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Bouncy invention takes on hail damage

Posted On: Mar. 2, 2015 12:00 AM CST

Losses caused by hail damage to automobiles can be expensive for insurance buyers and insurers.

And reports say that more than a quarter of a million auto insurance claims are made per year in the United States alone for hail damage.

But one inventor has taken inspiration from a kids’ party favorite to design a product he believes may be the answer to this problem.

Texas-based inventor Michael Siciliano took inspiration from bouncy houses to design an inflatable protector that can be inflated to protect a car or truck from hail stone damage.

The protector works in conjunction with an early warning app that gives drivers up to 30 minutes’ notice about an impending storm at up to four different locations — such as the driver’s home or office, the Daily Mail reported.

The protector can, its makers claim, offer protection from hail stones as large as 2 pounds.

Air flow remains constant though the protector — much like a bouncy castle — until the storm has stopped.

The hail protector, which folds down small enough to fit into a car trunk, is available in four sizes, and prices start at $349.

“In 2009 it came to me that there is no solution for protecting vehicles from the damaging effect of hail,” Mr. Sciliano told the Daily Mail.

Mr. Siciliano said he was in the final stages of development of a new option to enable the protector to be activated or deactivated via text message from anywhere in the world.

If the protector takes off we could all be hailing this invention.