My car is swiss cheese. Question... I had some previous body damage on my otherwise perfect fine car (I backed my rear fender into a pole). I never reported that accident because the total damage wasn't worth my time/money. Now that I have hail damage, how will the insurance company handle the claim?
Will be considerd as prior damage if your car is now a Total Loss due to the hail. Meaning, you'll get less for the value of your car.
So... if they consider it a total loss... will they deduct my deductable twice - one for the hail damage, and one for the prior damage? I have been covered by the same major insurance company since I purchased the car new.
I don't think the insurance company will care about the other damage unless you make a claim. They would probably note it though so it might be problematic if you get into an accident that causes damage in the same spot. I've been wondering what happens if my car is in another hail storm. They cut me a check for $900 the first time and I never had the dings removed.
IF it is a total or that prior damage overlaps the hail, it will lessen what is paid to you. If it totals and they deduct for the prior, you can turn in another claim and get paid fully on it. In that case you would incur your deductible for each loss. I guess the best question to ask is, do you think it will total just from the hail? I can give you scenarios with that answer or PM me. I'm an adjuster for 10 years now.
2002 Mazda Protege5. 86k miles. Fully loaded. KBB says it is worth ~6500. It is worth far more than that to me. The prior damage is to the rear passenger door. I'm guessing it would cost me 800 to 1000 to fix at a body shop. The hail damage is pretty much all over the top and driver side. More small dings than I care to count.
Make up some story about driving through hail, and the bad weather caused you to back up into a pole.
Hey Stuck At Work.....my car got pretty f'ed up in the hail storm too. Dents all over the hood, roof, back and some along the door and seem. If I had to guess I'd say at least 100 dents overall...maybe more. Does that sound like your car? My car is an '08 mustang and I'm upside-down on it. Luckily I have gap insurance so even if the value is less then the amount owed to the lien holder then gap insurance will cover the rest. I'm kinda hoping it's totaled so I can just get another because I don't really want to pay deductible and then rent a car for what will probably be a couple weeks. That's a lot of expense right there.
They counted 100+ dings on the roof and hood alone. There was also damage to the entire driver side... and the right fender... and the 5th door (hatchback). I'm guessing if they didn't total my car, they probably won't total your 08 mustang. I'm not cashing the check until I talk to a body shop directly. I'm still considering just pocketing the money... which brings up my second question. If they hand me a check and I cash it... what happens the next time I get in an accident? I'm guessing they will deduct this amount from the value of the car?
Yes, almost all of it was Paintless Dent Repair. On one spot, they found chipped paint so they paid for the full repair on just that one panel.
If any of you had these vehicles parked @ your homes, you can also count on damage to the roof as well. I was on CleverNickName's roof yesterday & even though it's just under 2 years old & a "30 year" (also known as "architectural" or "dimensional" shingle), he's totalled for the shingles AND the metal roof in back.
