Catastrophic Hail Storm hits Perth, Australia
On March 22, 2010 the biggest hail storm in 50 years hit Perth Western Australia causing flooding and massive damage to property and motor vehicles. Within the first 7 days over 89'000 claims were lodged with insurance companies. Today it has been estimated that the hail storm has caused over 650 million dollars of damage and that over 40'000 vehicles will be written off by insurers. Body shops around the state have been booked out as far as 16 months ahead and many are waiting up to 6 months for spare parts such as bonnets & roofs due to the previous hail storm in melbourne. Dent Balmer is working together with the Ding King Perth to repair the damage alongside other Hail Specialists who have flown in from around world to work with us to help clear up the large back log.
Working on Switzerlands biggest Hail Storm
Summer 2009 saw one of the biggest hail storms hit central Switzerland to date which caused extensive damage to buildings, crops, livestock and motor vehicles.
Early estimates believed damages would be at around $80 Million however a recent revised estimate by the Intercantonal Reinsurance Union put costs at around $228 Million. In Bern alone, over 8'000 buildings were damaged and one insurance company reported having received over 10'000 claims for motor vehicles of which many had their windows shattered. Dieter from DentBalmer and several other Hail Techs were working to repair this damage.
Working through Winter
Hail commonly occurs during the Summer months starting late May to June in Western Europe. Repairs are carried out by Hail Technicians from all over Europe and depending on the severity of the damage and numbers of Technicians available work usually is completed by November before the start of winter. The hail storm that hit Switzerland in June 2009 however, caused such extensive damage that many hail technicians found themselves working well into the winter months battling through the cold temperatures typically ranging between -10 C - 0 C.
