Those in the market for a new car who want to save some cash may look at getting a hail-damaged car, but it’s important to know how that affects insurance.
On August 12, a major hailstorm hit Calgary, damaging cars around the city including vehicles at dozens of dealerships.
Some were so badly dented that they were written off, but others only suffered minor damage are being sold as hail sales.
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“The customer has the option when they come in and start working a deal with the salesman to either take the car as is with the damage on, and we’ll give a discount based on what the appraised value is from the insurance company,” explained Ben Maitland, president of Platinum Mitsubishi, where 175 vehicles were hit. “Or, we can send it out and have the paintless dent repair done for them before they take delivery.”
Maitland said as long as the factory paint hasn’t been broken or cracked, the original factory warranty is fine on a paintless dent repair.
However, the deal you make affects insurance coverage. If you buy a vehicle with pre-existing hail damage, you must tell your insurance broker. You can still get full coverage, but there will be a hail exclusion for any future damage.
If you get the damage fixed and provide proof of it, then you can apply for hail coverage again. Those who don’t disclose previous damage run the risk of their entire policy being void.
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