How to choose a hail repair company after a storm
Choose the company that puts its estimate, its warranty and the name of whoever stands behind the work in writing before you authorize anything. Whether a crew is local or traveling matters less than whether you can check those answers before the work starts.
What should I ask a hail repair company before I sign?
Ask every company the same seven questions, including us. Our answers sit under each one, taken from our terms and this site, so you can hold us to them.
Will I get a written estimate, and what does it cost?
Get it on paper, built from a look at the car under proper light. Whether a panel qualifies for paintless repair cannot be answered from a photograph.
Our answer: the inspection and the written estimate are free, at the vehicle, take about 30 minutes, and create no obligation to proceed.
Who stands behind the work, and how do I reach them?
Ask for a company name, an address and one phone number that will still answer after the storm.
Our answer: Cranio Solutions LLC, doing business as Cranio Hail, registered in Lancaster, Texas, on (469) 966-6477. Read our reviews and the same name keeps coming up: Cesar.
How will you handle my insurance claim?
You open the claim and you stay in charge of it. After storms, the Kansas Insurance Department warns to be very skeptical of a contractor who pressures you to sign over your assignment of benefits, because that gives them full authority to negotiate with the insurer without you. Its consumer guide also says a shop's name goes on your claim check only if you authorize it.
Our answer: only the policyholder can open a claim. At your request we document the damage, send the estimate, deal with the adjuster and file the supplement when the first estimate misses damage. We are not a public adjuster and we do not represent you before your carrier. The claim process, step by step.
Can I read reviews I can verify?
Reviews on a company's own site prove little unless you can find them at the source, under real names.
Our answer: our reviews page reproduces Google reviews word for word and links to our Google Business Profile, so you can check them there.
Where will my car be repaired, and what do I drive meanwhile?
Get the address before you hand over the keys.
Our answer: there is no walk-in location. We come to the vehicle for the inspection, and the repair happens at a partner shop in your market while the crew is there. We can arrange a loaner so you are not left without a car; ask about it at the inspection.
When do I authorize the work and agree on payment?
Nothing should start before you know what was found and what it will take.
Our answer: payment terms are agreed before work begins, and the repair starts only after you authorize it. Where a panel needs conventional bodywork instead, we tell you before work begins.
Is the warranty in writing, and who honors it?
Ask to see the terms before you authorize, and ask who honors them once the crew has moved on.
Our answer: every completed repair carries a lifetime warranty, and the written terms come with the repair. Who honors it is the next section.
Can a traveling hail repair crew honor a warranty?
It is a fair question, and a local shop with a door you can walk through has a real advantage here. We will not pretend otherwise. The test is not where the crew works during the storm. It is whether the company behind the warranty can be found, by name and by phone, after the crew has moved on.
Ours is Cranio Solutions LLC, registered at 1822 N Interstate 35 E Rd, Lancaster, Texas. The lifetime warranty is honored by Cesar's team. Our team goes over the terms with you at the inspection, before any work is authorized, and the written terms that come with the completed repair govern.
Those terms do not cover damage from a new event, damage caused by others after delivery, ordinary wear, or conditions not related to the repair. That is Section 7 of our Terms of Service.
What should make me walk away from a hail repair company?
Promises nobody can keep. Hearing one of these tells you more about the company than the price does.
A dent count or a price from photos
Hail damage does not photograph reliably. Anybody who decides from a picture is guessing.
A finish date on day one
Your carrier's review of the estimate runs on its own clock, so nobody can promise you a finish date at the inspection.
A promised settlement
Coverage decisions are made by your carrier under your policy. A shop that promises an outcome is promising something it does not control.
A promise about your vehicle history
Those reports come from companies outside the repair. Anybody who promises yours will stay clean is guessing.
Questions about picking a hail repair shop
Should I get more than one hail repair estimate?
The Kansas Insurance Department's advice after storms is to get more than one bid and consult trusted sources. Its guide also notes that your insurer does not have to settle on the highest estimate.
Does my insurance company choose the repair shop?
Under K.A.R. 40-1-34, an insurer that prepares an estimate gives you a copy and may give you the names of conveniently located repair shops. Whether you can use a shop of your own choosing, and on what terms, is something to ask your carrier.
Do I have to drive the car to you?
No. The inspection happens where the car is parked. If the adjuster starts talking about a total loss, here is what Kansas law says about hail and total loss.
Ask us the seven questions.
The inspection is free, takes about 30 minutes, and there is no obligation afterwards. Bring the list.