Hail and your rental car in Brisbane: before and after a storm

When does hail hit Brisbane, and how will I know?

Hail comes with thunderstorms, and the Bureau of Meteorology says the peak season for severe storms is September to March, when there's more warmth and moisture about. A storm counts as severe when it produces, or is expected to produce, hail of 2 cm or more, wind gusts of 90 km/h or more, heavy rain that could cause flash flooding, or tornadoes.^[1]

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings are listed on the Bureau's warnings page.^[1] If you keep a car for a couple of months over summer, it's worth turning on warning notifications for Brisbane in the BOM Weather app, so you hear about a storm while there's still time to move the car.

Our storm season driving guide covers what to do if you're on the road when a storm arrives, and why you never drive into floodwater. This guide is about the car itself: keeping hail off it, and what to do if it's been hit.

How do I protect a rental car from hail?

Get Ready Queensland's advice applies whether you own, lease or rent the car. When warnings are issued, park vehicles under cover, away from trees, power lines and waterways. If you can't get under cover, firmly secure blankets or quilts over the car to reduce hail damage.^[2]

• Know your nearest cover before the season starts. At home, that may be a garage or a covered space in your building. At work, ask whether the car park has a roofed level. Shopping centre car parks with covered levels are another option, within their opening hours and time limits.
• Move early. Covered car parks fill quickly once a warning is out, and driving into the storm to reach one is worse than a dented roof.
• Stay away from trees. A falling branch can do more damage than hail.
• Keep a blanket or two in the boot from October to March. Get Ready Queensland also suggests a tarpaulin, which keeps the weather out if a window or the windscreen is shattered.^[2]
• Don't leave the windows down or the sunroof open: hail storms often bring heavy rain and wind with them.

If you're driving when a warning comes in and you can't reach cover, Get Ready Queensland suggests low-beam headlights, a safe following distance, cold air to demist the windscreen, no sudden braking, acceleration or sharp turns, and the lane lines to keep you in the middle of your lane.^[2] Stop somewhere safe, clear of trees, if you can no longer see.

The storm's passed: what should I check?

1. Look before you get in. Check the windscreen, the rear window, the side windows, the mirrors and the lights. Then look along the bonnet, roof and boot lid at an angle: hail dents are easiest to see in reflected light.
2. Photograph everything, even if you see nothing. Take each side, the roof if you can see it, the glass, and a wide shot that shows where the car was parked and the number plate. Your phone records the date and time.
3. Check under the car and around it for branches or debris, and check the tyres if anything heavy came down.
4. Look inside for water on the seats or floor from a broken window or a leak.

Then decide whether it's safe to drive. Small dents on the bonnet don't stop you driving. A cracked or shattered windscreen in front of the driver can: the road rules say you must not drive without a clear view of the road, and traffic, ahead, behind and to each side.^[3] Chips and cracks in the glass are covered in more detail in windscreen chip or crack in a rental car.

When do I tell Rentzy about hail damage?

The same day, with your photos. Clause 9.1 asks you to report any damage immediately, and the photos taken straight after the storm are the clearest record of when it happened.

After a widespread storm, many repairers are booked out for weeks. We'll tell you when the car needs to come in; clause 8.1 asks you to make it available on reasonable notice, and says we try to provide a replacement where practical.

Who pays for hail damage on a hire car?

Read your own booking and terms; ours say this at the time of writing. Clause 9.2 makes the renter liable for loss of or damage to the car during the rental up to the renter's excess of A$2,500 per incident, or the amount in your booking. It doesn't set out a separate rule for weather.

Clause 9.3 lists the cases where the excess limit doesn't apply. Two matter in storm season: water damage from driving through water, and failing to report the incident. So a car that is hailed on while parked and reported the same day is in a different position from one driven into a flooded street.

Charges after a rental are itemised and sent with the evidence, and you can dispute them within the window on fees and charges. Standalone excess cover, or a card or travel policy, may pay the excess: see rental car excess insurance.

Planning a summer with the car

Storm season overlaps Brisbane's hottest months, so the same car park that keeps hail off also keeps the cabin cooler. More on that in driving in Brisbane's summer heat.

If a long drive is planned for a storm day, check the warnings before you leave and be ready to wait it out. A storm usually passes within an hour or two; a hail-damaged windscreen can keep the car off the road for much longer.