What a Hail Damage Estimate Should Include

A good hail damage estimate lists every panel on the car, with a dent count and dent sizes for each, notes on what has to come off to reach the dents, the condition of the paint, and whether each panel gets a paintless or a conventional repair. If yours is one round number with nothing behind it, you cannot check it, and you should ask for the detail.

The checklist: what every hail estimate should show

Hold your estimate up against this list. Every line should be there, or have a reason not to be.

• The vehicle and the dates. Year, make, model, VIN, mileage, the date of the storm and the date of the estimate.
• Every panel, by name. Hood, roof, trunk lid or liftgate, each door, each fender and quarter panel, roof rails and pillars. Panels with no damage should still be listed as checked.
• A dent count for each panel. Not "moderate". A number.
• Dent sizes for each panel. Many estimates group dents into size bands rather than measuring each one. Whatever system is used, it should be shown per panel.
• Access and removal notes. Anything that has to come off to reach the back of a panel: headliner, lights, trim, mouldings.
• Paint condition, panel by panel. Intact, chipped or cracked.
• Repair method, panel by panel. Paintless repair, or conventional repair (refinish or replace), with the reason when it is not paintless.
• Everything that is not a dent. Glass, sunroof, mirrors, lights, mouldings, as separate lines.
• Panel material where it matters. Many technicians say aluminum panels take more time than steel, so it helps when the estimate notes which panels are aluminum.
• Photos. Ideally taken at a low angle with light across the panel, so the dents actually show.
• Who wrote it. A business name and an address you can find.

If your estimate has all of that, you can check it, compare it and stand on it. If not, read on.

Why counts and sizes are the heart of it

Many hail estimates are built from the number and size of dents on each panel. That is why the count matters more than the total. The total is just what falls out at the bottom.

With counts, you can do three things you cannot do without them:

• Compare two estimates. Lay them side by side, panel by panel. If one counts twice as many dents on the roof as the other, you have found your difference.
• Spot a missed panel. Roof rails, pillars and the tops of doors are easy to skip. A panel with no line is a panel nobody may have looked at.
• Ask a precise question. "Why is the hood priced higher here?" gets a better answer than "this seems high".

This matters in both directions. An undercounted estimate can leave dents unpaid. An estimate that prices panels for replacement when the paint would allow a paintless repair can push the total toward the car's value. Under Alberta's statutory conditions, the insurer's liability is tied to the cost of repair and the car's actual cash value, so the estimate is also the number a write-off decision turns on.

Next, the line that often hides the most time.

Access and removal notes

Paintless repair works the metal from behind, which means a technician has to reach the back of the dent. On some panels that is easy. On others, parts come off first: a headliner to reach the roof, a tail light to reach a quarter panel, trim along a door.

That time is real, and it belongs on the estimate. You will often see it as "R&I" (remove and install) with a list of parts. What you are checking for is that it names the parts, panel by panel, rather than appearing as one unexplained lump.

How the work behind the panel actually happens is explained in our guide to how paintless dent repair works.

Paint condition decides the method

This is the line that splits a hail repair into two kinds of work.

When the paint at a dent is intact, the panel is usually a paintless repair candidate: the metal is moved back and the factory finish stays. When the paint is cracked or chipped, that panel generally needs conventional repair, which means refinishing or replacing it.

So a complete PDR hail damage estimate does not just say "paintless" or "body shop" for the whole car. It says it per panel, with the paint condition noted next to each one. A car can have a paintless roof and a conventional hood in the same job.

If an estimate prices panels for refinishing or replacement without saying why, ask. That one question is often where two estimates part ways.

Red flags

Any of these means you should ask for more detail before you rely on the number:

• A round number with no counts. The biggest one. You cannot check it, compare it or question it.
• "Hail damage, whole vehicle" as a single line. Same problem, more words.
• Missing panels. No roof rails, no pillars, no mention of the panels that were checked and found clean.
• No paint condition noted. Then you cannot tell why a panel was priced the way it was.
• Every panel set to replace, with no reasons. Possible on a severe storm, but it should be explained.
• Glass broken, but no glass line. Damage beyond the dents should be on the page.
• Pressure to start work today. In Alberta, repairs beyond protecting the car wait until the insurer has had a reasonable chance to inspect, or consents in writing.

An estimate with none of these is one you can take to your insurer with confidence.

Questions to ask whoever wrote it

If something on the page is unclear, ask. A shop that counted properly can answer these in a couple of minutes:

1. How many dents did you count on each panel, and under what light?
2. Which panels did you price for paintless repair, and why not the others?
3. What has to come off to reach the dents, and is that on the estimate?
4. Did you check the roof rails, pillars and the tops of the doors?
5. Is there anything you could not assess today, such as damage that only shows once a part is removed?

Write the answers on the estimate itself. If you end up comparing two estimates, or explaining yours to an adjuster, those notes save you starting from scratch.

How to use the estimate with your insurer

A detailed estimate is most useful when there is a decision still to be made:

• Before the insurer settles. If your figure and the insurer's are far apart, set them side by side, panel by panel, and ask where the difference comes from.
• If a write-off is being discussed. The decision weighs the repair cost against the car's value, so a second detailed estimate tells you whether it was close.
• If you still disagree. Alberta's Insurance Act has a dispute resolution process for disagreements about the extent of repairs, their adequacy, or the amount of a loss. A panel-by-panel estimate is what you bring to it. The order to do things in is set out in our guide to pushing back on a hail write-off.

For what drives the total up or down on Calgary cars, see hail damage repair cost in Calgary. And remember that an estimate is not a repair: you can get the damage counted while the claim is open.

Your next step: get an estimate you can actually check

Book a free 30-minute scan at the shop, Unit 5, 5915 40 St SE, Calgary, or send a few photos taken at a low angle with light running across each panel. You will get the damage counted panel by panel, with the paint condition and the repair method for each, so the number has something behind it.