Why “Waiving Your Deductible” Could Cost You More Than You Think

What your deductible is

Your deductible is the part of a covered repair you agreed to pay when you bought the policy. Hail usually falls under comprehensive coverage, and your comprehensive deductible is often a different amount from your collision deductible. If a hail repair comes to $4,000 and your deductible is $500, the insurer pays its share and you pay the $500 to the shop.

The deductible is part of what sets your premium. A policy with a higher deductible generally costs less, because you have agreed to carry more of each claim yourself.

What “waiving the deductible” usually means

A shop cannot make your deductible disappear. It is between you and your insurer. When a shop offers to “waive” or “cover” it, the money has to come from somewhere. Usually that is one of two places:

• The shop absorbs it as a discount, rebate or gift card. That means the shop is doing the job for less than the estimate your insurer approved, and the question is what gets cut to make that work.
• The estimate is padded so the insurer's payment covers the deductible too. That is billing your insurance company for money that was not spent on your repair.

What Colorado has said about it

In October 2025 the Colorado Division of Insurance issued Bulletin B-5.54 on auto deductibles, after becoming aware of auto repair shops advertising or engaging in deductible waivers. In summary, the bulletin:

• states that the deductible is the policyholder's contractual responsibility and must be paid by the policyholder;
• says insurers may not condone or participate in deductible-waiver arrangements, and should make the obligation clear to policyholders;
• directs insurers that learn a shop has waived a deductible on a covered claim to evaluate whether that conduct is fraud or violates Colorado law.

The Division also warned that waivers can lead to inflated repair costs, which affects claim costs and premiums for all consumers (Insurance Journal coverage).

Colorado already had a law on this for roofs: C.R.S. 6-22-105 prohibits residential roofing contractors from advertising or promising to pay, waive or rebate an insurance deductible. The 2025 bulletin brings the same concern to auto claims.

How it can cost you

• Your claim gets questioned. If the paperwork on your claim does not match what actually happened, you are the policyholder, and your name is on it. That is not a position you want to be in over a few hundred dollars.
• The repair gets squeezed. A shop that gives away the deductible still has to make the job pay. The places to save are time, parts and care, which are exactly what you are paying for.
• Everyone's premiums go up. The Division's own point: inflated claims show up in what all of us pay.

Honest ways to keep a repair affordable

1. Get a real estimate first. Hail damage is hard to judge by eye. Once you know the actual repair cost, compare it with your deductible.
2. If the repair is close to your deductible, consider skipping the claim and paying for the repair directly. Paintless dent repair is often less expensive than conventional body work, so a light hail hit can land near or under a typical deductible.
3. Ask your carrier what a comprehensive claim does to your premium before you file, so you are deciding with real numbers.
4. Choose your own shop. In Colorado you generally have the right to pick where your car is repaired.

At KCL we collect your deductible like every honest shop does, and we would rather tell you a claim is not worth filing than play games with one. Our guide to hail damage and your insurance claim in Colorado walks through the rest of the process, and our auto hail repair page explains how we handle the repair itself.

This article is general information, not legal or insurance advice. Coverage and deductibles vary by policy and carrier. Read your policy and confirm specifics with your insurer. Bulletin details are summarized from the Colorado Division of Insurance's published bulletin and news coverage linked above.

Related reading

Hail Damage Beyond the Body: Glass, Trim, and Hidden Problems

Glass, trim, seals, sensors and cracked paint: the hail damage that is easy to miss.

How Hail Damage Affects Your Vehicle’s Structural Integrity

An honest answer to whether a hail-damaged car is still safe, and why the repair method matters.

All resources