Car insurance for hail damage

The damage hail can do to your car depends on the severity of the storm. You could be lucky and just have a few minor dents or paint chips. But in a worst-case scenario, your windscreen can be smashed, and there may be enough damage to the car’s panels to make your vehicle unroadworthy.

Hail damage can add up to a significant financial loss, and whether your car is covered for these costs will depend largely on the type of insurance you have.

Compulsory Third Party (CTP), also known as ‘greenslip’ insurance, only protects you against compensation claims if you kill or injure someone while you are driving.

Third party property insurance protects you for the cost of damage you may cause to other people’s property including their car. It doesn’t normally insure you for damage to your own car.

If you’re looking for hail damage car insurance, you’re most likely to find it with comprehensive car insurance. This is the top-level car cover option in Australia, and though it tends to be more expensive than other types of car insurance, it offers more protection. Comprehensive cover is generally the only type of car insurance that covers hail damage.

The best way to know if your comprehensive car insurance includes hail or storm damage cover, is to check the Product Disclosure Statement (PDS) and the certificate of insurance for your policy.

All insurers are required to provide a PDS, which sets out the terms and conditions of their policies, including what’s covered and any limitations or exclusions. You can usually download a PDS from your car insurance provider’s website. It’s a good idea to read this carefully to double-check that your policy will definitely cover you for hail damage as well as flood and storm damage, as these extreme weather events can go hand-in-hand.

In the PDS, it could be worthwhile to take a look at details such as:

• whether or not cover for hail, storm and flood damage is automatically included, or if it’s an optional extra (that could cost more to add on to the policy)
• the definitions the insurer uses when considering claims. For example, the term “flood damage” may mean something different to “water damage”
• what is required of you to be eligible to make a claim, such as not driving into flood waters
• if any waiting period applies on new policies before making flood, storm or hail damage claims.

There is no way to know exactly how your car may be damaged in a hailstorm, so it’s a good idea to understand what your comprehensive cover includes for hail damage. In particular, check that your policy doesn’t limit cover to, say, damage to the windscreen or the car roof.

Depending on the details of your policy, you could be covered for expenses associated with hail damage such as reasonable costs of towing, rental car costs and even the cost of replacing damaged baby capsules that were fitted in the car.

There could also be exclusions or limitations on what is covered, such as personal items inside the car above a certain value, or other people’s property in the car at the time of the hailstorm.

If your insurance provider decides the car has to be written off (which usually means it would cost more to fix it than to buy a new one of a similar make, model, age and condition), the type of car you can purchase to replace it may depend on whether your policy includes cover for “market value” or “agreed value” replacement. This should be on the insurance certificate (or check with your insurer).

Not every car insurance provider is the same, so be sure to check out what’s included in your policy.

It’s worth noting that you could face an ‘embargo’ period – or wait time – on your hail damage car insurance. If, for example, you take out comprehensive car cover, and your insurer knows that a severe weather event is about to occur, you may not be covered for any storm damage that occurs immediately after taking out the policy.

If a hailstorm damages your car, it’s a good idea to find out how your insurer’s claims assessment process works. This can differ between insurers, and may depend on the type of damage that has happened to your car.

If your insurer decides that your car has sustained enough damage, it may need to be examined by a vehicle assessment service affiliated with that insurer. This could be an independent mechanic that’s contracted to the insurer for certain types of repairs or all repairs in a certain location. Or it could be a dedicated assessment centre run by the insurer.

Sometimes, such as for light hail damage, an insurer may request that you obtain quotes for the repair of the vehicle (depending on the type of damage sustained and the conditions of the insurance policy). Typically, the insurer will let you know how many quotes are required, and where and how they should be sent to its claims department.

Bear in mind, you will likely need to pay an excess if you make a claim.

After a major hailstorm, it’s not uncommon to see car dealers offering hail-damaged cars for sale – a hail sale – often at heavily discounted prices.

Some insurers do offer cover for cars with pre-existing hail damage, but you may only be able to insure the vehicle for market value rather than an agreed value.

It can be a scary experience if you get caught driving during a hailstorm. But there are ways to protect yourself and your car.

If it looks like a storm is about to strike, give yourself plenty of time to pull over into a safe spot. Storms don’t just reduce your visibility, the wet weather can also impact your tyre traction.

Turn on your headlights to increase the car’s visibility, and if you can’t find any undercover parking, avoid parking under trees if possible, as they can blow down or drop large branches during a severe storm.

Think about what you have in the car that you could use to protect your vehicle. Budget Direct says a picnic blanket stored in the boot can be used for extra protection. Even your car’s floor mats can offer some windscreen protection in an emergency.

When the storm has passed, and it is safe to do so:

1. Take photographs or video footage of the car and the surrounding area as evidence of the hail strike.
2. Make note of the condition of any personal possessions in the car, and items such as accessories and baby seats.
3. It might be a good idea to gather the names and contact details of any witnesses to the damage.

This evidence can all be helpful to support your claim.

1. Contact your insurer straight away and explain what’s happened. Some insurers recommend getting in touch even if you can’t immediately tell whether your car has been damaged. That way, if you notice damage at a later date, or if a fault were to develop later due to the storm event, it could be easier to make a successful claim.

This call is generally considered to be the beginning of a car insurance claims process (even if you don’t end up making a claim). You will typically be given a claims reference number, which you should record and hold onto. Your insurer will explain the next steps and how the claims process will work.

Regardless of whether or not you have hail damage car insurance, here are some simple steps to help protect you and your car from hail damage.

1. If a storm is forecast, try to make plans to store your car undercover.
2. If you’re planning a road trip in regional areas, where you could be out on an open road for long periods, consider using a weather app that can provide a reasonably accurate forecast of when bad weather will hit. Plan your trip around this.
3. Don’t speed up to beat a storm, as this may lead to a crash.
4. Turn on your lights to improve visibility on the road.
5. As the warning goes: “if it’s flooded, forget it”.
6. Consider investing in a hail-proof car cover – they can start from about $170 to nearly $500, at the time of writing.

So remember, if you get caught driving a hail storm, slow down, turn on your lights, and if the weather is making it too difficult to see, pull over