Hail Damage

[mharrison]

A storm moved through yesterday bringing some wind driven hail. One entire side of the TT has hundreds of dents, luckily the roof looked undamaged. I've already contacted my insurance agent to file a claim. If it it would have been and old TT I probably wouldn't worry about it but it's a 2019 we bought new and on the passenger side we would be see everytime we're sitting outside. This will be a good test for our insurance and the repair shop.

Oh well it's not going to stop us from enjoying using it until it can be fixed.

[LuckyDuck]

Been there. We got hit with a freak (for us) hail storm last year and it made the front of the TT look like a golf ball if you looked at the right angle. I filed a claim with our carrier, Progressive, and they were great. After a little negotiation, we agreed on a settlement, which went into the “future trailer goodies fund.” It was just cosmetic, not super noticeable, and I’ve all but forgotten about it. We plan to keep the trailer long term and I wasn’t going to risk introducing leaks or other problems by a dealer ripping all the siding off and keeping it for months. I’m a happy camper. Good luck with yours.

[mharrison]

I have Progressive also.

[LuckyDuck]

They were fair, although the rough estimates I had gotten on a repair were more than theirs (big surprise.) We met midway.

[mharrison]

I took the wife out today to look at the damage and did see a few dings on the front I didn't notice yesterday. I'm thinking more like you now, I hate the thought of them having to remove doors, windows, awning and take a chance of it all being put back together right and in a timely manner. We'll see what the adjuster says and go from there. The main thing I want checked is the roof.

[LuckyDuck]

Originally Posted by mharrison

I took the wife out today to look at the damage and did see a few dings on the front I didn't notice yesterday. I'm thinking more like you now, I hate the thought of them having to remove doors, windows, awning and take a chance of it all being put back together right and in a timely manner. We'll see what the adjuster says and go from there. The main thing I want checked is the roof.

I, too, was worried about the roof and particularly the skylight, AC shroud etc. All were fine. I did get a scare by seeing what looked like a long crack in the shower skylight. Turned out it was a long thread of caulk a Jayco worker had dripped on it during construction. I have to look hard to notice all of the dimples in the siding and it’s worth it to know some tech isn’t going to tear things apart.

[Jagiven]

You can get the estimates now, and repair it during the off season. You will get all new seals out of the deal.

How long do you think you will have this TT? Could take the check, paydown on the loan, and just expect a lower future sale price.

[mharrison]

Originally Posted by Jagiven

You can get the estimates now, and repair it during the off season. You will get all new seals out of the deal.

How long do you think you will have this TT? Could take the check, paydown on the loan, and just expect a lower future sale price.

I just spoke with the insurance representative and because of the COVID they're not sending anyone out. I'm going to upload photos and videos of the damage, they estimate the cost from those. I'll also get an estimate from the repair shop of my choice. They'll cut me a check minus my 250 deductible and he expects there will be a price difference, they will cut a check for any increase in repairs submitted by the repair shop. He said the same thing about waiting until the off season and that's the RV's shops bread and butter work. I have up to 3 years to complete the repairs, after that they won't pay for any additional cost.

We bought it in January of '19 and plan on keeping it for quite a while, it's already paid off.

[GL243]

Thanks, I was about to post a new thread asking about experiences claiming hail damage just like this (my Jay Flight SLX has a dimpled-up front now, plus a few barely noticeable dents on the sides, but no roof damage that I can tell), and now I don't have to. Will see how Allstate is to work with now . . .

[oldmanAZ]

When our trailer was new, a storm peppered all 4 sides with small dents. We took the insurance money and spent it on other things.

[Freckster]

I found the heat of the sun takes out most dimples.

[LuckyDuck]

Originally Posted by Freckster

I found the heat of the sun takes out most dimples.

It helps, but I’ve found the deepest ones are there to stay.

[SkyBound]

I lost my first trailer to a hail storm and it was only a year old. Had just paid it off. I was absolutely heartbroken at first. The hail was so severe it not only dented all the aluminum, but pierced the rubber roof and put deep dents into the plywood underneath.

It ended up working out in my favour because I got every dollar back including the tax, and it allowed me to upgrade to a bigger unit without eating the trade in depreciation.

Sounds like yours is fixable, and I agree that is the best course of action on a new trailer with cosmetic damage.

[madmaxmutt]

The Covid (not showing up) thing would concern me, as they could use this as an excuse. Check absolutely everything!!! Get pictures of everything!!! Don't be in a hurry and skip or miss something. Look for any oddity in the roof. We had some hits that actually looked like they came from underneath.

Get up on the roof and look at it extensively. If the underlay wood is broken or cracked, insurance should pay to have that good as new. Whether you do the repairs is totally up to you, but the insurance hopes you won't. Their initial estimate will only cover immediate visible damage and not the full cost of professional repair. That part is just like car insurance.

If the roof is damaged, it depends on the extent. I had one trailer that got a new roof and sheathing. The second trailer (360 days later) was totaled by hail through the roof into the interior of the trailer. Pictures of the totaled one...




Note: Most people will never see hail like we got that day


I almost forgot.... Check the top of the awning. The smaller hailstorm took chunks out of the rolled up awwning.

[Ricky555]

I don't think that people should be talking about getting an insurance settlement to fix a vehicle and then spending it on something else. Isn't that fraud? No wonder our insurance rates are so high.

[JFlightRisk]

It's not fraudulent. The damage depreciates the units value by the insurance amount, so you break even, or so you hope. Or you can put the insurance money into the repair, and the value goes back to what it was before the damage, Like the saying in the commercial, "You can pay me now, or pay me later".

[madmaxmutt]

Originally Posted by Ricky555

I don't think that people should be talking about getting an insurance settlement to fix a vehicle and then spending it on something else. Isn't that fraud? No wonder our insurance rates are so high.

Not at all. You pay for insurance. They pay you for a loss. They won't pay you the entire amount required for the loss, if you don't make the repairs. I believe they actually hope you won't make the repairs, as they save money.

[mharrison]

I'm still waiting on my insurance settlement. I checked the roof, no damage, awning good also. I know my agent and her office workers personally and would never do anything fraudulent. This is the first claim I have had in decades. Some of the dings may come out with heat but there are a lot that won't being on what I call the body line of the siding. Here's a few of the pics I took.

[LuckyDuck]

Originally Posted by Ricky555

I don't think that people should be talking about getting an insurance settlement to fix a vehicle and then spending it on something else. Isn't that fraud? No wonder our insurance rates are so high.

You can thank those of us who take a settlement amount for keeping your rates down. Had I gone ahead and taken mine to a dealer for complete repairs, the insurance company would have been obligated to pay the actual cost, which would have been more. As Jflightrisk said, it offsets the reduced value later from the dings, should I sell. It was worth it to not have some teen-aged tech tipping my siding off and I don’t plan to sell for a long time, reducing the amount of depreciation. I don’t even see the tiny dents anymore.

To the OP: Don’t take their first offer as they will low-ball you. You have some leverage in that they didn't inspect it firsthand. Convince them that it will cost more than they are estimating by only looking at photos, or insist they inspect in person. JMHO.

[64osby]

You may want to find a local repair shop and get an estimate on the repairs. This will give you a baseline to evaluate the insurance offer.