Does Insurance Cover Paintless Dent Repair?

When you get a door ding, or small dent in your car or truck, most people just pay out of pocket to repair the damage as it generally costs less than an insurance deductible.  When that cost of repair goes up into the hundreds or even thousands, clients often start to think about insurance coverage and how much their deductible is.  The big question is, will my insurance cover Dent Repair (PDR)?  The short answer is “YES” most of the time it is.

Depending on your insurance policy and coverage, paintless dent repair can be covered under your comprehensive coverage. This type of insurance is optional coverage to take care of damage not caused by a collision.  For instance, it can cover vandalism, or damage sustained from a storm (i.e., hail, objects flying in the wind, and even acorn damage.) Comprehensive coverage may be required by your lender until your vehicle is paid in full.  It’s definitely one of those things that is better to have and not need it, than to need it and not have it for sure.

We had a customer in Wexford who was beyond distraught over his brand-new Acura TL.  He had parked it under his son’s oak tree, and after returning back to his truck noticed the whole hood was covered in tiny little pock marks. It was ACORNS!  Acorn damage is very similar to hail and is completely repairable. We were able to fully restore his hood to its original condition, and it was covered under his comprehensive insurance coverage minus his deductible.

If you are still not quite sure if your insurance policy covers paintless dent repair, you should call your insurance agent or company and ask them.  Then, you can call us at 724-607-8980 or visit our shop at 2603 Washington Road, Unit 3, Canonsburg, PA 15317 for an estimate.  Another option you have is to visit our website https://dentrepairnow.com/ where you can fill out this form https://dentrepairnow.com/schedule-a-repair/ and we will promptly provide you with an estimate.  Once you know what your coverage and deductible is, and you know the estimate of the cost of your repair, you can make the decision that will work best for you.

Another thing that is important to consider, is all paintless dent repair shops or mobile outfits are not created equal.  It is so important to do your research and due diligence when choosing who does the repair work on your vehicle. You can check out this video Gene Fetty made that shows a really shoddy paintless dent repair attempt on a car we ended up repairing correctly, but what could have been a perfect repair, ended up being a “make it as good as we can” repair.  The customer was thrilled and that is what we aim to do, but again, it is so important to do your research.

Look for a reputable repair shop that specializes in paintless dent repair.  Check out their website…look for reviews…you can find them on Google, Yelp, and a host of other places.  I cannot stress the importance of this enough.  If the person doing the paintless dent repair is not experienced, they can cause additional damage that many times ends up costing more and can result in replacing a panel and even painting it. You can see some of our reviews here: https://dentrepairnow.com/reviews/

Another option you may have chosen is to purchase a dent warranty through a third party when you purchased your vehicle.  Working with these types of policies is very different than regular insurance coverage but can be equally as good.  These warranties generally come with stipulations and guidelines.  We do our best to work within those guidelines to give you the best repair within their limitations.

Another question you may be asking yourself is, “What about Hail Damage?”  Hail damage ranging from minimal to severe can be repaired using paintless dent repair and is covered by insurance.  We work closely with all insurance companies to provide the best repairs possible for our clients.  In these cases, we recommend that the first thing you should do after your car or truck has been involved in a hailstorm is to contact your insurance provider and open a claim. Usually, they will send out an adjuster to estimate the cost of repairing the vehicle.  They will recommend either paintless dent repair or traditional body shop, and many times, both can be necessary.  Once you have the preliminary estimate from your insurance company, you can schedule a repair.  We will need a copy of your insurance estimate, so that if there is more damage than was originally written up, we will work directly with your insurance company to be sure all repairs are covered, and you will be responsible for only your deductible.  We’ve had a few instances where the insurance company recommends replacing a panel such as the roof or hood, and we have been able work with the insurance company to save that panel from being replaced or painted!

We had a client just this past January 2023 with hail damage on his brand new 2022 Ram 1500.

He was just sick over the damage. The insurance company had written the repair to replace the roof and our client was deeply concerned about removing panels or having anything painted as he wanted to maintain the original factory paint, and wanted his truck like it was before the storm.  We went to bat for him with his insurance company and explained that we could save the roof, without the additional cost of removing the rear window (it would have to be replaced because it cannot be reinstalled) and dropping the headliner in order to remove and replace the roof.  We could glue pull the panel to an acceptable level for the customer whose main goal was to have the roof repaired without removing or replacing any part of his truck.  His insurance company approved the repair, and our client was ecstatic with the outcome. 

So, in conclusion, insurance companies will definitely work with paintless dent repair shops to provide quality repairs for our mutual customers.  We always encourage our customers to acquire as much knowledge and information about the damage, repair, and cost so you can make an informed decision that suits your needs.  As always, we are here to answer any questions you may have.  You can reach out by phone 724-607-8980 or email us at [email protected]

We look forward to hearing from you!