Windscreen Replacement by Insurer - Is This a 'Claim'?

[GC8]

As title, Id have said not previously, but now Im not certain. Insurers certainly didnt want to know about windscreen replacements or repairs in the past, but things have changed quite a lot of late.

[MillenniumFalcon]

Showed up as a £70 claim on my last renewal - I phoned them when I noticed to query it to find out its from having a stone chip repaired.

[rohrl]

It is a fault claim but most companies won't load your renewal premium for a windscreen claim, though the odd one might.

The insurers will want to take a note of it and if you had a string of windscreen claims they'd start asking questions.

[OldSkoolRS]

MillenniumFalcon said:

Showed up as a £70 claim on my last renewal - I phoned them when I noticed to query it to find out its from having a stone chip repaired.

Similar thing happened to my OH: She had a repair (a poor one at that) to her windscreen and when we insured my Z3 we 'mirrored' her no claims and got a decent quote, which they then bumped up by another £10 or so as we'd 'made a claim'. It wasn't her no claims that was effected but the premium was loaded due to the repair claim. I'm not sure if a new windscreen would have had the same (or more) effect on the premium, but it's put me off bothering having a repair in future, especially when it looks to have done sweet FA to the chip that it had in the first place.

[abbotsmike]

OldSkoolRS said:

I'm not sure if a new windscreen would have had the same (or more) effect on the premium, but it's put me off bothering having a repair in future, especially when it looks to have done sweet FA to the chip that it had in the first place.

As with any job, there are people that do it well and people that do it not so well. The insurance company linked ones tend to fall in the latter camp. From a guy I know who does the repairs and does them bloody well, the insurance linked ones usually restore the structural integrity of the screen, but don't look any good. There are of course good and worse exceptions to this rule.

[GC8]

Id always presumed that this was all that the insurers were looking for.

[OldSkoolRS]

My OH got it done thinking that it would have NO effect on her insurance (as the man in the 'tent' implied) so figured if it wasn't perfect, then no great loss. In hindsight she might have been better off waiting for the chip to become a crack and getting a new windscreen if this doesn't count against her (not sure though as it seems daft if a repair does). In practice it was more of a bull's eye chip, so probably wouldn't have cracked anyway...

[Glassman]

abbotsmike said:

the insurance linked ones usually restore the structural integrity of the screen, but don't look any good.

They don't look any good because the break/crack/damage has not be filled, therefore, not much difference to the 'structural integrity' (which is more to do with the correctly fitted windscreen). Most will still have moisture in them, but generally (and as you say there are a few exceptions) they're awful repairs.

We call those attempts at repairs 'con-pairs'.

Haven't you noticed how there is NEVER a good time to have a chip on your windscreen? Aircon on in the summer: crack; heater on in the winter: crack; drive over a pothole: crack; think about saving pennies: crack; take the kids to school: crack.

[abbotsmike]

Glassman said:

They don't look any good because the break/crack/damage has not be filled, therefore, not much difference to the 'structural integrity' (which is more to do with the correctly fitted windscreen). Most will still have moisture in them, but generally (and as you say there are a few exceptions) they're awful repairs.

We call those attempts at repairs 'con-pairs'.

Haven't you noticed how there is NEVER a good time to have a chip on your windscreen? Aircon on in the summer: crack; heater on in the winter: crack; drive over a pothole: crack; think about saving pennies: crack; take the kids to school: crack.

Fair enough, you obviously know more than me I just get the guy I know in to repair them, regardless of windscreen cover. They all but disappear. He also did a good job of tidying up a previous shoddy repair on my last car.

[Glassman]

The difference between an 'attempt to repair' and a properly filled one is like comparing night to day.

If it still looks the same, it hasn't been repaired. Fact.

[J4CKO]

The gel repairs work for a little while, then fall out, waste of time.

[Glassman]

J4CKO said:

The gel repairs work for a little while, then fall out, waste of time.

Are you referring to those DIY kits?

[saleen836]

A couple of years ago Mrs Saleen had her then car insured with a certain company and their small print stated, in the event of a windscreen replacement claim you would not get any no claim bonus added to exisiting at the end of the insurance term.