Claiming on your Insurance

Whether you’re looking to claim on your insurance for a replacement windscreen, body glass or fixed glass roof, there are a few things you should know. Based on our own customer feedback over the many years, we encourage you to read this guide so as to ensure you don’t get caught out, leaving you out of pocket and cursing your insurance provider.

How does it work?

Some fully comprehensive policies include Glass Cover (more commonly known as ‘windscreen cover’).  This means your insurance provider will cover the cost of glass replacement in your vehicle, minus your Excess payment (usually between £100 – £200). All vehicle glass claims are automatically logged on the insurance database and are applicable for 5 years.

Is it cost beneficial?

The majority of the time, it is absolutely not going to be cost effective to claim on your insurance for replacement vehicle glass. Making a claim won’t usually affect your ‘no claims discount’ however, your claim will affect your yearly renewal cost. People are often led to believe a ‘no claims discount’ means that no claim will be logged. This is not the case and a claim will absolutely be recorded, affecting your renewal price (typically £100 -£200 yearly) for the next 5 years.

How long will the process take?

Typically, customers wanting to claim on their insurance can expect to be waiting for around 2 weeks from the initial phone call to work completion.

Should i claim on my insurance?

There is no definitive answer as to whether you should or should not claim on your insurance for a vehicle glass replacement as its all circumstantial to the individual. our advice is always to cover the cost yourself when possible. At the end of the day, all insurance providers are operating a business and will always ensure they’re never out of pocket. There’s only one place insurance providers can look to recoup there expenses and that’s from the paying customer.

when its a good idea:
  • You cant afford the full amount for the vehicle glass replacement (although short term loans often end up being far more cost effective)
  • You foresee yourself requiring multiple vehicle glass replacements on different occasions
  • You have more then one window needing to be replaced on the same vehicle, at the same time. (Although we would still advise getting a quote for the complete work first)
  • You require a fixed glass roof replacement (these are typically considerably high cost replacements)
When its not a good idea:
  • The total cost for the replacement/s is under £600 (typically the tipping point for cost efficiency)
  • You need your replacement vehicle glass replaced sooner rather than later (typical waiting times are 1-2 weeks with most insurance companies)
  • Your annual mileage is average or below (fewer miles covered means a much lower risk of glass damage)
  • Your yearly insurance premiums are more than £500 (a claim will have a greater impact on already high cost insurance policies)
  • You have a credit card or you’re eligible for a short term loan (this will almost certainly be cost beneficial) 
  • You don’t intend to own the vehicle for the next 5 years.

How do i make a Claim?

Most reputable vehicle glass installers will have a billing facility in place for most major insurers and will be the quickest approach to having work completed. Any queries made direct to the installer will not be logged on any insurance database. The easiest method is to contact the insurer directly. most insurers will handle the request and allocate a recommended installer to carry out any work required. This gives you the peace of mind of knowing everything is handled by the insurer. its important to note that in some cases, your query alone with the insurer could be logged as a ‘incident where a claim was not made’