Surviving the French Hailstones (or not)

[iain26]

We are parked SW of Paris on a campsite, parked under the trees to give us the shade over the hot weekend, it still hit 39c.
Last night we got the thunder and lightning and then hailstones.
End result is dents in the bonnet, a smashed rooflight and a holy awning.
Not managed to borow a ladder to get on the roof yet but hopefully nothing else up there.

I will be making an insurance claim no doubt!

Not sure if the roof light is actually driveable as it is or if it will need fixing before we hit any motorways But i will try some gaffer tape first

 

[Rudski01]

Must be coming down with some force to rip through the awning

Not wanting to put a negative spin as this is a bad experience already but can the insurance wriggle out as act of god clause or words of the same ilk , don’t know the answer and I’m sure someone on here has already been through this, hopefully you’ll get it sorted no problem though.

 

[David and Sally]

Wow. Horrific. Hope the insurance company play fair.

 

[Rudski01]

Must be coming down with some force to rip through the awning

Not wanting to put a negative spin as this is a bad experience already but can the insurance wriggle out as act of god clause or words of the same ilk , don’t know the answer and I’m sure someone on here has already been through this, hopefully you’ll get it sorted no problem though.

The only reason I’m saying this is the amount of foreign vans I’ve seen with serious hail damage that has obviously happened a while ago, I often think has the insurance not agreed to pay.

 

[Dorwyn]

The same thing happened inl village near where I am now, SW France. Apparently hardly any car in a certain area escaped damage, and there was much property damage too. There are amber storm warnings here for tonight. Cross fingers!!

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[Lenny HB]

A bit of a bummer, rooflight should be OK with gaffa tape, just take it easy on the way home. Don't use the Autoroute then no excuse to go over 80kph.

 

[Crazylegs]

It’s a frequent occurrence in Europe, I know a dent man who lives in Majorca, he gets a call following a severe hailstorm, then fly’s in with others to remove the dents from affected car dealers and vehicle compounds.
Earns a king’s ransom then back to the beach.
The dents to your bonnet are typical of the work the dent men can remove without the need for paint repair.
Hope your van is quickly repaired.

 

[Crazylegs]

The only reason I’m saying this is the amount of foreign vans I’ve seen with serious hail damage that has obviously happened a while ago, I often think has the insurance not agreed to pay.

Or the insurance has written the van off, then the owners buy it back and continue using it.
Repairing dents in a motorhome roof is very costly, whole roof replacement might be the only option.

 

[Rudski01]

Or the insurance has written the van off, then the owners buy it back and continue using it.
Repairing dents in a motorhome roof is very costly, whole roof replacement might be the only option.

Perhaps, looking at some I wouldn’t be surprised they’re right offs, think I’m to OCD and it would do my head in looking at them, I’ve spotted some tiny dings in the back locker doors that I never picked up on inspection, they’re now doing my head in as my eyes are drawn to them, certain light you can’t see them in other they’re obvious to me.

Mrs says I need to see a quack I said I’d rather spend the money in fixing the dings any way hopefully the OP gets sorted.

 

[activecampers]

Ouch. Thatd mightily p me off. Probably damage panels as well!
Will check forecast....

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[Ridgeway]

Must be coming down with some force to rip through the awning

Not wanting to put a negative spin as this is a bad experience already but can the insurance wriggle out as act of god clause or words of the same ilk , don’t know the answer and I’m sure someone on here has already been through this, hopefully you’ll get it sorted no problem though.

Here like most local countries you can choose not to have your car repaired but get reimbursed the repair fee minus deductable and VAT and it’s quite a common solution if it’s a vehicle you plan to keep for a while or indeed if you don’t mind driving around a pepper pot.

Nearly all vans here have an anti grele (hail) roof ie a GRP top laminated onto the actual roof skin.

Last strike we had here my neighbours Smart car had no roof afterwards as the hail just smashed it to bits.

 

[pjay]

I feel your pain, several years ago in our previous Hymer we were hit with the mother of all storms down on Piemanson Plage.
The aluminium roof was pebble dashed and both large plastic rooflights were badly cracked, luckily the front of the van is all fibreglass so wasn't affected nor were the sides or rear. Two rolls of bodge tape on the rooflights sorted it out for the rest of the holiday and I replaced the rooflights myself when I returned, the dimples on the roof were not punctured so we lived with it for the rest of our ownership of the van as you couldn't see the damage from ground level.
I did contact Comfort , our insurers and they were happy to cover it as a claim but I decided not to.

Hope you get yours sorted without too much hassle.

 

[MelvSoph]

Our caravan roof was damaged in similar fashion in Lyon 3yrs ago, at the end of similar heatwave.

