Hail did $5.6 billion in damage through one insurer alone last year. Here’s what your share looks like, and how to decide in five minutes whether to file a claim or pay out of pocket.
The damage menu
Hail produces a short list of outcomes. Each one has a price.
| Damage | Typical 2026 cost | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Chip repair (first chip) | $60–$150 | Resin injection, ~30 min |
| Each additional chip | $25–$50 | Most shops discount chips 2–3 on the same visit |
| Windshield replacement, no ADAS | $300–$500 | Aftermarket glass, mainstream vehicle |
| Windshield replacement + ADAS calibration | $450–$900 | Calibration alone runs $150–$600 |
| Windshield, luxury / HUD glass | $1,000–$1,500+ | OEM glass often required |
| Side window (tempered) | $200–$450 | No repair option — tempered glass shatters or it doesn’t |
| Rear glass with defroster | $250–$600 | Defroster grid and antenna lines drive the price |
| Heavy pitting (sandblasted glass) | Full replacement | Hundreds of micro-chips can’t be resin-repaired |
Two rules hide in that table:
Rule 1: Tempered glass is binary. Your windshield can be repaired. Your side and rear windows cannot. If hail broke a side window, that’s a replacement line item, full stop.
Rule 2: Count the chips before you price the repair. Three repairable chips at roughly $150 + $40 + $40 = $230 is still cheaper than a replacement. Six chips plus a crack is not a repair job anymore — price the replacement.
The deductible math
Hail is a comprehensive claim. The only number that matters is where your total damage lands relative to your deductible.
| Your deductible | Damage total | Move |
|---|---|---|
| $0 (full glass coverage) | Anything | Claim. That’s what the coverage is for. |
| $250 | Under $250 | Cash. A claim saves you nothing. |
| $250 | $400–$900 | Claim. You pay $250, insurer covers the rest. |
| $500 | Under $500 | Cash. |
| $500 | $600–$700 | Judgment call — you’re saving $100–$200 for a claim on your record. |
| $500 | $900+ | Claim. |
| $1,000 | Glass only | Usually cash. Most glass jobs don’t clear $1,000. |
| $1,000 | Glass + body dents | Claim. See below. |
The exception that changes everything: repair is often free. Many major carriers waive the comprehensive deductible entirely on a chip repair — even a $1,000-deductible policy typically pays $0 for a repair. If your damage is repairable, call your carrier before you spend a dime. This is the single most under-used benefit in auto insurance.
Three states waive the deductible on windshield replacement, too: Florida, Kentucky, and South Carolina. Comprehensive coverage required, windshield only (side and rear glass still take your normal deductible). Florida tightened its claim rules in 2023 — no more shop-signed claims, no gift-card inducements — but the zero-deductible statute is still on the books in 2026.
The one-storm, one-claim rule
Hail almost never hits just your glass. It hits your hood, roof, and trunk lid too — and dent repair is where the money is. Paintless dent repair on a moderately hailed car runs $2,000–$8,000 depending on panel count and dent density.
All of it — glass and body — is one storm, one comprehensive claim, one deductible.
That flips the math. A $650 windshield against a $500 deductible barely pencils. A $650 windshield plus $4,500 in dent work against the same $500 deductible is not a decision — file the claim, pay $500 once, and let the policy absorb $4,650.
Before you decide anything about the glass, walk around the whole car in raking light and count the dents.
Will it raise your rates?
Comprehensive claims are not-at-fault claims. They don’t carry the surcharge an at-fault accident does, and a single hail claim is generally rate-neutral at most carriers. A cluster of comprehensive claims inside a couple of years is different — that can show up at renewal. One storm is not a cluster. File without fear; just don’t make a hobby of it.
The post-storm supply crunch
One more cost that isn’t on the invoice: time. When a hailstorm damages thousands of cars in one metro on one afternoon, the glass supply and the calibration appointments run out before the claims do. Lead times stretch from same-day to two weeks, mobile slots vanish, and out-of-town “storm chaser” outfits fill the gap with tent operations and warranties that leave when they do.
The move: get your quote and your appointment booked in the first 48 hours, insist on an itemized quote (glass, moldings, adhesive, calibration, mobile fee), and confirm the shop will still exist next month.
Bottom line
Repairable chips: call your carrier first — the repair is probably free. Broken tempered glass or a cracked windshield: total the whole car’s damage before comparing against your deductible. Under the deductible, pay cash. Over it — especially with body damage in the mix — file the claim. That’s the entire decision.