A hail car cover is cheap insurance against the kind of storm south-east Queensland copped twice in late 2025. Those two events produced about 55,600 motor insurance claims in roughly five weeks, according to the Insurance Council of Australia.
Our pick is the Autotecnica Evolution Ultimate for most buyers, the CoverALL+ if you need one today for under $210, and the inflatable Hail Armour if you can plan ahead. But first, a reality check that changes how you should shop.
Why does every hail cover have the same padding?
Because that’s what fits in a bag. Every padded cover we found on Australian shelves quotes 4mm to 6mm of foam, neoprene or compressed polyester on top. Price doesn’t buy thickness. It buys padded sides, waterproof outer fabric, better straps or, at the top end, an inflatable air layer.
From $190 to $699, stated padding stays between 4mm and 6mm. Extra money buys side protection, waterproofing or a custom fit, not thickness.
Sources: maker and retailer product pages, read 4 November 2026. Bunnings' $129 Weathershield cover doesn't state a thickness. The inflatable Hail Armour uses air chambers instead of foam.
How much can 6mm stop? The Bureau of Meteorology calls hail severe at 2cm, about the size of a $2 coin, and adds “giant hail” to warnings at 5cm. A 2024 peer-reviewed study puts body dents from about 2cm, and broken car windows above roughly 4cm to 5cm. A cover reduces damage. It doesn’t make a car hail-proof.
Best overall: Autotecnica Evolution Ultimate
The Evolution Ultimate is the most complete padded cover you can buy off the shelf. It runs from $389 for a medium car to $484 for a 5.4-metre ute or large 4WD, direct from Autotecnica, and Supercheap Auto stocks it from $399.
Autotecnica quotes 6mm of compressed polyester over the roof and windows and 4mm down the sides, under a double-stitched waterproof outer with a non-abrasive lining. That side padding is what cheaper covers skip, and it’s your doors and side glass that it protects.
The weakness is bulk. The 4WD version ships at about 10kg, so it’s a garage-shelf cover, not a boot cover. It suits the owner with a driveway, a carport-less house in the hail belt and a few minutes’ warning.
Best value with padded sides: PC ProCovers Essential Hail
The PC ProCovers Essential Hail cover pads the sides as well as the top with 6mm foam, which is rare at this money. The catch is a price lottery. The same Large car cover was $249 at AutoOne and $369 at the RAA shop for non-members on 4 November.
Shop around and it’s the value pick. The retailer warranty text says the cover is for temporary use only, no more than six weeks at a time. Its warranty on vehicle damage also excludes cars more than 12 years old or recently repainted.
Best budget: CoverALL+ Hail Cover
Supercheap Auto’s CoverALL+ Hail Cover costs $189.99 for a medium car and $209.99 for an extra-large car or SUV. It’s the one you can buy at a national chain the afternoon a warning goes out, and it comes with a 12-month warranty.
You get a 5mm EVA top panel, buckle straps front and rear, and air vents that stop it ballooning in wind. The sides are thin polyester with no padding, so doors and side windows are on their own. For a city hatch that lives outside, it’s still far better than nothing.
Best for kerbside parking: Streetwize Hail Car Cover
Autopro’s Streetwize Hail Car Cover runs from $239 for a medium car to $279 for a large 4WD. It pairs a 6mm neoprene top with reflective side fabric and reflective warning triangles front and rear.
Those reflectors matter if your car sleeps on the street, where a dark grey shroud is hard to see at night. It’s also light, at about 6kg to 8kg shipped. Like the CoverALL+, it pads only the top, so you’re paying for visibility rather than side protection.
Best inflatable: Autotecnica Hail Armour
The Hail Armour is the step up from foam. Instead of 6mm padding, it inflates TPU air chambers over the bonnet, roof, boot and side panels. Prices run from $449 for a small car to $599 for a 5.6-metre 4×4, with a rechargeable 12V pump included.
Autotecnica claims about four minutes to inflate. Read the instructions, though: the pump can take at least four hours to charge, the cover may need topping up every few days, and it’s not meant for permanent use. Buy it if you check the radar and act early. Skip it if your plan is to wing it.
What about the cheapest and dearest options?
Bunnings sells a Weathershield hail cover for SUVs for $129, sized for cars such as the Toyota RAV4. It has a foam top layer, but Bunnings doesn’t state its thickness, size or warranty. That silence is reason enough to spend a little more.
At the other end, Cover World’s custom-made Hail Storm Car Blanket costs $699, is certified Australian made and carries a five-year warranty, the longest we found. Its stated padding is 4mm of closed-cell foam, though. You’re paying for the fit and the local build, not more protection.
| Cover | Price | Padding | Warranty | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Autotecnica Evolution Ultimate | $389 to $484 | 6mm top, 4mm sides | Not stated | Most buyers |
| PC ProCovers Essential Hail | $239 to $369 | 6mm top and sides | 12 months | Value, if you shop around |
| CoverALL+ Hail Cover | $189.99 to $209.99 | 5mm top only | 12 months | Tight budgets |
| Streetwize Hail Car Cover | $239 to $279 | 6mm top only | Not stated | Street parking |
| Autotecnica Hail Armour | $449 to $599 | Inflatable air chambers | 12 months | Planners with a pump |
Prices from maker and retailer websites, 4 November 2026. Ranges cover the smallest to largest size. PC ProCovers price varies by retailer.
How much damage does hail actually do to cars?
Plenty. The Insurance Council’s April 2026 report put 2025’s extreme-weather insured losses at $4.8 billion, up 727 per cent on 2024, driven by the two Queensland hail events. The November 2025 storm alone has since grown to 98,900 claims and $2.49 billion, per the ICA data hub.
In six of these seven storms, at least 40 per cent of all claims were for vehicles. Orange marks the two late-2025 events.
Source: Insurance Council of Australia historical catastrophe list, September 2026 edition. Motor claims include domestic and commercial vehicles.
Timing works against you. The Bureau says the east coast’s highest risk of severe thunderstorms runs from October to December, and its warnings generally give no more than three hours’ notice. That’s why the best hail cover is the one already in your boot or by the door.
How to buy and use a hail cover
- Measure bumper to bumper, including any bull bar or tow bar, and allow at least 10cm extra.
- Practise fitting it on a calm day. Doing it for the first time in a gusty southerly is how covers end up in the neighbour’s yard.
- Fit it to a clean, dry car. Grit trapped under a cover scratches paint and undoes a ceramic coating.
- Use the underbody straps every time, and don’t leave a hail cover on for weeks. Most are made for temporary use.
- Never fit a cover once hail has started falling. Get under shelter instead.
Check your insurance before storm season too. Youi says third-party fire and theft cover doesn’t include hail, and a car with unrepaired hail damage may only qualify for third-party property cover. In Queensland, a hail write-off stays on the written-off vehicle register. Glass is cheaper, as our windscreen repair guide shows.
The verdict
If you park outside in Brisbane, Sydney’s west, Canberra or Melbourne’s north, buy the Autotecnica Evolution Ultimate and keep it somewhere you can grab it fast. On a budget, the CoverALL+ beats no cover at all. For everyday sun and dust, our outdoor car cover guide has better all-season picks.
And if a retailer calls a cover “hail-proof”, walk past it. The makers themselves don’t make that promise. A good cover won’t stop giant hail. In an ordinary severe storm, though, it can be the difference between a quick detail and weeks at the panel shop.
Prices as at 4 November 2026. Header image: Chris Olszewski, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (cropped).
