The Hail Yeah Blog
Straight answers on hail repair.
What your insurer covers, what PDR actually is, and what your repair should cost. Written from a Calgary shop floor, not a content farm.
Calgary Hail Damage Repair: The Complete Guide
What hail damage actually is, PDR vs a respray, what the repair costs, how the insurance claim works, and how to start. Every answer in one place.
Car Written Off by Hail? How the Payout Works
You are paid what the car was worth just before the storm, and the insurer has a deadline to pay it. Here is how the number is worked out, when the clock starts, and the decisions that move it.
Calgary Hail Storm Warning: Where to Park
Ranked parking options for a Calgary hail warning, from the best roof to no roof, plus how to hear about the storm in time and what to do once it passes.
SEF 43 After Hail: Waiver of Depreciation
On a newer car, SEF 43R can change a hail write-off from a depreciated value to what you paid or the sticker price, whichever is lower. Here is who qualifies, what it does not do, and how to check your policy.
Rental Car During Hail Repair in Alberta
A rental during hail repair is paid back only if your policy carries SEF 20, Alberta's loss of use endorsement. Here is what it covers, the day the clock starts, the day it stops, and how to time the drop-off.
Car Totaled by Hail? What to Do Next
An ordered checklist for the week after a hail total loss in Alberta: the status question, the 90-day proof of loss, the 60-day payment clock, your lender, and the keep-the-car option.
Is Paintless Dent Repair Permanent?
A finished PDR repair is meant to stay finished. When a dent seems to return, it is usually an unfinished repair or new damage. How to tell which, and what to ask for.
Inflatable Car Hail Protectors: Worth It?
No hype, just the trade-offs: setup time against warning time, wind, power, storage, and the cases where a garage or parkade beats any inflatable.
Picking a Paintless Dent Repair Shop in Calgary
Seven plain questions that separate a careful PDR shop from a fast one, plus the answers worth hearing. Ask them everywhere, including here.
How to Check Your Car for Hail Damage
Hail dents hide in flat light and show up in the right one. The order, the angles and the photos that find them, plus everything to check that is not a panel.
How Paintless Dent Repair (PDR) Works
PDR moves the metal back instead of filling over it. Here is what a technician actually does, in order, and why your factory paint stays on the car.
Hail Write-Offs and Salvage Status in Alberta
Alberta's salvage rules carve out an exception for hail. If dents in the outer body panels are the only damage, a write-off does not make the car a salvage vehicle. Here is the exact rule, where it stops applying, and what happens if a brand does apply.
Fix Hail Damage Before Winter or Wait?
The dents will survive winter unchanged. The chips will not, and neither will your options if the claim sits or the car is sold in spring. A short decision guide for Calgary drivers who were planning to deal with it later.
What a Hail Damage Estimate Should Include
A hail estimate you cannot check is just a number. Here is what a complete one shows, panel by panel, the red flags that mean you should ask for more, and how to use it with your insurer.
Hail Claim Deadlines in Alberta
Alberta's Insurance Act puts a clock on almost every step of a hail claim, some on you and some on your insurer. Here is each one, what starts it, and a simple calendar to keep on the fridge.
Hail Blankets for Cars: Do They Help?
The improvised hail layer, done properly: how thick, how to hold it down in wind, why wet weight matters, and why you never drag it across your paint.
Gap Insurance After a Hail Write-Off
Your insurer pays what the car was worth, not what you owe on it. Here is where the gap comes from after a hail total loss, what usually fills it, what does not, and the paperwork to check before you sign.
Hail on Your Fleet or Dealer Lot?
One hail-damaged car is a repair. A yard full of them is a project. How fleet and lot hail repair is usually organized so the units that can keep working do.
Can You Fix Hail Damage on Your Car Yourself?
The internet has a trick for every hail dent. What each one is supposed to do, why hail dents ignore most of them, and the DIY steps that genuinely help.
Hail Write-Off in Alberta? How to Push Back
A write-off is the insurer comparing two numbers. You can ask for both, bring your own estimate, and if that does not settle it, use the dispute resolution process in Alberta's Insurance Act. Here is the order to do it in.
