Abstract:
A consistent and effective method of identifying and documenting vehicle dent damage includes the steps of identifying dents on a damaged vehicle, applying an easily visible magnetic marker over each dent on the damaged vehicle, counting the markers on the damaged vehicle, photographing the markers on the damaged vehicle and removing the markers from the damaged vehicle.

Description:
[0001]     This application claims the priority of application Ser. No. 60/536,618 filed Jan. 15, 2004. 
     
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     This invention relates to a method of identifying and documenting hail damage to a vehicle. More specifically, the method includes magnetically attaching a visible marker at each hail dent on a vehicle so that the extent of hail damage can be accurately determined and photographically documented.  
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0003]     Generally, accountability is very important and a key operational concept among vehicle insurance companies and affiliated repair facilities. However, a consistent and effective technique for estimating and documenting vehicle hail damage is lacking.  
         [0004]     The current methods of identifying and documenting vehicle dents in the insurance and repair industries are generally ineffective, especially when the vehicle has been damaged by hail. The extent and location of dent damage is often determined by using a best guess method. This technique can obviously be very inaccurate. Furthermore, hail dents do not show up well in photographs and thus their number and location are not documented.  
         [0005]     Another technique used involves the placement of wax markers over the dents within a fraction of the area of a vehicle panel (e.g., typically over ¼ of a panel) and multiplying by the necessary factor (e.g., 4) to obtain an estimated number of dents. Hail damage is very random and inconsistent, so this method is also inaccurate. Furthermore, the wax markers also do not show up well in photographs and require timely cleanup. If the vehicle panel is dirty, the cleanup removal of the wax markers can scratch the vehicle&#39;s paint. Finally, because the wax markers are only placed on a fraction of the dents, the location of each dent is not documented.  
         [0006]     Furthermore, most insurance companies do not ever require photographs of hail damage claims because small to medium sized dents do not show up. Some insurance companies have adjustors take one photograph of the damaged car to prove it exists, but the hail dents are not visible. The lack of good hail damage photographs is a problem for the internal auditors, inside claims adjustors and even shareholders since they have no documentation showing the millions of dollars spent each year in paid out hail damage claims.  
         [0007]     Problems with these current methodologies are exacerbated when insureds file duplicate hail damage claims. As an example, an insured may be issued payment for vehicle damage after a first hailstorm. The insured, however, does not have repairs made to the damaged vehicle. When a second hail storm further damages the vehicle, no pictures exist showing the amount of and location of the damage incurred as a result of the initial storm. The current techniques also do not deter the owners of hail damaged vehicles from claiming the same damage with several different insurance companies.  
         [0008]     The current techniques also unnecessarily increase costs and overhead to the insurance companies. For instance, auditors currently have to reinspect hail damaged vehicles because accurate photos cannot be filed. In contrast, for collision repairs the insurance industry has established networks of collision repair shops which take photographs of the collision damage, prepare a cost estimate for completing the necessary repairs and then repair the damage. Upon completion of the repairs, the insured pays the shop the deductible and the insurance company pays the balance of the cost directly to the shop. This direct payment method reduces the insurance company&#39;s overhead and allows the insurance company to warrant repairs and control expenses. For a repair shop to qualify, a main criteria is that the shop must be able to annotate and upload photographs to show the damaged areas of the vehicle. Because hail damage is difficult to show using the current techniques, the dent repair industry does not have a consistent direct pay network established.  
         [0009]     Thus, hail and dent damage is not estimated in any consistent way. The dent damage estimates obtained are generally not accurate and undocumented. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0010]      FIG. 1  is a partial perspective view of a hail damaged vehicle, with the hail dents enlarged for clarity;  
         [0011]      FIG. 2  shows the vehicle of  FIG. 1  but with a dent marker placed on each dent in accordance with the present invention;  
         [0012]      FIG. 3  is a top view of the roof of the vehicle of  FIG. 2  divided into quadrants to show the randomness of hail damage;  
         [0013]      FIG. 4  is a side view of a marker used in accordance with the present invention; and  
         [0014]      FIG. 5  is a perspective view of the marker of  FIG. 4 . 
     
