Insurance Coverage for Cracked Windshield Repair: What You Need To Know
No matter how inexpensive a car repair service is, including the costs associated with this work in your budget can be tricky. However, it’s never wise to put off necessary auto maintenance, especially when you’re dealing with a chipped or cracked windshield. Windshield damage is one of the hardest car problems to ignore — you literally can’t look the other way when this issue arises.
The good news is that insurance can make it much easier to afford cracked windshield repair and other auto glass-related services. Here, you’ll get valuable information on your auto insurance coverage and its potential impact on your auto glass repair expenses.
Will My Insurance Cover Cracked Windshield Repair?
Your auto insurance can often help you afford auto glass service, but that isn’t always true. Here’s the level of support you can expect to get if you have:
A Liability-Only Policy
If you carry liability and nothing else on your car, your insurance won’t cover auto glass repair/replacement — or any other repairs, for that matter. These policies exclusively cover damage done to other people’s property (including vehicles) in accidents you cause.
Collision Coverage
Unlike liability-only policies, this form of insurance will sometimes cover your auto glass expenses. More specifically, these policies will help you with auto glass work if your windshield is damaged in a collision for which you’re responsible.
Comprehensive Coverage
Finally, comprehensive coverage will help you take care of your auto glass regardless of the reason it was damaged. These policies will still cover windshield damage resulting from an accident, but they’ll also assist you in paying to fix a windshield that’s been broken by a tree branch or rock.
Filing an Auto Glass Insurance Claim
Claims for auto glass coverage won’t usually affect your insurance premium, so you’ll want to file a claim whenever the cost of repairing this damage exceeds your deductible for car insurance. Keep the following tips in mind before filing an insurance claim.
Your Insurer
If you’re directly contacting your insurance company/agent about auto glass damage, you’ll need to provide a few details upfront. Those details include:
- The date and time of your windshield damage
- The vehicles involved in this incident
- How your windshield was damaged
- Your contact information/policy number
A Third Party
In many cases, you won’t contact your insurer to file a claim for auto glass damage; instead, this could be handled by a third-party claim service. Since these services work directly with auto glass shops, people with insurance can head straight to an in-network shop to get the services they need. The shop then files insurance claims on their behalf. When the technicians working at one of these shops have finished the job, customers pay their deductible directly to the shop.
You may be asked to give some information to your auto glass shop before getting service there, such as your:
- Insurance company
- Deductible
- Vehicle identification number
- Car’s year, make, and model
- Auto insurance policy number
If you’re unsure about what glass claims filing process you’ll need to go through, don’t worry — just contact your insurance company or agent for assistance.
Do You Need Windshield Chip Repair or Replacement?
The cost (and, in some cases, the deductible) for your windshield service will vary based on the work you need. While windshield repair expenses are determined by the amount of auto glass that needs attention, windshield replacement will almost always cost more than cracked windshield repair.
When your windshield is damaged, you’ll need to get in touch with an auto glass shop to know exactly what services you need. However, these red flags can increase your likelihood of requiring windshield replacement:
- A chip that’s larger than an inch in diameter
- Damage impacting the edge of your windshield
- Chips or cracks that are directly in your line of sight while driving
- Damage that reaches your windshield’s middle vinyl layer
Whether your windshield can be fixed or needs to be replaced, one thing’s for sure: you should resolve this situation as soon as possible. If you ignore your need for auto glass service, your windshield damage could worsen, making your car unsafe, and you could risk violating federal regulations.
Get Extra Help With Financing and Promotions
As you can see, auto insurance can go a long way in the face of windshield chip repair or replacement costs. That said, you might still need a bit of assistance to cover your auto glass service expenses. With that in mind, it’s best to find a local auto shop offering additional money-saving opportunities.
Most reputable auto glass shops help their customers out by providing financing options. Dedicated credit cards and other forms of financing can make it much easier for people to afford an unexpected windshield repair or replacement. That’s especially important where auto glass service is involved — due to the nature of this work, it’s almost impossible for motorists to budget for it ahead of time.
Trustworthy shops also allow their clients to save even more on auto glass work by offering promotions. When you take advantage of these deals, you can get up to $100 back on windshield repair/replacement (though the exact amount will depend on the vehicle you drive).
Find a Preferred Insurance Provider for Windshield Repair
No matter how well-known your auto insurance company is, not every auto glass shop in Tucson, AZ, will accept your insurance. In that case, it won’t matter whether you have a liability-only policy or comprehensive coverage — you’ll likely be stuck paying for the complete cost of cracked windshield repair on your own. To avoid that, you must explore your options before picking a shop to handle this work.
At Max Auto Glass, we take pride in being a preferred insurance provider, which means we’re willing to work with any major insurance company. Of course, that isn’t the only reason to choose us as your go-to Tucson auto glass shop — we also offer a broad selection of auto glass services and employ Dow and Auto Glass Safety Council™-certified technicians.
If your windshield is cracked or chipped, contact us online or call (520) 498-1234!
