How a Hail Damage Estimate Is Written

A hail damage estimate is written panel by panel. For each damaged panel it lists how many dents there are and how big they are, then adds lines for oversized dents, aluminum, and any part that has to come off so a technician can reach the back of the panel. Panels that cannot be fixed paintlessly get their own repair and paint lines. Read it that way, one panel at a time, and you can see what the estimate covers and what it left out.

Here is what each part means and where missing damage usually hides.

The panel list

The estimate starts with the car: year, make, model, VIN, and your claim number if there is one. Then it lists every panel that has damage.

Hail estimates name panels the way the car is built:

• Top panels: hood, roof, trunk lid or tailgate. These face up and usually take the most hail.
• Side panels: fenders, doors and quarter panels. These often take less, and more on the side that faced the storm.
• Rails and pillars: roof rails, the pillars beside the windshield and the pillars between the doors. They are narrow and easy to skip.

A panel that is not on the list is not getting paid for. That is the first thing to check, before you look at any numbers. The next lines tell you how much damage each listed panel has.

Dent counts and dent sizes

For each panel, the estimate gives a dent count and a dent size. Hail is usually priced from a chart, often called a matrix, that crosses the number of dents on a panel with how big they are.

• Count. Usually written as a band rather than an exact number, because the chart prices bands.
• Size. Measured against coins: dime, nickel, quarter, half dollar. Each step up costs more for the panel.
• Where it lands. A panel just under the top of one band and a panel just into the next are priced differently, so a low count can underpay a panel by a whole band.

That last point is why the count matters so much. A fast walkaround in flat light tends to count low, and a low count drops a panel into a cheaper band. Our Argus 3D scanner documents every panel in about 10 minutes, with dent counts, sizes and depths, so each panel is placed on what is actually there.

Counts and sizes cover ordinary dents. The next lines cover the ones that are not ordinary.

Oversize and aluminum lines

Some damage costs more than the chart's standard price, and it gets its own line.

• Oversized dents. Dents bigger than the chart's largest size are priced individually. If a few big dents are counted as ordinary ones, the panel is underpaid.
• Aluminum. Aluminum panels take longer to repair than steel, and the estimate adds to the price of those panels. If a panel on your car is aluminum, the estimate should say so.

Check each panel for these lines. If the hood or roof has large dents and the estimate shows no oversize line, that is missing damage. If a panel is aluminum and priced like steel, that is missing too.

The other lines that go missing are labor, not dents.

Remove and install lines

To push a dent out from behind, the technician has to reach the back of the panel. On a lot of panels, something is in the way. Taking it off and putting it back is labor, and it is written as R&I, short for remove and install.

Common R&I lines on a hail estimate:

• Headliner, to reach the underside of the roof.
• Moldings and roof rails, where they cover dents or block access.
• Tail lights and side markers, to reach quarter panels and fenders.
• Interior trim and door panels, to reach the inside of doors and pillars.
• Hood insulation and trunk liners, to reach the underside of those panels.

These lines are easy to leave off a fast estimate, because they are not dents. They are still real work, and the repair cannot be done without them. If your estimate has roof dents and no headliner line, ask why.

Some panels need more than PDR, and they get a different kind of line.

Repair and paint lines for non-PDR panels

Where a panel cannot be fixed paintlessly, because the paint cracked, the metal stretched, or a sharp dent sits on a body line, the estimate switches to conventional repair for that panel.

• Repair hours for filling and shaping the panel, or a replace line for a new one.
• Refinish hours to paint it.
• Blend hours for the panels next to it, so the color matches.
• Materials for paint and supplies.

These lines cost far more than PDR on the same panel, which is why it matters which panels truly need them. A panel written for paint that could have been fixed paintlessly costs more and loses its factory finish. PDR vs a body shop compares the two.

Once you know what every line means, you can check your own estimate against the car.

How to spot what is missing

Put your estimate next to a documented count of the car and go panel by panel.

• A missing panel, often a roof rail, a pillar, or a panel that was hard to see when the estimate was written.
• A count in the wrong band, so a panel sits in a cheaper range than its dents.
• No oversize lines when the hood or roof has large dents.
• No aluminum line on an aluminum panel.
• No R&I lines when the damage sits behind a headliner, light or molding.

Missing damage is normal on hail claims. The first estimate is usually written fast, outside, in whatever light the day had. When it comes in light, the shop writes the supplement and sends it to your insurer on the same claim. What a hail supplement is explains how that works, and how a hail claim works covers the whole claim in order.

Check your estimate against the car

A hail estimate is much easier to read with a full count in your hand. Bring your car and your estimate to our shop at 426 Miami St in Leavenworth for a free 3D scan. It takes about 10 minutes and documents every panel, with dent counts, sizes and depths, so you can see line by line whether the estimate matches the car. No estimate yet? Start with a free estimate and have the full picture before the adjuster writes theirs.