Questions and straight answers

Lance Rankin, based in Roanoke, Texas. I inspect hail-damaged vehicles free of charge, document the damage panel by panel, write a paintless dent repair estimate, and place the repair with a vetted North Texas facility. I am not a licensed public insurance adjuster: you file and control your own claim. The business is Rankin Industries, LLC dba North Texas Hail Guy.

No. The paintless dent repair is performed by a partnered facility in North Texas. I choose the shop, I check the finished work, and I am free to stop using a shop whose work slips — which is a freedom I only have because I do not own one.

Nothing. The inspection, the damage documentation and the estimate are free to you, and there is no obligation to repair with me. I am paid a commission by the repair facility on work I place with them, which is how this works and which you should know before you decide to trust anybody in this chain.

Wise, Tarrant, Denton and Parker counties, from my office in Roanoke. That includes Roanoke, Rhome, Justin, Haslet, Trophy Club, Northlake, Fort Worth, Keller, Southlake, Grapevine, Denton, Argyle, Decatur, Azle, Boyd, Newark, Saginaw, Flower Mound and Colleyville. If your town is not on the list, call anyway.

Yes — every carrier. State Farm, GEICO, Progressive, Allstate, USAA, Farmers, Liberty Mutual, the smaller Texas carriers, all of them. It makes no difference to what I do, because I am documenting your vehicle rather than dealing with your insurer on your behalf. And under Texas Insurance Code section 1952.301 your carrier cannot limit which repair facility you use, whoever they are.

Published industry ranges are $500 to $1,200 for light hail damage and $1,200 to $4,000 or more for extensive damage. Severe damage on a large truck runs above the top of those ranges. A single door ding is $195 to $295. Full breakdown here.

Comprehensive coverage does. Liability-only and collision do not. A comprehensive deductible applies. More here.

On a covered claim you normally write no check beyond your deductible. Making the deductible itself disappear is a different thing, and it is worth asking any shop that offers it exactly how they do it. The honest explanation is here.

Only if your policy carries rental reimbursement, which is an optional coverage in Texas. If you have it, I arrange the rental as part of the claim. If you do not, no shop can create it for you.

No. Several companies in this market advertise one; I do not, because I am not the shop performing the repair and I will not promise something I am not the one standing behind. What I do is choose the facility, inspect the finished work, and stay reachable afterwards.

No. Texas Insurance Code section 1952.301 bars an insurer from limiting your choice of repair facility, and section 1952.302 bars an adjuster from even suggesting that you must use one from a preferred list.

I will not promise you that it cannot. Texas's protection against surcharges for weather-caused claims applies to fire, homeowners and farm or ranch policies by its own terms, and there is no auto equivalent. A comprehensive not-at-fault claim is generally weighed differently from an at-fault accident. Ask your agent about your specific carrier.

Not from hail alone. Texas Transportation Code section 501.091(3)(B) expressly excludes sudden damage caused by hail from the definition of damage used for salvage branding. Your insurer can still settle the claim as a total loss. More here.

Published figures put light hail damage at about a day with paintless dent repair and extensive damage at up to five days or more. Conventional body work with paint runs one to three weeks.

Texas sets no statutory deadline, but your policy requires prompt notice and delay makes the claim harder to substantiate. File promptly. Suit on an insurance contract has a four-year limitations period and Texas voids any contractual limit shorter than two years.

That is what supplemental estimates are for, and a written dent map with photographs is what supports one. Your repair shop prepares the supplement; you send it. If the gap will not close and the dispute is about the amount rather than coverage, personal auto policies in Texas now carry a mandatory appraisal clause.

Usually. That is exactly what paintless dent repair is for, and hail — many shallow, rounded impacts with the paint intact — is the ideal case for it. It stops working when the paint is cracked, when metal is stretched or creased, near panel edges, on ultra-high-strength steel, or on panels with previous filler.

Not yet. This is a new business and I would rather say so than borrow somebody else's credibility. When there are customers willing to speak to you, I will put you in touch. Right now there are not, and I would rather say so.

Monday to Thursday, 10:00am to 2:00pm at the office. Inspections outside those hours are usually fine — hail does not keep office hours and neither do I. Call or text 214-202-1855.