03/22/2026
This isn’t a smear campaign; it’s about educating customers and holding our industry to a higher standard. I’ve seen this industry from every angle. And every hail season, we still see the same pattern: traveling hail companies roll into town with aggressive ads – “$0 deductible,” “cash back,” “free iPads,” whatever it takes to get cars in the door. On the surface, it sounds like a win for the customer. But here’s the part that doesn’t get talked about enough… Those incentives aren’t free; they have to be made up somewhere – and too often, that’s through inflated estimates. When estimates get pushed way beyond what’s reasonable, claims get delayed, insurance companies push back harder, and customers get stuck in the middle of a longer, more frustrating process. And in some cases, it gets worse. I’ve personally seen vehicles totaled out because of inflated hail estimates that never should’ve reached that level. Customers lose cars they didn’t want to lose – and some have even had to involve attorneys just to sort things out. That’s not a win for anybody. Another reality is that traveling hail operations don’t rely on long-term relationships. They move city to city, storm to storm, sometimes even under different business names. There’s little incentive to build trust locally or worry about repeat business. Local shops? We don’t have that option. We live here; our customers are our neighbors. We deal with the same insurance companies and adjusters every day. If we cut corners or burn bridges, it doesn’t just hurt us – it hurts the customer experience long-term. And here’s something else that doesn’t get talked about enough… Even when 50+ hail companies flooded our area, pushing discounts, waiving deductibles, and offering giveaways, we still collect deductibles the right way. No gimmicks, no games. Just a solid shop, in the same location for years, built on real relationships and trust in the community. That’s why ethical estimating matters: writing what’s fair, accurate, and justifiable; keeping the claims process moving instead of stalling it; protecting the customer from unnecessary headaches; and maintaining professional relationships across the board. At the end of the day, this industry isn’t just about fixing dents – it’s about doing right by the people who trust us with their vehicles.
