windscreen scratches
Discussion
Glassman said:
AFAIK, scratches are a bit of a cosmetic issue.
IME, insurers don't like to pay for vanity.
Perhaps there are one or two insurers who will cough up for a new windscreen against wiper scratches, but I've not heard of them yet.
Unless 'scratch' is spelled wrong on the claim.
More to the point, do you really think Autoslags give a stuff what happens to you and your insurance premium once they've 'helped' you with a new windscreen?
I thought a scratch at the extreme right of the wiper travel could potentially be an MOT failure?IME, insurers don't like to pay for vanity.
Perhaps there are one or two insurers who will cough up for a new windscreen against wiper scratches, but I've not heard of them yet.
Unless 'scratch' is spelled wrong on the claim.
More to the point, do you really think Autoslags give a stuff what happens to you and your insurance premium once they've 'helped' you with a new windscreen?
Insurers also do cover general cosmetic issues (like if someone keyed a car for instance).
I'm sure Autoglass don't care what happens to your insurance premium. They do care when they don't get paid though, and have to attempt to reclaim from the customer since their insurance won't cover it without paying the excess which could be more than the cost of the screen.
If you Google 'windscreen repairs' there are instances of people who have called their insurance company, explained the situation and had authorisation from them, without any misspelling.
In fact, I 'm sure I could get someone to give you a first hand account of doing exactly that, but probably will have to wait a day or two until the work has actually been completed.
We used to use the not repairable line as standard. Almost all scratches are uneconomical to polish, not saying none of them couldn't be done but 10 hours at £35-50/h it is cheaper to fit a new screen There is also no chance of getting to the end of the job and finding you have an unacceptable blemish where the scratch was. We wouldn't even offer it over the phone to get people in, no point keeping a fitter in just to say no.
When I worked in Autoglass we used to get people asking, we'd change it because you could guarantee if you told them you couldn't because it wasn't broken they'd mysteriously get it hit by a hammer shaped stone on the passenger side within a few days making replacement a hole lot messier.
When I worked in Autoglass we used to get people asking, we'd change it because you could guarantee if you told them you couldn't because it wasn't broken they'd mysteriously get it hit by a hammer shaped stone on the passenger side within a few days making replacement a hole lot messier.
yajeed said:
I thought a scratch at the extreme right of the wiper travel could potentially be an MOT failure?
Yes, a car can, potentially, fail the test for wiper scratches in the sweep area. yajeed said:
Insurers also do cover general cosmetic issues (like if someone keyed a car for instance).
Correct. How this is categorised on the claim form would be the difference. yajeed said:
I'm sure Autoglass don't care what happens to your insurance premium. They do care when they don't get paid though, and have to attempt to reclaim from the customer since their insurance won't cover it without paying the excess which could be more than the cost of the screen.
There have been instances where this has happened. My understanding is, the price on the invoice is their retail. But the insurer may only be invoiced half, or a third of this. If there are indemnity issues, or that the policy is capped, or whatever, the policyholder would have signed to agree to pay the retail should things go pear shaped for the supplier. yajeed said:
If you Google 'windscreen repairs' there are instances of people who have called their insurance company, explained the situation and had authorisation from them, without any misspelling.
In fact, I 'm sure I could get someone to give you a first hand account of doing exactly that, but probably will have to wait a day or two until the work has actually been completed.
Agree. There are circumstances in which restrictions can be lifted or discretion is applied. But generally, take an insco that advertises on the telly/radio and gives you the cheapest cover, you'd need to deal with one sympathetic claims adviser and have a lot of luck on your side. In fact, I 'm sure I could get someone to give you a first hand account of doing exactly that, but probably will have to wait a day or two until the work has actually been completed.
