The paperwork half of a hailstorm
Hail is the rare damage with nobody to blame, and Ontario’s system treats it that way: the claim runs through comprehensive coverage, no fault is assigned, and you pay your comprehensive deductible once. Glass belongs to the same claim — a starred windshield rides with the dented hood under one deductible, because Ontario has no separate zero-deductible glass rule. Notify your insurance company promptly even if you plan to book the repair later; the standard policy expects notice within about seven days of the loss.
The right that matters most after a storm is shop choice. When a cell tracks across Simcoe County, every bench within 20 km books out in a week, and drivers get quietly funnelled toward whoever has capacity rather than whoever they would choose. The choice is yours in Ontario, storm or no storm — and a shop 48 km down the 400 with room on its schedule is often the faster path to a finished car than a local waiting list.
What the stones actually did
A storm rolling off the open farmland west of the 400 arrives at Bradford with nothing to slow it down, and the town’s newest streets are its most exposed: the subdivisions off 10th Sideroad have young trees, full garages, and driveways lined with the second car and the truck. Hail strikes read shallow and soft-edged — dozens or hundreds of them across the hood, roof, and trunk lid — and they hide in flat light. A driveway count at noon routinely finds a third of what assessment lamps find, which is why our documentation happens under lamps, panel by panel, photographed into the claim.
Bigger stones do coarser work: cracked mouldings, split spoiler edges, starred glass, dents with paint fractures at their centres. Those paint-broken strikes are the ones with a clock on them — an open fracture heading into a Bradford winter becomes a corrosion spot by spring. The assessment separates the cosmetic from the urgent so you can schedule with your eyes open.
Repair panel by panel, travel once
Each panel earns its own verdict. Shallow strikes in workable steel are massaged back and the factory panel saved; a roof skin peppered edge to edge is usually better replaced; cracked trim and glass are replaced outright through the same claim. Any panel that gets refinished is colour-matched to the car, blended into its neighbours, and covered by the lifetime paint warranty. The finished test is tactile: run a palm across the hood in low sun and find nothing.
The logistics are built for a town an hour away. Photos and your claim number to (647) 594-3401 start the documentation before the car moves; the booking happens once parts, glass, and booth time are aligned, so the car travels south exactly once; the rental through your coverage is timed to your arrival. Hours are Monday to Saturday, 8 AM to 7 PM, Sundays by appointment.
- One comprehensive claim — dents, trim, and glass together
- Panel-by-panel count under lamps, photographed for the file
- Repair or replace decided per panel, factory metal saved where possible
- Lifetime warranty on refinished panels
