from more important things – like getting to that next episode of Tiger King.

Make It Simple…

Letting a qualified hail repair technician, like the ones at Hail Depot, do the difficult work for you saves you time, effort, and that splitting headache that comes with three rounds in the ring with your desktop computer. They have the training and experience to get the appropriate videos and images to your adjuster in a timely manner so that repair work can get started as quickly as possible.

Another advantage to letting your repair facility handle the damage assessment for you, is that it can save 2 to 4 days on your repair time. When a customer sends in images that fail to show certain parts of the damage, the repair facility then must take and submit a second round of photos to your adjuster. These photos then must await a second review before approval is given to begin the repairs. This often adds unnecessary time to your wait.

Safety First…

In addition to saving you valuable time, safety for everyone involved is a top priority! That’s why Hail Depot has begun conducting pre and post sanitation practices on all their customer’s vehicles in an effort to protect you and their staff. If you are uncomfortable visiting their office, they offer complimentary valet service to and from your home to limit exposure to you, in an effort to make everyone involved feel confident in these new safety practices.

The world may be a bit different from what we are used to right now, but people in the communities of Lubbock, and all across the country, are finding ways to continue on with life as close to normal as possible. So maybe we spend a bit more time at home, and adapt to a more virtual way of living for a time, but we can still continue to grow and move forward as long as people and companies continue to work together to keep things going and to support one another during this unusual time.

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