Short hailstorm leaves trail of damaged vehicles

Friday’s brief hailstorm has led to a spike in insurance claims over damaged vehicles.

The hail came in at around 3 p.m. Friday and only lasted for about 10 minutes.

Lisa Mario, manager of Perfection Paint and Body in Saskatoon, said they have about 40 customers lined up for appointments as a result.

“I was getting calls by four o’clock from people with damage on their vehicles,” she said.

Mario said most clients have been reporting dents, with a few having cracked glass from marble-sized hailstones.

“Usually, what that’s from is that there has already been previous damage on the window,” Mario said.

Mario noted while hail dents can look terrible, it’s often not too difficult to repair.

“It’s paintless dent removal for the most part. So it’s a lot quicker and we’re not disturbing the paint,” she said.

SGI reported 2,700 auto claims as a result of the hailstorm.