Hail Cracked the Windshield Too: Glass and Dents

Under a standard auto policy, a windshield cracked by hail and the dents from the same storm are both comprehensive losses. Whether your insurer handles them as one claim or two, and with how many deductibles, depends on your policy, so ask your agent before you book either repair. Glass can also be covered differently from the rest of the car: some policies cover glass without a deductible, and some drivers carry separate glass coverage.

Once you have that answer, the rest is about order: document both, let the insurer inspect, then line up the glass shop and the dent shop so the roof is handled once.

What a standard policy says about hail and glass

The standard personal auto policy form lists the kinds of loss it treats as "other than collision", which is the comprehensive side of the policy. Two items on that list matter here:

"Loss caused by the following is considered other than "collision": ... 6. Hail, water or flood; ... 10. Breakage of glass."

So a hail dent and a windshield cracked by hail land on the same side of the policy. Neither is a collision. In plain terms, on a standard form, if you carry comprehensive, the storm's damage to the glass and to the panels both fall under it. What the list does not say is how many claims that makes, or how many deductibles. That part comes from your own policy.

Glass coverage can work differently

Glass is a part of a hail claim where a policy can work differently from the rest of comprehensive. The Insurance Information Institute notes that some auto policies include glass coverage without a deductible, covering side windows, rear windows and glass sunroofs as well as the windshield, and that you can also buy supplemental glass coverage.

In Kansas, the Insurance Department lists glass coverage among the optional coverages a driver can add:

"Auto Glass Coverage Provides for partial or full coverage of a damaged or broken windshield"

So two drivers with the same cracked windshield can have very different answers. One may have glass coverage that works on its own terms. Another may have the windshield fall under the regular comprehensive deductible. Your declarations page is the first place to look. Check for a glass coverage line and for any separate glass deductible. If it is not clear there, your agent can tell you.

If hail cracked a sunroof, a side window or the rear glass rather than the windshield, the same questions apply. The glass coverage the Insurance Information Institute describes reaches those too, on the policies that include it.

One claim or two? Ask before you book

This is the question only your policy can answer. Ask your agent before either shop starts work, and ask it in plain words.

• Is the glass and the body damage one claim or two? Get the answer for your policy, not a general one.
• How many deductibles apply? The Insurance Information Institute says the deductible applies each time you file a claim, so the answer to the first question usually drives this one.
• Do I have glass coverage? If you do, ask whether it carries its own deductible or none.
• Does the insurer want to see both before repair? Ask whether it will inspect the glass and the panels at the same time.

Write the answers next to your claim number. If your household has more than one damaged car, the same questions apply to each, and our post on two cars hit by hail covers the deductible side of that.

Get both documented before anything is repaired

The standard policy asks you to let the insurer inspect and appraise the damage before it is repaired. That applies to the glass as much as to the panels. Fixing either one first can make the claim harder, which is why we wrote a full post on whether to fix hail before the adjuster sees it.

Before anything is touched:

• Photograph the glass. The crack or chips, close up and from a step back, plus a wide shot of the whole car.
• Photograph every panel. Each side, the hood, the roof and the trunk, in daylight.
• Get the panels scanned. Our free 3D hail scan records every panel in about 10 minutes, with dent counts, sizes and depths.
• Note the date and place. When the storm hit and where the car was.

If the crack makes the car unsafe to drive, tell the insurer when you report the claim and ask what it wants done first. That is a safety question, and it is worth asking out loud.

Order the repairs so the roof is handled once

Here is the practical part. A windshield sits right against the front edge of the roof. Roof dents are often worked from inside the car, and to reach the back of the roof panel, the headliner may have to come down.

That means the glass job and the dent job meet in the same corner of the car. Agree the order before either starts.

• Talk to both shops. Tell the glass shop that the roof has hail damage and a dent repair is coming. Tell the dent shop about the windshield.
• Agree who goes first. Let the two shops settle the order for your car, so the front edge of the roof and the headliner area are only worked on once.
• Keep both under the same claim number if it is one claim. Each shop needs the number, and the insurer needs to see both repairs.
• Ask how long each part takes. Paintless dent repair typically takes 5-7 days. Ask the glass shop for its timing too, so the two jobs line up instead of stretching out.

If the car will be off the road for both jobs, you may need something to drive in between. Rental reimbursement is an optional coverage with a daily limit, separate from comprehensive. Our post on whether insurance covers a rental during hail repair shows what to check.

Our page on how paintless dent repair works explains why the dent technician needs access behind each panel. For the full order of a claim from filing to the final check, see how a hail claim works.

Start with the dents on record

The glass is easy to see. The roof is not. A free 3D scan at our Leavenworth shop takes about 10 minutes and documents every panel, so the dent side of the claim is as clear as the cracked windshield when you call your agent. You can also start with a free estimate. Once the insurer approves the work, paintless repair typically takes 5-7 days, and the insurer can be billed directly.