What should I do after hail damage to my car?
A hailstorm leaves you with a dented car and, often, a line of people offering to help. Make it safe, photograph every panel, note the date and place, report the damage to your insurer as soon as you can, and have the car inspected in person, under good light, before anyone repairs it.
What should I do right after a hail storm?
Deal with anything unsafe first. The Kansas Insurance Department's after-the-storm advice, issued after hail and high winds left many Kansans with damage to their homes, vehicles and property, starts there: secure your property, and be mindful of broken glass and other hazards.
On a car, start with the glass. If a windshield, window or sunroof is broken, it comes before the dents. Glass is replaced, not worked, and it is a separate trade with its own place on the estimate.
If you need a temporary fix, such as covering a broken window, the department says to take photos before doing any permanent fixes, and to keep track of what you spend on temporary repairs.
How do I document hail damage on my car?
Photographs are your first record. Take them before the car is washed, moved or repaired:
- Walk around the whole car and photograph each side.
- Then photograph each flat panel: hood, roof and trunk lid. Hail lands hardest there.
- Shoot at an angle, against a reflection. Hail damage shows up under a low, raking light and almost disappears under an overcast sky. Reflected lines bend around each dent.
- Write down the date, the time and where the car was parked when the storm hit.
- Keep every contact and message with your agent, your adjuster and any repair shop where you can find it easily. The department recommends that too.
Expect the photos to miss things. A phone photo flattens the panel, and an estimate built on photos misses what they could not show. Our page on hail damage repair explains why. Your photos are a record, not a count.
How do I find the hail report for my storm?
The NOAA Storm Prediction Center publishes severe weather reports by date at spc.noaa.gov/climo/reports. Each hail report lists a time, a size, a location and a county. For the cities we work in eastern Kansas, our service area pages list the 2026 reports, with the text of each one as it was filed. How the season runs month by month is in when hail season is in Kansas.
A report shows that hail was measured near a place at a time. It does not prove your street was hit. The reverse is also true: the Storm Prediction Center notes that its data may not accurately reflect all storm events, so a missing report does not clear your car. The car itself is the evidence.
When should I report hail damage to my insurance company?
As soon as you can. In its steps for filing a claim, the department's auto insurance guide says to notify your agent or company as soon as possible, and to follow up online or in writing if you report by telephone.
Three things are worth knowing before that call:
- Only the policyholder can open the claim. A repair shop cannot do it for you.
- Your policy sets its own time limits. Read it rather than relying on anybody's rule of thumb, including ours.
- Your insurer makes the coverage decisions, including whether a car is a total loss. The department's guide puts it plainly: what counts as a total loss varies depending on your policy.
You do not need the claim open before an inspection. If you would rather know what is on the car before you call, the inspection can come first.
Should I get more than one estimate for hail damage?
The department's storm advice says to always get more than one bid, and to consult trusted sources to find a reputable contractor. Its auto guide adds two points worth knowing before you choose:
- The insurer does not have to settle on the highest repair estimate. If it believes the estimates are too high, it has the right to check with other repair facilities.
- The claim check is issued in your name. A check goes to the repair shop only if you authorize the shop's name to appear on it too.
When you compare estimates, compare what each one found. Ask whether the car was seen in person, under a light, and which panels get paintless repair and which need conventional work. The difference between the two is in paintless dent repair or a body shop.
How do I avoid a bad repair deal after a hail storm?
Storms bring contractors to the door. The Kansas Insurance Department's warning is specific: be very skeptical of a contractor who pressures you to sign over your assignment of benefits, because that gives them full authority to negotiate and make decisions with the insurance company without you.
Before you authorize any repair:
- Get the terms in writing, including the warranty.
- Ask who honors the warranty once the storm crews move on.
- Make sure nothing starts on the car until you authorize it.
- Read what past customers wrote, in their own words. Ours are on the reviews page, reproduced word for word from Google.
Should I wait to fix hail damage on my car?
There is nothing to gain by waiting on the dents. They do not settle out on their own, and the only thing that changes while you wait is how long you have been driving a dented car. Your policy's time limits are written in your policy, so check them early rather than late.
Who can help if my hail claim gets stuck?
If you cannot resolve a claim problem with your insurer, the Kansas Insurance Department's Consumer Assistance Division takes calls toll-free at 1-800-432-2484, and complaints can be filed online at insurance.kansas.gov/complaint.
To be clear about our side: we are not a public adjuster, we do not represent you before your insurer, and we do not give insurance advice. How the rest of a claim runs is on the hail claim process page.
Hail damage questions from Kansas drivers
Do I need the claim open before a hail inspection?
No. We can look at the car and tell you what is there first.
Who decides if my hail-damaged car is totaled?
Your insurer, under your policy. The Kansas Insurance Department's guide says what counts as a total loss varies depending on your policy, and tells you to review it. What Kansas law says is in will hail total my car in Kansas.
Should I sign an assignment of benefits after a hail storm?
Read it before you sign anything. The department says to be very skeptical of a contractor who pressures you to sign one, because it hands them the authority to negotiate with your insurer without you.
What if the windshield is cracked too?
Glass is a separate trade. It is replaced, not worked, and it should be flagged at the inspection so it does not turn up as a surprise later.
Have the car looked at in person.
Cranio Hail inspects hail damage across eastern Kansas, from Spring Hill, Olathe and Kansas City, Kansas to Topeka and Silver Lake. The inspection is free, we come to the car, and there is no obligation afterwards. When a panel qualifies, paintless repair keeps the factory paint, and every completed repair carries a lifetime warranty, honored by Cesar's team, under the written terms that come with it.