The insurance (via CAMC) wouldnt mend - they would either write off and gives us the full value of the van, or we kept it and they gave us half the value. We did latter. They are still insuring it.

We were lucky that the car windscreen didn’t go, but we had canoes on roof which overhang and probably saved it.

The dents don’t stop us using it, it was 10yrs old at the time and doesnt owe us anything, to replace would be extortionate (we getting a motorhome but van is 4 berth and young adult kids still like to come with us).

We currently in Dordogne and had thunderstorms overnight but no damage luckily.

 

[gus-lopez]

Must be coming down with some force to rip through the awning

It has to be seen to be believed. I have seen acres of orange trees laden with oranges but with every leaf stripped off . I was amazed.

The only reason I’m saying this is the amount of foreign vans I’ve seen with serious hail damage that has obviously happened a while ago, I often think has the insurance not agreed to pay.

If you purchase a vehicle over 10 years old you normally will not be able to obtain full comp.They do not offer it. 3rd party & 3rd party f&T at best.
most brokers cannot understand either why any one with a vehicle over 3 years old wants full comp?
They cannot comprehend,nor will cover, the fact that you will damage your own vehicle & expect them to pay for your negligence. They don't do it.
It is only if you insure full comp from the outset & under the age limit that you can continue with it indefinitely.

 

[ramsthom]

Same happend to us a few years ogo at a Campsite near Vichy. 2 rooflights broken, roof and one side had numerous dints. The insurance covered it at a cost of £9000. The claim was covered under storm damage.

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[iain26]

Update.
Managed to borrow a ladder and get on the roof. Miraculously the solar panels and the rest of the roof are intact, we are under the tress for the shade so presumably this has also protected the roof mostly.
So just the roof light to deal with.
This is now gaffer taped up but cant reach to drain the water out of it so I guess that will be a lasting reminder for now.

Spoke to the insurance and we are covered. I was the 3rd call with hailstone damage in France this morning apparently.

The car across from us has a smashed windscreen, he is hoping to get home to Holland before replacing it. Other vans have skylights so gaffer tape is at a premium at the moment.

 

[Jamesh]

Reminds me of the great storm of 87, washing lines for guy ropes were gold dust at camber sands campsite!!

 

[hja]

Some years ago near Thiers in France, we were also victims of hail storm. Car bonnet, rear door, one side and front windscreen damaged. Caravan roof and one side damaged. Awning not damaged. August, so local Citroen dealer closed for the summer. Had to drive to Clermont Ferrand to main dealer to have window fixed.
Many on the site damaged. Insurances paid up in full for both car and caravan. Caravan took ages to get fixed, as you would imagine. Discovered that whilst rare in England can happen, and one caravan dealer had many vans damaged in a hail storm.

 

[Crazylegs]

Some years ago near Thiers in France, we were also victims of hail storm. Car bonnet, rear door, one side and front windscreen damaged. Caravan roof and one side damaged. Awning not damaged. August, so local Citroen dealer closed for the summer. Had to drive to Clermont Ferrand to main dealer to have window fixed.
Many on the site damaged. Insurances paid up in full for both car and caravan. Caravan took ages to get fixed, as you would imagine. Discovered that whilst rare in England can happen, and one caravan dealer had many vans damaged in a hail storm.

Yes there was a severe hail storm in the Leicester area that damaged vehicles, perhaps 5/6 years ago.

 

[Jackd]

In Italy recently @ a bar on our site when it started raining.
All the locals sprinted out and moved their cars under the trees in a copse and we couldn’t work out why…. And then the penny dropped

Luckily, the hail wasn’t the size they were expecting.

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[Gaston aires]

We had this in the Dordogne area. We parked under a convenient bridge until it passed through. Golf ball sized hailstones.
Phil

 

[bigwood]

One of managements relatives in Australia bought a hail damaged Toyota. Some of the car dealers had an area of the forecourt with hail damaged cars.

 

[The Happy Hooker]

Yes there was a severe hail storm in the Leicester area that damaged vehicles, perhaps 5/6 years ago.

I lost both a bedroom and a shed window in that storm. Thankfully my car was OK as I was at work 10 miles away.

 

[EuroTrotters]

Grande grêlons

Back in 1991 I had a Brand new Mitsubishi Spacewagon 121 BHP and a BMW 318i 115BHP

My Brother-In-Law had followed us down to St. Tropez for a couple of years in his company car, a Ford Escort Diesel with just 59BHP under the bonnet. It was a real pain as fully loaded, I had to slow down and wait for him on the Autoroute hills.

1992 came and My Brother-In-Law asked could he borrow the Spacewagon to follow me down to the South of France. So he could keep up with us, etc etc.

