My car got pummeled in a recent hail storm which left the hood, roof, trunk, door posts, etc. very badly “dimpled.” On top of that, I have noticed several small chips in the paint, mainly on the hood, but also one prominent one at the top of one front door (above the window, along where the door meets the roofline). The body shop guy told me that insurance won’t cover it because “hail doesn’t chip paint, rocks do.” Now, I realize the front of my car is getting dinged by gravel and stones now and then in the normal course of driving. However, I also firmly believe that some of these chips were caused by the hail. I am no physicist, but based on the size of the hail (golfball-plus) and the fact that from what I saw of it, it was not perfectly round, but rather jagged at the margins, I really believe that it is entirely possible that some of the hail that pelted my car chipped the paint in isolated spots. BTW, I was in the car when this happened and felt like I was taking enemy fire. Anyway, my question is this: Is it completely “impossible” for hail to have chipped my car’s paint? I think it’s absurd for an insurance company to say beyond the shadow of a doubt that the chips were not related to the hail storm. Anyone have any guidance for me?
Hail is just ice rocks. Of course they’ll chip the paint. They’re falling at the speed of gravity, which is probably the same or faster than rocks, so to say they can’t possibly chip the paint is absurd.
Hail can definitely chip the paint on the top of the doors. The paint will fly right off with a direct hit. That’s the most vulnerable place for chipping. Paint chips off better than it does anything else. It can chip off the hood too.
not only can hail chip the paint it can put dents into the metal…read this web page for info on repair…
http://www.autobodypro.com/tektips/articles/dent_removal.htm
Why don’t you consult you insurance company or agent about this? I wouldn’t take the word of “the body shop guy.”
No, it’s not impossible for hail stones to chip paint, especially at the upper edge of the door, where stones are unlikely to make contact.
Yes, I have dozens of dents which is why they want to do PDR… that’s ducky for where there is no paint damage, however, where the paint is actually chipped, they cannot do paintless dent repair and restore the car to its pre-damage condition – it will require paint. I just feel like there is a major fight coming with the insurance company, since it seems from everything I’ve read on the web and heard from talking to people, that they will fight having to cover the chipped spots as not being caused by the hailstorm.
I had this exact problem a few weeks aago. The body shop manager said the insurance company wasn’t likey to agree to fix the two chips on the horizontal surface of the rear bumper. The adjuster immediately said the chips would have to be done by the body shop, but that all the dents qualified only for PDR. I returned to the manager with the adjuster’s appraisal and the manager and the adjuster got together. The body shop repaired the chips and brought in their own PDR person to do the dents. The final decision agreed to by the two men resulted in the appraisal being increased from $1000 to over $1500. I paid the deductible and a small “tax” fee for three days’ rental and the car is good as new. Well, actually, it was bought new in March so I still considered it to be new. My insurance company is Nationwide. Good luck and try to get the shop and the appraiser to struggle until they arrive at a fair settlemant.
Anyway, my question is this: Is it completely “impossible” for hail to have chipped my car’s paint?
Yes it is possible for the hail to chip paint, BUT, it is a bit rare. I say that because I have inspected more than 6,000 cars over the years for insurance companies and I have seen this maybe 6-7 times that I can think of.
If you had golf ball sized hail, did the hail not only chip the paint but also break the paint? That means the hail dented the metal and cracked the paint.
My insurance company just denied my claim for hail damage, because I didn’t get dents, just hundreds of paint chips. I KNOW the damage was from the hail, because I had just completely washed, dried, clay-barred, and waxed my car. It was exceptionally slick and these chips did not exist (I couldn’t have missed them). The car is kept in a garage at home and parked in a garage at work. I was the only driver, and got caught in a hail storm 2 days after waxing, where the hail was reported to be jagged and not round. I can’t explain why there are no dents, but the paint chip damage is all over (hood, roof, and sides), due to changing direction while driving. The hail wasn’t huge - I just watched it bounce off my car (wish I had video’d). The insurance company is telling me that it’s impossible, and clearly believes that it is something else (but can’t say what). If anyone has had success in fighting it, I’d be happy to know about it.
Tell the insurance company you need their decision in writing. Not just over the phone. If the adjuster says he or she can’t do that, ask for a supervisor. If they still won’t do it get in touch with you State Insurance regulator and write them a letter of complaint, with all the details. Send a copy of that letter to the insurance company.
Insurance adjusters will tell you all sorts of BS, but when you make them put it in writing thy get a lot more ethical because now they can get caught lying.
you were there when it happened. Why don’t you call your insurance company and simply file a claim?
I would find it unbelievable too if there were no dents. If hail is strong enough to cause paint to chip, you surely must have some dents somewhere/
I had some hail damage, no chipped paint, but a 1k deductable, will not even bother with repairing
I had about 23 dings from hail and the paintless guy took care of it no problem. Zero deductible. I had no chips though. I suppose it is possible but like was said by the expert, it would be rare. My understanding though that some of these paintless folks that do large car lots after hail damage, will actually so some touch up work too.
This has to be a record for oldest thread revived. 
Here’s the deal. Hail is associated with severe weather. Severe weather generally involves very high wind speeds. High wind speeds + very small rocks = rock chips. If the insurance company won’t believe that ice rocks can chip paint, perhaps they’ll be more open to the idea that rock rocks can chip paint.
I’m simply commenting just to keep the thread alive…
Why , and where is your comment.
I am getting the same run around. Hail storm-wind and flood, depending on the direction and much more… anything falling from high above - use of physics… gravity… size do matter… Hate insurance companies…