When you call your insco to discuss your glass issues, the automated switchboard will invite you to press <number> for the 'Glassline'. Their prevailing preferred supplier will answer that hotline as "good morning glassline..." giving you the impression that you are talking to your insco. You're not, and they are representing them to make that claim assessment. They're also in the business of fitting/repairing/selling glass.
sorry to butt in on the party but the pictured damage could probably be polished in about 2 hours to a reasonable but not "perfect" finish, its just a matter of the equipment that you use to do it, most amateur polishing machines
would not have the grunt to remove the glass at a sufficient rate which would make it uneconomical to do it for a hobbyist. I would disagree with the comment about the glass distorting when polished. It will only distort if you polish it in one place for too long or you grind it too much before polishing ( another part of the process for doing deeper damage)
you would look at about £150 to do it.
you would need to make sure that you did not polish too aggressively near the chip either as the heat could cause it to crack so as a precaution the chip needs to be repaired first as well (£60)
The insurance angle is an interesting one, is it an accident that stones flicked up and scoured the screen? I would say if the metal wiper stay became dislodged and scratched the screen then that is down to bad maintenance but the scratched haze is down to grit being wiped across the screen which is not a wiper maintenance issue, even brand new wipers will do this.
If you fit a new screen you will have a £500+ claim on your record if you claim on your policy which you will be obliged to disclose to your next insurer. It may not affect the no claims bonus but it could become a factor that can affect the actual premium, i trust you appreciate this subtle difference here. I had a customer say that Esure told him that he would lose his NCB if he claimed for a new screen or even a repair so he just wanted to pay for it himself. I think the "free glass" party is coming to an end folks... bit like a "free lunch" you will end up paying sooner or later!
would not have the grunt to remove the glass at a sufficient rate which would make it uneconomical to do it for a hobbyist. I would disagree with the comment about the glass distorting when polished. It will only distort if you polish it in one place for too long or you grind it too much before polishing ( another part of the process for doing deeper damage)
you would look at about £150 to do it.
you would need to make sure that you did not polish too aggressively near the chip either as the heat could cause it to crack so as a precaution the chip needs to be repaired first as well (£60)
The insurance angle is an interesting one, is it an accident that stones flicked up and scoured the screen? I would say if the metal wiper stay became dislodged and scratched the screen then that is down to bad maintenance but the scratched haze is down to grit being wiped across the screen which is not a wiper maintenance issue, even brand new wipers will do this.
If you fit a new screen you will have a £500+ claim on your record if you claim on your policy which you will be obliged to disclose to your next insurer. It may not affect the no claims bonus but it could become a factor that can affect the actual premium, i trust you appreciate this subtle difference here. I had a customer say that Esure told him that he would lose his NCB if he claimed for a new screen or even a repair so he just wanted to pay for it himself. I think the "free glass" party is coming to an end folks... bit like a "free lunch" you will end up paying sooner or later!
Edited by zap mc on Wednesday 30th May 08:29
Edited by zap mc on Wednesday 30th May 08:32
Edited by zap mc on Wednesday 30th May 08:34
zap mc said:
I think the "free glass" party is coming to an end folks... bit like a "free lunch" you will end up paying sooner or later!
Repair, in the sense of preventing and ultimately saving against the cost of replacement is the name of the game. Not when Two thirds of repairs 'cannot be repaired' (funny that) or the attempts at repair fail (funny that).
When Novus pioneered windscreen chip repair with Lombard Continental in 1989 the repair ratio was about 20%. ( 20% of all glass claims were repairs )
Now the 20% repair ratio is still acheived by the main insurance glass suppliers but the repairs are IN ADDITION to the screens that are fitted so a new revenue stream has been created on top of the replacement one rather than substituting it.
plus...
if you have a driver that has a chip and would have just left it alone and it would not have cracked and you can frighten him into letting you try and repair it, and then you accidently crack it then you have created yet another revenue stream out of a dormant market
plus...
If the repair is bad then the driver may get it replaced later on as well so you get paid for the repair and the replacement later on, double bubble.
plus...
if you do a rubbish repair then the next car owner will want to replace the screen so you get two bites of the cherry
very clever people these big windscreen companies
Now the 20% repair ratio is still acheived by the main insurance glass suppliers but the repairs are IN ADDITION to the screens that are fitted so a new revenue stream has been created on top of the replacement one rather than substituting it.
plus...
if you have a driver that has a chip and would have just left it alone and it would not have cracked and you can frighten him into letting you try and repair it, and then you accidently crack it then you have created yet another revenue stream out of a dormant market
plus...
If the repair is bad then the driver may get it replaced later on as well so you get paid for the repair and the replacement later on, double bubble.
plus...
if you do a rubbish repair then the next car owner will want to replace the screen so you get two bites of the cherry
very clever people these big windscreen companies
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