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Texas, Illinois and Colorado lead the nation for states with themost hail damage claims, according to a State Farm report.

Hail is one of the most frequent causes of property damage tohomes and cars, costing State Farm policyholders $2.4 billion lastyear. Hail claims typically peak in spring.

[Related: Hail damage: Are you covered?]

Here are the top 10 states for State Farm hail home and autoclaims for 2014:

1. Texas: 51,193 claims

2. Illinois: 43,821 claims

3. Colorado: 42,365 claims

4. Missouri: 23,019 claims

5. Nebraska: 21,326 claims

6. South Carolina: 20,170 claims

7. Pennsylvania: 19,088 claims

8. Iowa: 12,367 claims

9. South Dakota: 12,367 claims

10. Kansas: 11,562 claims

Keep reading to learn more about hail damage and your carinsurance.

(Photo: Shutterstock)

Hail damage and car insurance

If your car is dinged by ice balls falling from the sky, you candecide to live with the cosmetic damage or you may want to filea hail damage claim to have it repaired. Before youreach for your car insurance card, here are five must-knowconsiderations:

• You must have comprehensive insurance coverage, whichalso covers theft, vandalism, water damage and animal strikes, tofile a claim.
• You will have to pay your deductible amount, so it's prudent toassess the repair costs – if you have just a few dents, the cost tofix your car will not exceed your deductible. Esurance pegs theaverage cost to repair each dent at $50 to $125. Major hail damagecould be several thousand dollars and can total a car, in whichcase a claim makes sense. For minor damage, you might want to visita paintless dent repair shop and avoid aclaim.
• Your car insurance rates typically won't increase if you make ahail claim, as generally insurance companies won't hold youaccountable for damage caused by severe weather. If, however,you've had other recent claims on your policy, your insurer mayhike your rates.
• If you do file a claim, have the insurance adjuster inspectyour car in the shade or in a garage, as bright sunlight canobscure dents.
• Once your insurance company completes its estimate of the costto fix your car, take your vehicle to a repair shop of your choiceand get a comparison estimate. Typically, if there's a bigdiscrepancy, your repair shop can contact your insurer with theinformation and have your insurer provide a revised estimate orhave the insurer approve its estimate.

Additional reading:

Estimating car insurance rates: What you need toknow

How much car insurance should you buy?

Compare average car insurance rates by state andZIP code