Thousands of cars have been damaged across south-east Queensland and parts of New South Wales in recent weeks as a result of dangerous hailstorms.
The storms have led to about 40,000 insurance claims, for things like smashed windscreens, body damage and in some cases even complete car write offs.
Esk resident Jon Betts lost several cars after a large storm hit the town he lives in, north of Ipswich, in early November.
Parts of his house were also smashed by the “golf ball-sized” hail that fell for over three minutes in the storm that damaged several homes in the town.
Esk resident Jon Betts had several cars damaged in the hail storm. (Supplied: Jon Betts)
Mr Betts said he was relieved his insurer was easy to deal with and he had been paid out for the damaged cars — but there was one factor he had not considered.
“We were paying [our premium] monthly and were only three months into the [yearly cycle],” he said.
“The insurance takes the extra nine months of premium out of the final figure of your payout. That equated to another $1700 off our total payout.
“[It makes] a big difference to your calculation for replacement vehicles.”
Jon Betts said he was thankful his insurance was able to cover the loss of the cars. (Supplied: Jon Betts)
Barry and Elaine Platt were driving to their Alexandra Hills home, south of Brisbane, when their car was hit by hail in a recent storm.
“We thought there wasn’t a storm around, [we were] wrong,” Mr Platt said.
“There was nowhere to go. Like everybody else on the road, we just sat getting hammered.
Barry and Elaine Platt have been getting their car checked over at an assessment centre. (ABC News: Lucy Loram)
Their car received some damage, but they were able to take it to a vehicle assessment centre their insurer had set up for damaged cars to expedite repairs.
According to the Insurance Council of Australia, storms in south-east Queensland between October 26 and November 2 led to 15,150 motor vehicle claims, while storms across the state and parts of NSW between November 20 and 27 led to 24,000 claims.
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“The storm season has really kicked off straight out of the gate,” the council’s mitigation and extreme weather response director Liam Walter said.
“The key message is … get as prepared as you can.”
‘Cricket ball-sized hail’
Suncorp’s head of national assessing Martin Culnane said the company had received about 6,500 claims related to recent storms.
“We’re seeing a proportion of cars that are repairable, but a high proportion that are total losses,” he said.
“We’ve seen a variety of damage in this event, from minor dents caused by pea-sized hail to much more severe structural and panel damage caused by hailstones the size of cricket balls, and even bigger.”
There have been about 40,000 motor vehicle related insurance claims from storm damage since late October. (ABC News: Lucy Loram)
RACQ Insurance had received about 8,255 claims, CEOTrent Sayers said.
“We currently have additional hail assessment centres in the region allowing our teams to expedite motor claims,” he said.
“This includes fixing windscreens, paintless dent repairs and more conventional repairs for severe damage.”
Is there a time limit for lodging claims?
Most insurers are encouraging impacted customers not to wait to make their claims.
“We encourage impacted members who are yet to lodge a claim, to do so as soon as possible so we can get them back on the road as quickly as possible,” Mr Sayers said.
“With more storms imminent this summer, we urge Queenslanders to not be complacent with their preparation around the home.”
Mr Walter said while claims should be made straight away, the repairs don’t need to occur immediately.
“It’s a really challenging time of year, about a month out from Christmas,” he said.
“What we find is a lot of people have big holiday plans, family comes to visit … it’s just not practical to have repairs done right now.
“Have the conversation with your insurer.”
Some insurers have set up specialist assessment centres so they can process customers impacted by storms more quickly. (ABC News: Lucy Loram)
Can you make one big claim if hit more than once?
Different insurers have different policies, so it’s worth checking with your insurer.
Suncorp’s Martin Culnane said it depends on the proximity of the storm events.
“The recent events in Brisbane, that is one claim for our customers and one excess,” he said.
Are hailstorms getting more frequent in south-east Queensland?
Mr Walter said the best advice he could provide was for customers to lodge a fresh claim each time damage occurs.
“If those storms happen very close together they might get rolled on to one claim,” he said.
“If they’re a month apart they’re probably going to be different.
“Your insurer will walk you through it and get you back on track.”
How to protect your car from hail?
The best way to protect your vehicle during a storm is to park in a garage, but Mr Sayers said there were alternative steps people could take.
“If a hailstorm is approaching, parking in a garage is the best way to protect your car, but if that’s not an option, you can opt to park it in a shopping centre or under a carport,” he said.
“Otherwise, investing in a padded car cover or blankets to protect your car and placing floor mats on the windscreen can also help prevent damage.
“If you find yourself driving during a severe storm or hail, slow down, turn your lights on, double your following distance to the car in front to at least four seconds and find a safe spot to stop well away from high-speed traffic, not on the side of a highway or motorway.”