So recently the weather has been just TERRIBLE and we had lots of ice everywhere. After the ice melted I noticed that I had a very long crack running across the driver’s side of my windshield.
I started to hyperventilate as I always do when faced with issues like this because I already KNEW it was going to cost me financially. I called my little green insurance friend to start a claim and found out from the representative that it would actually be cheaper to pay for the repairs directly, than to file a claim, because of my high deductible. The rep got me on the phone with the service that THEY recommend and I was quickly taken care of.
They told me the options available and gave me a price quote and set up an appointment for the mobile (wow!!!) glass repair service to come out and get me a new windshield. I needed to have the entire windshield replaced because the crack was longer than six inches and they do not ‘repair’ cracks that are longer than that.
I was not able to get a good picture of the crack using my phone and this one was just using a gift card to show the length. The crack was a bit L shaped and the card was along the shorter arm of the L. If you can see the part that veers upward and to the left it went on almost to the top of the windshield!!!!!
This event shows me the importance of having my Emergency Fund which is currently housed online with ING. I also have a Car Fund that I was using to save up to buy my next car….maybe the Lexus RX350 that I have been drooling over. I will be taking the cost of the repairs out of the Car Fund and will leave the emergency fund intact for now because this is purely a car expense.
That’s interesting. We have a high deductible policy but there’s a separate (lower) deductible on windshield replacement. Have you contacted your agent to make sure that there isn’t coverage that would fit you for this?
That happened to me with my last car. I had a small crack and my company refused to pay for it even though I had a low deductible. I dropped that company like a bad habit and haven’t looked back.
Sorry about your windshield. :<(
Well they were not refusing to pay…the rep just told me they would charge the full $500 deductible for them to use the same company but if I did not file a claim then the company estimated $220 for the repairs out of pocket.
The insurance rep said I could save money by paying less and not having my rates go up because of a claim.
I thought it didn’t matter about your deductible as long as you specifically had glass coverage. My windshield has fallen victim twice to two ice storms. The first time I had no glass coverage and it cost less than my $500 deductible to repair so I paid for it. The second time I had glass coverage and the auto company paid for it regardless of my deductible. And yes, they came to the house to do it as well.
Damn insurance companies. That is silly that it would cost more to have insurance cover it. That’s just insurance companies using loopholes to avoid getting extra claims.
Oh, can see your hand there in the reflection. 🙂
I can see how important an emergency fund is to have. Simply put, life happens, and you need extra funds put aside for exactly these type of situations.
– Robert