Went outside this morning and found a huge “S” shaped crack across the whole windshield. No indication of a rock or something else cracking it. Called insurance company to replace windshield since I am paying a little extra each months just for that.
Insurance told me that I have to pay $500 deductible to the well-known nationwide auto glass place. OK, sign me up… Not much choice.
Later talked to the auto glass company, scheduling a date for the at-home work. While on hold, I logged on to their website where they have this estimating calculator for replacement windshields. Entered my values and it popped up with a total of $393 and change, including tax. Wow, I was surprised.
When the rep returned to the phone I confirmed the total with her and questioned why I would have to pay a $500 deductible if I go through my insurance company when the same repair is only $395. She didn’t really have an answer for that other than the company would charge the insurance a different rate and my deductible is determined by the policy I have. yah yah yah, I get it. I confirmed that the service would be the same if I do not go through my insurance company and instead work directly with the glass company. Cancelled my claim with the insurance and now I am saving over $100.
The moral of this story is…sometimes it’s cheaper not to get the insurance company involved.
Not car related, but a similar concept, friends wife needs meds, insurance cost $300, Join the whatever free discount prescription plan, wal something or other same meds $65.00
I’ve had four or five windshields replaced and mine were all zero deductible. Some were cracks but a couple were because of sand blasting after some years causing the sun to blind me. I have State Farm, not to start an insurance war again.
Got a new chip in my windsheild, Now for hail damage (up there last summer near brainerd in MN golf ball sized hail for @bing ) there was a 1k deductible, now have to see about chip repair or let it go till full repair.
I have found exactly the same thing when I’ve been paying the bill for a windshield or side glass. The glass companies are completely upfront about it. I don’t understand why insurance companies don’t negotiate a lower cost rather than higher. BTW, I have zero deductible for glass replacement, too.
That’s because it’s the law in our state. All comprehensive policies must provide windshield replacement with no deductible. People in other states aren’t so fortunate.
That law actually led to a lot of abuse, which is why glass companies used to give away free boxes of steaks and other stuff with every windshield replacement. They’d just bill the insurance company extra to cover the cost of the incentives. The legislature finally stepped in and made that illegal awhile back.
Fortunate? Fortunate that the law makes you do something that you can choose to do on your own?
It’s not the law in my state, but anybody is free to purchase adequate insurance. I have $Zero deductible on all glass. If I want a windshield I call my agent on the phone and then just get it replaced at my convenience. CSA
You can choose to interpret the merits of the law however you wish. I choose to interpret it such that it’s a good thing my insurance company is legally forbidden from charging me $500 for a $393 job.
I’m more of a caveat emptor type guy. The less intrusion by any government agency, the more freedom of choices the better.
By the way, have you seen or heard what the ACA mandates have done to the health insurance industry and my/peoples’ health insurance costs?
If we worked car insurance the same way (with government intrusion), I could wait until I totaled my car or broke my windshield and then go buy insurance (I couldn’t be turned down for “pre-existing conditions”)! CSA
In the mid 1990s I had a rear window broken by vandals. State Farm comprehensive coverage was $50 deductible. Last year I had a windshield replaced and deductible is now zero. Like shadowfax posted it must be a state law.
You mean that insurance costs have on average risen slower under ACA than they did under the previous system?
You’ve probably guessed from other comments I’ve made that I’m in favor of single-payer government-run health insurance because the private companies can’t be trusted not to pull shenanigans like telling people “We will not be paying for your cancer treatment because you had acne as a teenager and didn’t declare it as a pre-existing condition,” so you and I are simply not going to meet in the middle here.
But as I said in the other thread, I’m in favor of government-regulated capitalism. The windshield thing in my state is a great example of it working well.
Now, I know you’re smarter than that, and you know that’s not how pre-existing conditions works.
Here in NH you have to carry a glass rider for glass to be covered. Without the glass rider you pay out of pocket to get any glass repaired/replaced. In MA (and many other states) it’s covered under comprehensive.
Yeah I haven’t been licensed for 40 years so I’m a little fuzzy on the current standards. The insurance commission just sets the minimum requirements for a policy. Not really a big deal and really no one should just have the minimum coverage. Windshield are kind of a tricky issue though since they can impair vision and contribute to accidents. With a high deductible, some people just would not have them replaced.
Hasn’t always been the case though. I paid $25 for a used windshield for my 59 Pontiac way back and another $20 to have a guy put it in. The story I got from a rider in the car of the previous owner was that they threw a beer bottle out the window and it came back and smacked the windshield. I never got stopped or anything but glass shards were starting to come loose. Yeah I was a broke college student but still made a new windshield a priority.
