Car Totaled by Hail? What to Do Next

Start with the paperwork, not the panic. In the week after hail totals your car in Alberta, ask what status the insurer will report, get the two numbers behind the decision, and deliver your proof of loss well inside 90 days. The insurer then has 60 days after it receives that proof to pay you.

The week after a hail total loss, in order

A car that drives perfectly and is still "totaled" is a very hail-specific kind of absurd. It happens every storm season, and the steps after it are the same every time:

1. Ask what status the car will carry. Hail-only damage to the outer body panels sits outside Alberta's salvage definition. Other damage may not.
2. Get both numbers in writing. The actual cash value the insurer assigned, and the repair estimate that crossed it.
3. Ask for the proof of loss form and file it. You have 90 days from the date of the loss.
4. Write down the day it lands. The insurer has 60 days after receiving your proof of loss to pay.
5. Call your lender or leasing company if there is a loan or lease on the car.
6. Empty the car and ask the insurer what it wants done with the plates.
7. Sort out how you are getting around. Loss of use coverage, if you carry it, ends early on a write-off.
8. Decide about keeping the car before you sign anything that settles the claim.

None of these takes long. Skipping one is what costs you, usually as a deadline that passed quietly, a brand nobody asked about, or a rental bill nobody planned for. Keep a single folder (paper or phone) for every letter, form and receipt from here on. Each step is below, with what Alberta's rules actually say.

1. Ask what status the car will carry

Do this first, because it decides what the car is worth to anyone after you. In Alberta, a car totaled purely for hail dents in its outer body panels falls outside the salvage definition, so it is not automatically branded. Broken glass, a cracked sunroof or water inside may change that. Ask your insurer, in writing, what status it will report. Our guide to hail write-offs and salvage status has the exact rule.

2. Get both numbers in writing

Ask for the actual cash value the insurer gave your car and the repair estimate that made it settle instead of fix. If they are far apart, the write-off is probably sound. If they are close, look again before you go further. Our post on written-off car payouts in Alberta explains how the value is built.

3. File your proof of loss within 90 days

Ask for the proof of loss form in writing, fill it in carefully, and deliver it within 90 days of the loss. After a big Calgary storm, with every adjuster buried in files, ninety days goes quickly. Use a delivery method that shows when it arrived, or ask the insurer to confirm the date it received it.

4. Write down when payment is due

The insurer has 60 days from receiving your proof of loss to pay. If day 60 passes with no payment and no explanation, you have a date to point to. If you disagree with the amount, our guide to pushing back on a hail write-off covers the formal route, and hail claim deadlines in Alberta lists every other clock.

While you wait, deal with anyone else who has a stake in the car.

5. Call your lender or leasing company

If there is a loan or lease on the car, call this week. Tell them the insurer has declared a total loss, give them the claim number, and ask how the insurer's payment will be applied and what they need from you.

Then look for the gap. The insurer pays what the car was worth, not what you owe on it. If you owe more, that difference does not vanish with the car. Some drivers bought gap coverage with the loan or lease, which typically covers the difference between what you owe and what the insurer pays. Check your finance paperwork before you assume you have it. Our post on gap insurance after a hail write-off walks through what to look for.

Next, the car itself.

6. Empty the car and ask about the plates

If the insurer is taking the car, it will be gone soon. Before it goes:

• Take everything out. Glovebox, trunk, door pockets, under the seats. Child seats, documents, chargers, the garage remote, the parkade pass.
• Photograph the car and the odometer one more time, for your own records.
• Ask the insurer what it wants done with the plates and registration. Then confirm the next step with a registry agent. Do not guess.

Then work out how you are getting around in the meantime.

7. Sort out how you are getting around

If your policy includes SEF 20 (loss of use), it reimburses the reasonable cost of a rental car, taxis or public transit, up to the daily and per-claim limits set on your policy. Other conditions on your policy apply.

On a write-off, the important line is when it stops. Reimbursement ends when repairs are complete or when the insurer makes or offers a settlement, whichever comes first. On a total loss there is no repair to finish, so expect the settlement offer to be the end point. Line up your next car before the offer arrives, not after it.

If you do not carry SEF 20, the rental is yours to pay for. Check your policy now rather than at the rental counter.

The last decision is the one people make too fast.

8. Decide about keeping the car before you sign

One way an insurer can settle is to pay the car's pre-storm value minus what the damaged car is worth, and let the owner keep it.

For a hail car that still drives fine, that can look like the obvious choice. Weigh it properly:

• Your insurer has to agree. When it pays the full actual cash value instead, the salvage belongs to the insurer.
• The repair becomes yours to arrange and pay for, from a smaller cheque.
• The status question still applies. The hail-only exception means keeping the car does not by itself brand it, but confirm in writing first.

The trade-offs are laid out in what a hail write-off actually means. Whichever way you lean, you need one more number before you decide.

Your next step: get the repair priced

Whether you keep the car or let it go, a repair figure answers two questions at once: was the write-off close, and what would keeping the car really cost?

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 the panels. You will know what the dents would take to fix before you sign anything with your insurer.