Hail Damage in Iowa – Do You Have The Right Insurance Coverage?
Spring is here in Iowa and hail storms are a big part of our weather patterns. Some storms produce hail damage while others produce floods and yet others bring us a light show of beautiful and sometimes scary lightening. High winds, derechos and tornados are also possibilities that we all wish were not on the menu. When storms do strike, knowing that you have the right insurance coverage for you and your financial situation is important. Hail damage happens quickly and as the saying goes, “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure”. Ok, so that is probably a medically based quote, but obviously applies to most areas of life. We don’t want to survive a bad storm only to have to go to the ER for the heart palpitations caused by out of pocket expenses! Knowing your options and being able to ask the right questions of your insurance agent can be the key to a less stressful claim experience. Here at Iowa Dent Solutions, we do what we can to make the hail repair to your vehicle as simple as possible, but we can’t change what your policy states, as much as we wish we could!
Ideally, we all have the best possible insurance policy and company that will help us work through the process easily. When shopping for insurance or just reviewing it every so often, every three years is a standard recommendation, there are some important things to make sure are included. The first thing is to know you have coverage on your vehicle for comprehensive damage. This type of damage is also known as “acts of God” coverage. Things like storms, falling trees or branches, hail damage of course and other natural disasters that can cause damage to a vehicle fall into this category. Liability coverage is the only coverage required by law in most states and will cover you in case you damage another person’s property or cause bodily injuries in an accident. It is recommended that you carry comprehensive coverage for many reasons, but if you can afford to replace your vehicle if it is too expensive or it is not able to be repaired, so people will not carry that coverage. High mileage, standby vehicles might be an example of what you may choose not to carry comprehensive coverage on. If the vehicle is your only mode of transportation and you do not have a nice stash of cash tucked away to replace it, carrying comprehensive coverage is highly recommended. Another form of insurance, usually sold to people when they take a loan out to purchase a vehicle is gap coverage. A lot of people just say no to anything they try to sell you after you have decided on a vehicle and can miss the advantages of gap insurance. Again, making the decision to carry gap coverage is based on several factors. The gap part of the coverage is the difference between what your comprehensive coverage would cover if your vehicle were deemed a total loss and what you owe on the loan for the vehicle. Say you owe $15,000 on your vehicle loan and the insurance company values it at $10,000. Gap insurance will cover that difference. Depending on the gap policy, it may cover your deductible as well, but that will be discussed shortly. Having worked in a body shop for many years, it always breaks my heart to see a customer learn their vehicle has been deemed a total loss only to find out they not only don’t have a vehicle, but they owe the lender more money than they can get from the insurance company. This tends to start a vicious cycle of being “upside down” on vehicle loans and owing more than it is worth.
Deductibles are another big aspect of insurance that many of us do not fully understand when we choose an insurance policy. What is a deductible anyway? Well, it is the amount you pay directly to the shop when you have insurance claim repairs done. Examples are great, so here is another one; You get hail damage to your vehicle and the estimate for repairs comes up to $4000. You have a $500 deductible, so the insurance company pays $3500 for the hail repair and you pay the $500 deductible. Depending on the insurance company, the repair shop may receive the insurance check directly or you may get it in the mail or directly deposited into your bank account. Sometimes it will be written out directly to you and other times it may be written to you and the repair shop. In that case, you will have to endorse the check leaving enough room for the shop to endorse it as well. The deductible amount you choose on your policy has factors to consider as well. If you are strapped for cash, it is tempting to go with a high deductible plan to keep your monthly payment low. What this will mean for you if you were to have a claim is, you have to pay more out of pocket in order to get your car out of the shop. If you are willing and able to have that amount set aside for the possibility of needing it, then go for that high deductible. If you usually only have around $500 or less, it might be worth taking a little time to do the math. If you are only saving $20 a month between a $1000 deductible plan and a $500 deductible plan, you are only saving $240 a year and it would be a better deal to have to pay less if you have an accident. It is your money and you can gamble with it however you see fit, but if it keeps you from being able to get to your job, then it may not be the best game to play. That leads me to the last factor I will discuss regarding insurance.
Rental coverage is that coverage that sometimes insurance agents assume you won’t need if you have multiple cars. But what if you have multiple cars and they all get used regularly? Well, rental coverage will allow you to rent a car while yours is in the shop. Typically it is very inexpensive to add this coverage to your policy. Some people say they will just pay for the rental out of pocket if something were to happen. That sounds nice and easy, but is it really? Most insurance companies have an arrangement with the big rental car companies. This agreement is that they will advise their customers to go to that rental company in exchange for a lower rate. The car that would cost us $65 a day might cost the insurance company $23 a day. Rental coverage usually is for a limited time as well. 20-30 days is the typical amount of time an insurance company will pay for a rental car and trust me, after a few days, they start hounding the shop to see when they will be done with your car so they can quit paying for rental, so don’t keep it an extra day or two because those days will be paid by you. Most policies also provide for a rental of “comparable” size to your vehicle but that is a pretty loose term in the rental industry. I once had a 3/4 ton truck in for repair and the comparable vehicle I got to drive was a small SUV. Good thing I didn’t need to haul a trailer! A few last thoughts on rental cars and rental coverage; beware of where you rent. Airport rental facilities are on a whole different program and charge an airport tax. Don’t know what that is? Me either! But insurance companies usually won’t pay it and it ends up costing you. Also, when you go in to pick up your rental car, they usually ask you if you would like this insurance or that and it is good to know if you are doubling up on coverage. Ask your insurance company first if your policy covers the rental car, usually it does. They offer a deductible insurance which really isn’t a bad deal but is on your dime. That will cover your deductible if you happen to have an accident in the rental car. Driving a different car with different blind spots can be tricky, so don’t blow these offers off, I have seen them come in handy.
OEM Parts coverage
Are you picky about your car and what kind of parts are put on it during a repair? If so, you will want to ask your agent about OEM Parts coverage. Sometimes when we do hail repairs, a panel, usually a hood or trunk lid, is damaged enough that it is less expensive to replace it than to repair it. This is when the OEM parts coverage comes in handy. It means that you are guaranteed the insurance company will pay for manufacturer produced parts (OEM is short for Original Equipment from the Manufacturer) for your vehicle rather than aftermarket or recycled parts. What are aftermarket parts? They are parts produced by a company other than who built it. Sometimes aftermarket parts don’t fit quite as well as Recycled parts? That means they are from a vehicle in a salvage yard that has that part of the vehicle left undamaged. Yes, this is a greener option but there can be difficulties in the shop if the part isn’t as promised (damaged or faded) or doesn’t actually fit the vehicle because it came off of one slightly different from yours. This sometimes happens when it comes off of a GMC as opposed to a Chevrolet for example. Some insurance companies offer an OEM parts coverage option to their policies. If it makes a difference to you, be sure to ask about it.
Hopefully this has been somewhat helpful and you never need to find out the hard way if your coverage is everything you want it to be. Ideally, you have all of your bases covered and do not need to make any changes to your policy. But, if you are not sure, give your agent a call and ask some questions. Make sure they know what is important to you and what is not. A good agent is extremely valuable and will have asked you all of the right questions when you bought the policy. Besides, who doesn’t want to go into a conversation sounding like they know a little something, right?
To get more information and answers to your hail damage questions, visit our hail page at https://iowadents.com/hail-damage/
