Severe hail storms hit parts of Europe in the summer of 2019. Our team was tasked with providing services for OEM’s hail damaged brand new vehicles at dealer compound but also for two major events in southern Germany and Spain. In total, we provided supported to five OEMs and three insurance companies, handling a total of over 15,000 damaged vehicles.
Having received the request from our clients, we started to visit the affected storage places in order to gain a first impression of the situation.
- How many vehicles are effected?
- How severe is the damage to the vehicles?
- Is it possible to categorise the damage.
The repair process was agreed upon with all parties.
- How can the cars be repaired?
- Who can repair such a huge amount of cars, and where?
- Who is in charge of the quality of the repair given that the cars are brand new?
Having a clear communication of what is expected from all parties, and close consultation is necessary to establish a repair process which meet all needs.
If possible, insurers and manufacturers prefer to work with Paintless Dent Repair companies (PDR). Those specialist technicians are able to remove dents in the outer surface of the car by employing specific pulling and pushing methods. The aim is to save as many parts as possible, without the need to paint the parts afterwards. As a result, the cars are repaired in a shorter time frame, when compared with traditional repair methods.
Also in the mentioned events, PDR companies were part of the repair process. We coordinated the quotation process. We consulted with all involved parties, and together decided on the best repair process.
We saw the process through from beginning to end, at which stage all cars had been repaired. The tasks included, among others, keeping an eye on the repair process, repair invoice verification and coordination between terminal, insurer, manufacturer and repair company. Maintaining an overview and ensuring good communication between all parties is essential in order to secure a good result for all in such an event.