When Jay Burchfield, owner of Burchfield’s Body Shop in Columbus, left work Friday afternoon, he heard the weather forecast predicting hail, but he didn’t think it would be too serious.

Come Monday morning as the shop reopened, he had already received 20 calls and emails requesting service on hail-damaged vehicles.

By Thursday, that number had reached more than 100.

“My computers already had so many different assignments and from different insurance companies,” Burchfield said.

Burchfield said he usually sees some wind and debris damage from summer storms, but when hail gets involved, things get even worse.

After a severe thunderstorm Friday evening, vehicle body shops throughout Columbus have received more than 350 requests for service this week on vehicles hit with hail as small as dimes and as large as baseballs, according to multiple sources who spoke with The Dispatch.

Burchfield said even minor hail damage to a vehicle can cost $750. Major damage — requiring replacements of hoods, roofs or windshields — can climb as high as $15,000.

Alfa Insurance Agent Austin Bowman said he hasn’t before seen so many customers calling to file claims for hail damage. He said those with a comprehensive coverage plan, which covers weather damage, can expect to pay a deductible between $500 and $1,000. People with liability insurance won’t be covered for that damage.

“The common statement around all our customers is that a lot of them lived here their whole lives, 60-70-year-old people, and they’ve seen hail, but nothing like this,” Bowman said. “It was just kind of a freak weather occurrence that nobody was ready for.”

Leanne Hardin, owner of Hardin’s Body and Glass, said her business has received more than 100 service calls since the storm. Because of the influx, she has hired an out-of-shop repairman to come service hail-damaged vehicles.

“We knew we had to start scheduling appointments (over the weekend) to keep people from waiting two and three hours on estimates,” Hardin said. “We have a professional paint and dent repair person coming in to do all those repairs, so it won’t affect what we normally do.”

Robert Cooper, owner of Bob’s Paint and Body, said his crew began prepping for an influx of business after the storm hit. While the shop is trying to ensure quick turnaround time, replacement of panels and windshields could still take two to three weeks.

“The time can vary based on the range of damage,” Cooper said. “It’s one to two weeks, I’d say for a smaller type claim, and larger claims are probably two, three plus weeks depending on the severity of the damage.”

Bowman also said there are likely still more minor claims to be filed because of the storms, and he suggests people contact their insurance companies to start the repair process.

“Next week, we’ll get a few more to trickle in,” Bowman said. “But the main bulk, especially the more urgent claims loop, we’ve taken care of this week.”

But hail damage wasn’t restricted to vehicles.

Bowman said since the storm, 50 people have filed claims regarding hail damage to their roofs, and in a few instances, hail came through them.

“We had several people who had hail piercing all the way through the roof in their attic space,” Bowman said.

Bethany Gore, an agent with Alfa, said a basic home-owners insurance policy covers roof damage, and customers can expect to pay a deductible between $1,000 and $2,000.

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