The hail storm that swept across the county a few weeks ago still has auto body shops filled up and scheduling out months in advance.

Most shops in southern Erie county are booked up till September... some even scheduling into October.

One Erie Insurance agent said the company has over 1,200 claims filed and knows some shops that have processed 400 vehicles.

For people hoping to get their hail damage repaired before winter or the next bad storm, the best chance is to schedule a repair now. Before you go to the repair, file a claim and get an estimate from submitting photos on an app, having an adjuster come out, or taking it to a shop.

Bonnell's Collision in Erie is scheduling people about a week out, and are working to get an estimate and repair in the same visit. Bonnell's has processed around 150 vehicles, with 30 left to fix for hail damage.

Cars can stay in a shop for 2-3 days-- which means rental cars are also hard to come by right now. Pat Figurski, an agent with R. H. Rutowski insurance, said people should always check their policies-- those car rentals might be covered.

While I was at Bonnell's, I got a chance to watch some of the repairs taking place. Auto Body Shops will sometimes hire traveling hail damage repair men to help with storms. These traveling workers will spend the summer chasing storms to offer services. Fun Fact: when the slow season hits in the United States, some will travel overseas to catch severe weather season over there. One of the men I watched yesterday had been to South Africa, following the work.

They use a wide assortment of tools and techniques to make repairs.

"It's called 'PDR'- paintless dent repair. Through various tools and specialties they will come in and push those damages out," said Michael Lenart, general manager for Bonnell's Collision Erie. "There's a certain point when those damages can no longer be pushed out due to the size of the impact, how deep the impact is, or if it's close to a body line and so forth. Then we have to go for a conventionally."

"Most of the hail in this hail event is pretty minor. A lot of damages are being able to be repaired through PDR," said Lenart, who also shared the average repair cost has been between $3,000 and $6,000.

A final tip for hail and insurance; when cars are dented, there's a chance other personal property has also been damaged.

"Any windshield damage in your view of the vehicle is considered non-drivable, non-inspectable. Definitely get that taken care of," said Robert Wooner, an Erie Insurance Damage Adjuster. Wooner also shared that windshield repairs are also often covered by insurance. Even if you pay for the repair out of pocket, that receipt can often be turned in for reimbursement.

"There was a lot of hail here. Please people at home, if you can have somebody call out," said Lenart. "If there's damage to your vehicle, there is a chance there's some damage to your property as well, be it your roof, your siding, so on so forth."