STORM RIDER SOLUTIONS · WRITTEN BY CHRISTOPHER JOHNSON

THE
FILE ROOM

Estimating breakdowns, carrier policy changes, case files with the real numbers, and where the hail is actually landing. Two a month. No fluff.

FILTER
LATEST INSURANCE & CLAIMS

The Right to Appraisal Is Guaranteed. Access to It Is Not.

Texas made appraisal mandatory in personal auto policies this year. Illinois just passed its own version. Three hail files under one carrier show why a guaranteed right that costs money up front is not the same thing as access to it.

AUG 1, 2026 · 10 MIN READ · CHRIS JOHNSON
READ THE FILE →
A policyholder at a desk reading a carrier's written claim decision, calculator and paperwork in front of him
INDUSTRY NEWS JUL 27, 2026

Total Losses Just Hit a Record 23.1 Percent. On a Hail Car, That Is an Estimating Problem.

Nothing on a hail car is structural. Repair versus total is decided by a sum — which means it is decided by how the estimate was written. What to capture at the vehicle, and why overcast light is not an inspection.

11 MIN READ