Do Dent Pullers Work? DIY Kits vs PDR
Some shallow dents really do pop with a suction cup. Most do not, and the wrong tool turns a simple paintless repair into a repaint. Here is how to tell which one you have before you buy anything.
Car Hail Covers in Calgary: What Works
A hail cover is padding, not armour. What each type does, the features that matter, the paint damage a cover can cause on its own, and the hail no cover stops.
Hail Watch vs Warning in Calgary
Watch or warning, what to do with your car on each, how WeatherCAN and the new 2026 polygon warnings work, and why Alert Ready stays quiet for most hail.
Did Hail Hit Your Area in Calgary? How to Check
A hail map shows where a storm went, not what landed on your driveway. What each honest source can tell you, and how to check the car itself.
Buying a Hail-Damaged Car in Calgary
A dented car can be a fair deal, if you price the dents before you price the car. What AMVIC says a dealer has to tell you, why a clean status does not prove a clean history, and how to inspect one properly.
Hail Damage on Aluminum: Skip the Dent Puller
Aluminum is the hard case in hail repair. What makes it different, what that means for your repair, and why an aluminum dent puller from a kit is not the answer.
Written Off by Hail in Alberta? What That Actually Means
A car with no mechanical damage at all can be declared a total loss on hail alone. Here is how that decision gets made, why hail-only damage is not branded salvage, when a brand can still apply, and the lever you have before it is decided.
Can You Pick Your Own Hail Repair Shop in Alberta?
Recommended is not the same as required, and the difference is worth knowing before you agree to anything. The specific phrases to listen for and the two questions that settle it.
Cashing a Hail Cheque and Skipping the Repair
It is your money and usually your choice. The consequences land later, on the next claim and at the next inspection, and almost nobody explains them at the time.
Selling a Hail-Damaged Car in Calgary
What a dealer does at appraisal, how a hail claim shows on a history report, and the arithmetic of repairing before you sell. Worked with real numbers.
Hail on a Leased or Financed Car in Alberta
What the contract actually requires, why the lienholder is on the cheque, and the honest answer on keeping the money instead of repairing.
Calgary Hail Season: When It Hits and What to Do
The season window, why Calgary sits where it does, the 48 hours that matter most, and why repair calendars fill the week after a big one.
Door Ding Repair Calgary | What It Costs to Fix
The most common dent in Calgary, what it costs, and why the suction cup kit on Amazon will cost you more than the ding did.
How Much Does Dent Repair Cost in Calgary?
What one dent really costs in Calgary, why size matters less than location, and when a body shop is the wrong call.
Can Paintless Dent Repair Fix Any Dent?
PDR fixes most dents but not all. The four things that rule it out, and why a shop that says yes to everything should worry you.
Hail Damage on the Hood or Roof: Fixable?
Why hoods and roofs take the worst of a storm, when paintless dent repair restores them to factory-straight, and the honest cases where it cannot.
How Long Does Hail Repair Take? Real Timelines
Realistic timelines for paintless dent repair, why it beats a respray, and the honest variables that stretch a job. What to actually expect.
Does Insurance Cover Hail Damage in Alberta?
What comprehensive coverage actually pays for, who is protected, what is not covered, and where your deductible fits. The plain-English coverage explainer.
Is Hail Damage Worth Fixing? An Honest Answer
What unrepaired dents cost you at resale, when a repair pays for itself, and the honest cases where it does not. Then see your own number.
Does a Hail Claim Raise Your Rates in Alberta?
The honest answer for Alberta drivers: hail is comprehensive, not at-fault, and a single claim usually does not raise your rate.
After a Calgary Hailstorm: Your First 48 Hours
A fast-action checklist for the first 48 hours: document the damage, protect the car, and know your number first.
Paintless Dent Repair vs a Body Shop
Why PDR keeps your factory paint, finishes in days instead of weeks, and skips the colour-match risk of a respray.
How an Alberta Hail Insurance Claim Works
The claim, step by step: comprehensive coverage, the adjuster, the paperwork, and the parts we run for you.
Hail Damage Repair Cost in Calgary
Real repair ranges, what pushes the number up or down, and how to see your own figure in 3 minutes.
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