Hail Centres and the Saguenay storm
“I was in the car when it happened and it was really scary! I’d seen hail before, but nothing like this! They were the size of baseballs. We’d just come from buying four pillows. We were at the edge of the harbour in La Baie when we saw the dark clouds in the sky. We wanted to make a run for it, but it was too late. We were already in the middle of the storm. A piece of hail hit our rear windshield, making a big hole; then more hail came down and the glass shattered. There were shards everywhere. I told my girlfriend ‘let’s use the pillows to protect ourselves,’ so we put them on our heads and waited. It lasted 15 minutes and it was dramatic.” –Gilles, a customer in Saguenay
What is a hailstorm?
Hail is a meteorological phenomenon that occurs everywhere in Canada. With its mountainous topography, Alberta tends to suffer the worst hailstorms, but Quebec and Ontario are not immune.
In order for a hailstorm to occur, there must be humid air at lower altitudes and cold, dry air at higher altitudes. When a storm hits, clouds rise quickly toward the cold air above, and then come down again. This cycle can repeat itself several times. Hailstones are produced in the up and down movement, and grow in size as layers of ice pile up. When a hailstone becomes too heavy for the winds to carry it, it falls to the ground.
The Saguenay event
On July 27, 2016, meteorological conditions were ripe in Saguenay. Hail rained down on an area encompassing La Baie, Chicoutimi and Jonquiere, alarming residents and causing extensive damage to houses and cars.
An avalanche of repairs
Imagine your car has been damaged, along with all your neighbours’ vehicles. That presents a logistical problem: how to find a rental car when everyone else also needs one. And how to find a garage to do the repairs when they’re all inundated with damaged cars. And then you still have to deal with filing an insurance claim.
To ensure our clients never face such a conundrum, we set up Hail Centres as soon as a storm hits anywhere in Canada.
What’s a Hail Centre?
The day after the hailstorm in Saguenay, our teams were already on the ground. Their mission? To find a location for a Hail Centre. These centres are designed with one goal in mind: to simplify the car insurance claims process by centralizing it under one roof.
Customers simply need to make an appointment, and then show up with their vehicle at the designated time. The damage is assessed and an estimate for the repairs is issued. Any questions customers may have about their policy are answered on the spot and a rental car is provided if necessary.
But there’s more. Whenever possible, repairs are also done at the centre by our paintless dent removal team.
Setting up the centre
To create a fully operational centre from scratch, many things have to happen at the same time: a computer network has to be established, tools need to be brought in, and a customer reception area needs to be set up as well as an area for repairing and cleaning the vehicles. This is precisely what our team manages to do a few days!
Take the example of Saguenay. The storm hit on Wednesday July 27. The very next day our team was already on site looking for a suitable space and then got to work setting up the centre. The following Wednesday, exactly one week after the storm, the first belairdirect customers brought in their cars at 8:00 a.m. The Hail Centre was so efficient that two customers were able to pick up their repaired cars that same afternoon!
The home insurance team pitches in
Just as the Hail Centre was speedily up and running, our home insurance team also quickly swung into action. After the Saguenay storm, agents from many Quebec regions were called in to lend their co-workers a hand with the heavy workload. They conducted many home inspections every day to ensure quick processing of customer claims and give the go-ahead on repairs.
The teams then took proactive measures by visiting customers who didn’t contact our Claims service in order to see whether the hail had caused any hidden damage to their roofs.
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To book an appointment at our Hail Centre, please call 1.877.270.9124