He did, and on the overnight stop in https://www.lac-de-panthier.com/en/ we had a massive storm around 1 am. Both my cars ended up looking like one of those copper fire cowls (see image).

One dutch families tent caved in. Luckily, they gad sought refuge in their camper.

Returned to the UK, both insurers paid out, no problems. Only thing was, I lost both lost of no claims and insurance premiums went through the roof. Never an offer of a penny of my Brother to Sister in laws.

Fast Forward a couple of years. I asked my BIL if I could borrow his car for a short trip from Manchester to Blackpool. After a lot of bumming n arring and some reluctance, he said yes, okay then. BUT MAKE SURE YOU TOP THE TANK UP.

I borrowed his car and upon returning it to him, have him a right foul mouthful about what a short memory he had.

 

[andyman]

Yes there was a severe hail storm in the Leicester area that damaged vehicles, perhaps 5/6 years ago.

It was 10 years ago next week. I was working I Italy and Lynn flew, out to as it was my birthday. And as a result missed the hail storm.

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[Barryh]

We had a huge purple sky thunder and hailstorm on a site on lake Garda in 2014. The brand new hymer next to us ended up with a roof that looked like the moon. We had punctures through the plastic roof. Covered them with gaffa tape and carried on. Saga insurance covered it without any fuss.

 

[mikebeaches]

Here like most local countries you can choose not to have your car repaired but get reimbursed the repair fee minus deductable and VAT and it’s quite a common solution if it’s a vehicle you plan to keep for a while or indeed if you don’t mind driving around a pepper pot.

Nearly all vans here have an anti grele (hail) roof ie a GRP top laminated onto the actual roof skin.

Last strike we had here my neighbours Smart car had no roof afterwards as the hail just smashed it to bits.

I recall our previous coachbuilt was supposed to have a hail-proof grp roof.

Very sorry to see the OP's predicament. We've been in a few frightening hailstorms in the van in France, and thought the rooflight was a about to shatter at any moment...

Hope he can get it sorted.

 

[Basildog]

It has to be seen to be believed. I have seen acres of orange trees laden with oranges but with every leaf stripped off . I was amazed.

If you purchase a vehicle over 10 years old you normally will not be able to obtain full comp.They do not offer it. 3rd party & 3rd party f&T at best.
most brokers cannot understand either why any one with a vehicle over 3 years old wants full comp?
They cannot comprehend,nor will cover, the fact that you will damage your own vehicle & expect them to pay for your negligence. They don't do it.
It is only if you insure full comp from the outset & under the age limit that you can continue with it indefinitely.

I have seen a Spanish hail stone storm and yes it’s pretty amazing
We had a brand new Laika with a solid fibreglass roof , no damage.
Dutch guy was so happy he was out in his new Mercedes car so only his caravan was wrecked

 

[EuroTrotters]

Grande grêlons


View attachment 632505

Back in 1991 I had a Brand new Mitsubishi Spacewagon 121 BHP and a BMW 318i 115BHP

My Brother-In-Law had followed us down to St. Tropez for a couple of years in his company car, a Ford Escort Diesel with just 59BHP under the bonnet. It was a real pain as fully loaded, I had to slow down and wait for him on the Autoroute hills.

1992 came and My Brother-In-Law asked could he borrow the Spacewagon to follow me down to the South of France. So he could keep up with us, etc etc.

He did, and on the overnight stop in https://www.lac-de-panthier.com/en/ we had a massive storm around 1 am. Both my cars ended up looking like one of those copper fire cowls (see image).

One dutch families tent caved in. Luckily, they gad sought refuge in their camper.

Returned to the UK, both insurers paid out, no problems. Only thing was, I lost both lost of no claims and insurance premiums went through the roof. Never an offer of a penny of my Brother to Sister in laws.

Fast Forward a couple of years. I asked my BIL if I could borrow his car for a short trip from Manchester to Blackpool. After a lot of bumming n arring and some reluctance, he said yes, okay then. BUT MAKE SURE YOU TOP THE TANK UP.

I borrowed his car and upon returning it to him, have him a right foul mouthful about what a short memory he had. View attachment 632499

Clearly I meant “umming and Arring”

 

[Gromett]

Must be coming down with some force to rip through the awning

Not wanting to put a negative spin as this is a bad experience already but can the insurance wriggle out as act of god clause or words of the same ilk , don’t know the answer and I’m sure someone on here has already been through this, hopefully you’ll get it sorted no problem though.

I love that expression. "Act of God"... Is god not responsible for everything? Isn't his grand plan all laid out and immutable? If it is not immutable it isn't much of a plan? Ricky Gervais covered this in an amusing way.

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