amorphous

I *just* got my '98 on Friday last week.

It hailed like a bad dawg on Tuesday nite.

the truck suffered 4 pock marks on the roof from the storm.

now, question is....do I turn it in to my insurance?

My wife *JUST* totalled out our van, hence the 4runner. It was 100% her fault. Rear-ender.

SOOO, if i turn this in...will it raise my rates up high?(they are already bound to raise them in 5 months b/c of the accident)



thoughts?

i just can't have nice things!

thanks,
aaron

rimpainter.com

Yes, turn it in. Believe it or not, this is considered "an act of God" in the insurance world, and should not count against you like a collision would. Of course, your deductible will still apply.

Yoda

I would be carefull. Too many claims can=CANCEL.

Is there anyone near you that does the paintless dent removal? Basicly the dent is frozen and then it springs out

amorphous

sweet! - i knew that man upstairs was watching out for me!

seriously, thanks....I didn't know this - i thought any claim was a "claim" and therefore would make you susceptable to a rate hike.

~aaron

rimpainter.com

Insurance companies can vary, so dont mark my word on what I said. But this is a comprehensive claim all the way, so it should not hurt you too bad, if at all.

It could hurt you if you changed ins. companies, because they always ask about comprehensive claims above $1K. But it wouldnt make that much of a difference.

amorphous

I've been w/ this ins. co for 4+ years now....and this would be my 3rd claim ever....but, my 2nd in aprox 60 days.

I'd really hate to see MORE hail damage...but, it is only 4 dings...and we're not outta the woods here in MO for hail storms. How long is TOO long b4 turning in a claim?
ah, decisions.....

Yoda- do ya know what the paintless removal runs?

~a

rimpainter.com

Well if you are an honest person, you may want to do it right away. Remember, reporting it doesnt make it a done deal. You can see how it might impact your rates, and make a decision from there. But I garantee they are going to want to have an adjuster look at it, depending on the company.

JSB

4 Dings could cost only $200 bucks. If your deductible is more, don't bother. Pay for it your self. I've been with my insurance company for years. I can't even remember when I first started with them. I've claimed what was written on a police report as a no-contact hit and run. Basically he ran me off the road. I dodged him and totalled my car. My insurance company handed me $21k. With in a year this Jack A$$ ran a red light and totalled my 1 year old 95 4runner with three month old 32" BFG A/T's, fresh tint, new alarm and stereo, and totalled it. Insurance wrote me a check for $24. These reason why, was it was a friends car. His friend had insurance, but the insurance company said they weren't paying because he was an authorized driver. So I had to file a law suit again the insurance company. It was a two year battle for $27k. My rates never moved, but it has been said before all insurance companies are different.

williemon

I had hail damage to my truck. They did not "raise" my insurance, but they did take off a discount I had. Really though, the cost for you to repair out of pocket would probably be less than what the insurance would hit you with with over the next 3 to 5 years for this claim plus you run the risk of them dropping you for being such a risk. I had a bad dent in the 4 Runner rear quarter repaired by a paintless dent removal place for less than 200.00
Insurance would have adjusted this dent on the basis of pulling, filling and repainting and blending, sooooo, that could have cost them easy 600 to 800 bucks, I would shell out my deductible of 250 at that time, plus have to pay 50 to 100 dollars more per year for the next 3 to 5 years. And I had a clean record for the most part. They say, go ahead, claim it, thats what you pay insurance for. but they mean, go ahead, claim it, we want more money from you, then if you start costing us to keep you, well kick you to the curb.

HBoss

Insurance companies usually cover hail damage w/o hassle. The coverage is similar to say, "hitting a deer" (which I've done). They will cover it and not raise the premium, generally speaking.

AgRunner06

Paintless dent removal can work wonders on a vehicle with hail damage. I wouldn't go to the insurance because there is a good chance that the price to remove 4 dents using paintless dent would probably be pretty close to a $250 deductible.

What if the body shop does a crappy job? Say maybe a little of overspray or the color doesn't quite match. Then you have to go back to the body shop and bitch at them. Then you might not have the rental car while your vehicle is back in the shop.

You are better off just taking it to paintless dent removal. No bondo, no paint, no worries.

Just my $.02