ABILENE, Texas (KTAB/KRBC) – In some areas, golf and baseball-sized hail pelted the Big Country on Sunday night. With some big enough to do substantial damage to a vehicle or home, we have information on when to file your insurance claim.

Many residents of the Big Country had a limited line of visibility Sunday night, as hail rained down across the Big Country.

Melissa Johnson, a Lawn native, said even growing up here, she’d never seen hail come down that heavy.

However, after she and her husband moved to Houston many years ago, it became a forgotten memory. Now, just six months after building their dream home, the hail is already putting a damper on the new tin roof over their heads.

“The whole ceiling is peppered,” Kelly Johnson said. “We haven’t even been finished a month.” 

KTAB/KRBC viewers submitted videos of hail outside their homes, with one showing it piling up nearly 12 inches, like snow.

The footage below is courtesy of Teresa Borcik:

Like many others in the Big Country, these viewers were left wondering when they should file an insurance claim to repair their damaged home or vehicles.

Abilene-based insurance agent Theresa Lackley said it depends on the severity of the damage.

“If you’ve got broken windshields, or hail all over it, I’d go ahead and turn it in,” advised Lackley.

On the other hand, Lackley warned that with more hail potentially on its way to the area, you may want to hold off if the damage is not too severe.

“If you look at it and you can’t see it [the damage] very much, and you know there is more coming, I would wait,” explained Lackley. “I mean, you can turn it in every time, but you’re susceptible to paying your deductible every time.” 

In the past, Lackley said popup hail repair stations would come set up shop throughout the city. Steve Hinman of Abilene-based 180 Dent Company said the issue is they are not around for very long.

“They may do a great job, but they won’t be here if there is another problem,” Hinman warned.

Hinman also told KTAB/KRBC he has another approach when it comes to handling the total amount of hail damage:

“We recommend getting it fixed each and every time… If you pile up one 8,000 on another 8,000, on top of a 5,000 [repair], suddenly you’re over the value of the car and you’ve just given up the car.”

If you’re unable to get your car under cover, try putting moving blankets, cardboard boxes, or even bags of potting soil on your windshields to prevent further damage.