Let’s talk about Hail Supplements: What are they & Why You’ll Likely Have One if You Have a Hail Claim
If you’ve lived in Oklahoma any length of time you are most assuredly familiar with the damage that hail can cause. In fact, there’s a good chance you have experienced storm damage personally. In the past we have shared articles on how to mitigate hail and storm damages (5 things you can do to mitigate hail damages and Preparing fpr spring storms this year as well as on what to do if you sustained storm damage (5 Things You Should Do if You Sustained Damage in Last Night’s Oklahoma Hail Storms and Oh Hail! Here we go again…), but this article is going to discuss what happens after you file a storm damage (or hail) claim…more specifically, hail supplements.
What are Hail Supplements?
So, honestly, for this explanation we can drop the word hail and just say supplements or insurance supplement. A supplement can be defined as an additional estimate for repairs that were left off of the original estimate of record that need to be repaired as part of the same insurance claim incident. For example: An insurance adjuster wrote to have your vehicle’s hail damage repaired on the hood of your vehicle for 20 dime-sized hail dings but once the body shop put special lights on the hood they noticed there were 40 dings instead. Since the cost to pull out 20 dings is half as much as the costs to pull out 40 dings a supplemental estimate for the additional dings must be written and submitted to the insurance company (along with photos for proof) in order for the shop to get paid for the additional costs of labor. This same concept applies to additional parts that are needed as part of a repair that were not included on the original estimate.
Are Hail Supplements Common?
Supplements are frequent in auto body repairs whether it’s a hail repair or collision repair. However, when it comes to hail damage, supplements are almost guaranteed. The reason for this is that the far majority of the time when you receive an initial hail estimate the adjuster or estimator is looking at the vehicle outside in normal daylight conditions. Once the vehicle is in the shop for a repair the “PDR guy” (paintless dent repair technician) is going to put the car under special lighting that makes the dings and dents much more visible.
Additional Hail Damage Sustained After the Claim (but Before the Repair)
Another reason for a supplement can be because your vehicle sustained additional hail damage after filing a claim but before your car can get into the shop for a repair. Often times when there is a catastrophic hail storm it can takes months to get your vehicle in for a repair, and while its not a super common occurrence, sometimes a vehicle may sustain more hail damage while its waiting to get into the shop. Rather than make a second hail claim for which overlapping damage would be difficult to discern, the additional damage is just treated like the usual hail supplemental damages.
What if You Don’t Get the Hail Repair Done
There is not law that forces a vehicle owner to repair their hail damage. Some people choose to retain the check they get from the insurance claim and forgo the repair. While this is your obligation, there are a few things you should be aware of before choosing this option. First, the insurance company will not pay the additional supplemental amount for damages they missed unless your vehicle is in a repair facility – so don’t bother getting additional estimates if you do not plan to repair the hail damages, its literally a waste of everyone’s time. Moreover, you should be aware that if you are in an auto accident down the road, the insurance company can (and often does) deduct the unrepaired hail damages for which you’ve already been compensated for from the overall costs to repair your new claim damages. If you claim that you did repair the damages as your defense they will most likely request photos, estimates, and invoices to prove the repair was completed. While this policy does make some vehicle owners mad at their insurance provider one should remember that the goal of insurance isn’t to put you better off than you were before the accident or incident. Insurance is only meant to put you back to where you were prior to the event. Secondly, if you have a lienholder it is likely a requirement that you have the damages repaired, so check with your lienholder before forgoing repairs.
The Cost of Waiting
Some vehicle owners will choose to wait until storm season ends before getting their vehicle’s hail damage repaired. And while this isn’t the worst idea ever, in fact, several years back when we had a more defined hail season it was a wise idea. The problem now is that we no longer have a defined hail season in Oklahoma. In recent times here in the Okie State we have seen hailstorms hitting nearly every month of the year. In the State of Oklahoma, you have up to 2 years to file a damage claim on your auto policy, so if you do plan to have the damage repaired at some point, you should go ahead and file a claim while the dates and other information is fresh in your mind. Find our from your insurance company how long after the claim you have to repair the damages, too, as every company is different.
We hope this supplemental information has been useful. If you have any further questions about hail supplements, or really anything auto body or auto mechanical related, please do not hesitate to reach out to us at OKC Auto Works (405) 634-8200.