    
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0015]     Accordingly, a consistent and effective method of identifying and documenting vehicle dent damage is needed. Such a method includes the steps of identifying dents on a damaged vehicle, applying an easily visible magnetic marker over each dent on the damaged vehicle, counting the markers on the damaged vehicle, photographing the markers on the damaged vehicle and removing the markers from the damaged vehicle.  
       DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
       [0016]     A method of identifying and documenting hail damage is shown in  FIGS. 1-5 .  FIG. 1  shows a vehicle  10  that has been damaged, in this case by hail. The hail dents  12  have been enlarged in the drawing for clarity. Vehicle dents, especially those caused by hail such as dents  12 , can typically be numerous, difficult to see and very random.  
         [0017]     Magnet markers  20 , as shown in detail in  FIGS. 4 and 5 , are attached to the damaged vehicle  10  over each dent  12 , as shown in  FIG. 2 . The magnet markers  20  can be of various sizes to correspond to the size of the dent  12  over which they are placed.  
         [0018]     Each magnet marker  20  includes a disk-shaped magnet  22  which preferably has a circular transverse cross-section so as to present a smooth, continuous side surface. This eliminates sharp points, which could cause further damage to the vehicle as the magnets  22  are placed over the dents  12  and removed therefrom.  
         [0019]     Each magnet marker  20  also includes a marker component  24  attached to the top surface of the magnet  22  to form an integral, unitary member. The marker components  24  are brightly colored, so they show up well in photos and video. The marker components  24  are preferably formed of any suitable lightweight material, such as wood, plastic or foam.  
         [0020]     The marker components  24  also serve as a placement stem and facilitate the placement and removal process. In this regard, each marker component  24  includes a base  26 , a top  28  and a stem  30 . The base  26  securely attaches at its bottom surface to the magnet&#39;s top surface. The base  26  and the top  28  each taper inwardly to form a junction with the stem  30 . The stem  30  extends between the base  26  and the top  28  and has a diameter smaller than the largest diameter of the base  26  and the top  28 . Thus, the person placing the magnets  20  typically grasps them at the stem  30 , and the top  28  helps prevent the magnet  20  from slipping out of the person&#39;s grasp.  
         [0021]     As shown in  FIG. 5 , the marker  24  is hollow and includes a throughbore  32 . Thus, marker  24  is as lightweight as possible. Alternatively, the marker components  24  could be electronic, providing the capability for electronic or optical documentation.  
         [0022]     Magnet markers  20  are placed over each vehicle dent  12  as shown in  FIG. 2 . Magnet markers  20  are easily secured over each dent  12  since the bottom surface of the magnet  22  adheres to the vehicle&#39;s metal surfaces including a side surface as shown. The damage to the vehicle  10  is now easily documented in photographs and/or video as desired. The marker components  24  are easily seen in photos and video. They extend upwardly and/or outwardly from the vehicle&#39;s surface unlike dents  12 . Preferably, they are also brightly colored and contrast with the vehicle&#39;s paint color.  
         [0023]     The extent of the dent damage to the vehicle  10  can now be easily documented. The markers  20  are easily counted for recording the number of dents  12 . Also, the markers  20  are easily visible in photos and video for recording the location of the dents  12 .  
         [0024]     Upon completion of sufficient documentation, the magnet markers  20  are easily removed by simply pulling them from the vehicle&#39;s surface. Thus, the magnet markers  20  are also reusable.  
         [0025]     As shown in  FIGS. 1-3 , vehicle dents, especially those caused by hail, such as dents  12 , can typically be numerous and occur very randomly over the surface of the vehicle  10 .  FIG. 3  highlights this randomness.  FIG. 3  shows the roof  40  of the dented vehicle  10  with the magnet markers  20  placed over each dent  12 . To illustrate the random nature of hail dents, the roof  40  is divided into four quadrants, A, B, C and D. Quadrant A has ten dents  12 , quadrant B has four dents  12 , quadrant C has only two dents  12  and quadrant D has five dents  12 . This illustrates the need for magnet markers  20  to be placed over each dent  12 . Otherwise, an accurate assessment of the dent damage to the vehicle  10  would not be obtained. Any estimate could be exaggerated, if for instance an estimate was based on the number of dents in quadrant A, or could be greatly underestimated if for instance an estimate was based on the number of dents in quadrant C.  
         [0026]     This method makes it possible to identify the number of dents made to vehicles and document the location of the dents in digital or standard photographs, and digital or VHS video. More specifically, vehicle dents, especially those caused by hail, are typically very difficult to see in person. Accordingly, the dents cannot be identified when photographed. This method provides an easy, efficient, low cost and accurate way to highlight the dents and make them easily countable and visible in photos and video.  
         [0027]     It is to be understood that while certain forms of this invention have been illustrated and described, it is not limited thereto except insofar as such limitations are included in the following claims and allowable equivalents thereof.