Hail damage to your windscreen in Pretoria: what to do

Pretoria's hail season, in numbers

Naked, a South African digital insurer, published its claims data for loss dates from January 2023 to December 2025. It found weather-related car claims start rising in October and stay elevated through January, with November alone accounting for around 57 per cent of them and December a further 11 per cent. Hail made up 82 per cent of weather-related claims, and August was the quietest month.

One caution: Naked's figures exclude glass-only claims, so they describe the storm season and the overall hail bill, not windscreen claims specifically. They do show clearly when the risk is highest on the Highveld.

The 1 December 2025 storm

Pretoria saw how bad it can get on the night of 30 November 2025. Rekord reported the next morning that residents were waking up to shattered windows, dented cars and damaged roofs after a violent hailstorm, and that insurance experts were warning people to act quickly and document everything. It also noted that insurers can face very high claim volumes after a major storm, so assessments and repairs may be delayed.

What hail does to car glass

Your windscreen and your other windows behave differently. The windscreen is laminated: two layers of glass with a plastic interlayer. Hail usually chips or cracks it, and it tends to stay in place even when badly damaged. Side and rear windows on most cars are tempered glass, which shatters into small pieces when it fails. That is why a car can come out of a storm with a cracked windscreen but a missing rear window.

Large hail can also leave a star of small chips across the windscreen. One or two may be repairable. A screen peppered with impacts, or with cracks running between them, will usually need replacing. See stone chip repair or full replacement for the limits.

The first hour after the storm

• Stay safe. Do not go out while hail is still falling or power lines are down.
• Take date-stamped photos and video of every damaged panel and window, close up and wide, before anything is moved or cleaned.
• Cover any broken window opening with plastic taped to the paint, to keep rain out of the cabin.
• Do not drive if the windscreen is shattered or your view is blocked. Naked's guidance is that driving with a shattered screen may be unsafe.
• Check your policy schedule. Rekord notes you need comprehensive cover to claim for hail damage to a vehicle.
• Report the claim as soon as you can and note the claim number.

A hail claim or a glass claim?

If hail damaged only the glass, your insurer may handle it as a glass claim with the glass excess. If it also dented the bonnet, roof or panels, it is more likely to be a full hail claim, with an assessor inspecting the whole car and a different excess. Ask your insurer which applies before you book any glass work.

Either way, get approval first. Most insurers want to see the damage before it is repaired, and some pay less or nothing for work done without approval. If the car is unsafe to drive, say so when you report it. Our windscreen insurance claim guide covers excesses and the no-claims bonus question.

Expect a queue after a big storm

After a major hailstorm, a lot of drivers need the same thing at the same time. Insurers get busy, assessors get busy, and screens for popular models can run short while stock is replenished. If your car is still drivable and only the glass is chipped, getting your claim in early and being flexible about where the work is done can help.

If the screen is a less common part, or one that has to be imported, it may take longer still. Ask the fitment business whether the screen is in stock before you plan around a date.

Reducing the risk in hail season

• Park under a roof or carport from October to January whenever you can, especially on afternoons when storms are forecast.
• Keep a padded car cover or old duvet in the boot for days you cannot find cover.
• If you are caught driving, pull over somewhere safe, ideally under cover such as a filling station canopy, and away from trees and flood-prone dips.
• Get any existing chips repaired before the season starts. A hail impact near an old chip is far more likely to crack the screen.
• Check your glass and hail cover in September, not after the first storm.

Getting the glass fixed

Once the claim is approved, or if you are paying yourself, tell us the vehicle, the damage and where the car is. We pass your enquiry to an independent fitment business that covers your area. See windscreen replacement for the front screen, rear window replacement and side window replacement for the rest. If your car has a windscreen camera, read does my car need ADAS recalibration first. [CONFIRM: whether fitment businesses covering Pretoria take on extra capacity during hail season]

Frequently asked questions

Related

• Claiming for a windscreen on your car insurance in South Africa
• Windscreen replacement
• Rear window replacement
• Stone chip repair or full windscreen replacement?
• Windscreen replacement in Centurion