Two different numbers matter. The shop time is how long your vehicle sits in our bay. The claim timeline is how long until you get your keys back. They're very different numbers, and confusing them is how customers end up frustrated.
Shop time: 3 hours to 8 days, by severity
Light damage (50-100 dents, dime-to-nickel size, 3-5 panels): 3-6 hours. Often same-day turnaround. One technician, no major R&I work beyond removing a trim piece or two.
Moderate damage (100-300 dents, nickel-to-quarter size, 6-10 panels): 1-3 shop days. Two techs working in parallel on different panels. Headliner removal typical for roof work.
Severe damage (300+ dents, quarter-and-larger, all panels): 3-7 shop days. Full team. Extensive trim R&I. Sometimes partial disassembly of interior panels.
Full aluminum vehicle (F-150, Tesla, Rivian, Audi): Add 30-50% to any of the above tiers. Aluminum needs heat-assisted work and more deliberate technique.
Full claim timeline: 2-4 weeks, typical
Shop time is maybe one-third of the total. The rest is insurance process:
- Days 0-2: You file FNOL, get claim number, insurer schedules initial inspection.
- Days 3-7: Initial inspection happens (adjuster visit, CAT site, or photo estimate). You receive first estimate.
- Days 5-10: You bring vehicle to shop for professional re-inspection under LED line boards.
- Days 7-14: Supplement submitted, reviewed, approved (usually 1-2 business days but sometimes 2 rounds).
- Days 10-17: Pickup scheduled. Vehicle arrives at shop.
- Days 11-24: Repair performed (1-3 days for most hail).
- Day 12-25: Delivery back. Done.
In practice, most straightforward claims run 2-3 weeks total. Severe damage or complicated supplements push to 4-5. Insurance company backlogs during peak hail season (May-July) can add another week.
What slows things down
Supplement negotiations. Most common cause of delay. Insurers occasionally push back on specific line items, which adds 3-5 days per round of back-and-forth. We write tight supplements with photo documentation to minimize rounds.
Adjuster availability. During major storm events, in-person adjuster inspections can take 5-10 days to schedule. Photo-based estimates bypass this but come back even lower than in-person estimates.
Your availability for pickup/delivery. If you can only hand over the keys on weekends, it adds days. Our pickup crew runs Mon-Sat, so weekend-only availability is manageable but adds some friction.
What you can do to speed things up
Three things, in order of impact:
- File FNOL immediately the morning after the storm. Don't wait for "the right time." Starting the clock early gets you ahead of the adjuster backlog during peak season.
- Submit wide + close photos in the FNOL app — many carriers now generate estimates from initial photos without scheduling a separate inspection, which cuts 3-7 days from the timeline.
- Let the shop handle insurance. Don't try to be on every call or negotiate the supplement yourself. Experienced shops move faster than customers because we know the process.
What the business end actually means
You're looking at 2-4 weeks from storm morning to keys-back, with 1-7 shop days inside that window. Total active time on your part: under 15 minutes across the entire claim if you use a shop that handles coordination. Start your claim here and we'll run the timeline for you.