Got crack in windscreen and currently in Brienz in Switzerland. Insurance (Lloyds Van) have been less than useless and told me to sort myself. Swiss equivalent of Auto Windscreens quoting me £1600 for fitting replacement where I am staying. Crack has spread from stone strike at top of screen and is now virtually half way down screen. Any advice gratefully received before I take out a new mortgage!
Windscreen Replacement Cost
- Thread starter nl1965
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- insurance windscreen
Can you not wait till getting back to the UK to get it done?
Screen replacement is normally £100 ish insurance excess.
Screen replacement is normally £100 ish insurance excess.
Carglass in France is equivalent of Autoglass, same company. Have you tried a quote off them ? Don't know how far from the border you are ?
It just happened 15 minutes before they pulled you over didn’t it?
TBH, I suspect I would leave it until we got back to Blighty which is what I did last year when I caught a stone just after coming off the ferry from Greece to Bari and a crack started soon after (and eventually went top to bottom!). We drove through Italy, Switzerland and France and I doubt Old Bill even gave us a second glance but I was also aware of NOT giving them an excuse in the first place. Did you get a recording of the conversation with your insurers or an email confirmation? FWIW, i seem to recall that it eventually took Autoglass over 3 months to source and fit a new OEM heated screen for me but it would have been quicker had they been fitting an aftermarket Robbie.
......I saw a motorhome with 8 Scottish football fans heading home....
Thanks for advice Ayjay. Yes all recorded and confirmed. I still expect a struggle and a massive hike in premium and this may just be the final straw for the bus as it just seems to have turned into a money pit
Never say never, but a single windscreen claim in a year shouldn't impact your premium.
Chance would be a fine thing. If you even tell them someone glanced your car while it was parked but there was no damage… boom, increase in premium AND you have to record it as a claim when getting quotes (even though no claim was made).
So if they actually have to pay out why would that not count?
I can't provide justification, but I can confirm that the vast majority of insurers operating in the UK won't load an individual's premium for a single windscreen claim.
Of course, all costs arsing from all insured drivers will be reflected in everyone's premium - after all, the pooling of payments for the sharing of risk is what insurance is - but they won't specifically load an individual premium for a single windscreen claim (in much the same way as a single SP30 conviction wouldn't usually attract a load).
Of course, all costs arsing from all insured drivers will be reflected in everyone's premium - after all, the pooling of payments for the sharing of risk is what insurance is - but they won't specifically load an individual premium for a single windscreen claim (in much the same way as a single SP30 conviction wouldn't usually attract a load).
What ever you do Insist on OEM replacement.
I had my heated screen replaced on Friday. I just hope the heated element works when we get to winter although I may have to try and test it beforehand!
It was a £90 excess and won't load the premium however, there were quite a few probing questions about when and how it happened. I imagine that this is more to potentially penalise people who leave a repairable chip too long and end up costing them more for a replacement.
In your case @nl1965 it shouldn't be an issue if the initial damage was already beyond repair.
Have you tried organising a replacement in the UK for when you return? Getting it booked in early might ease some pain. I had to wait about 10 days for a slot with the company that I used, how long until you return?
It was a £90 excess and won't load the premium however, there were quite a few probing questions about when and how it happened. I imagine that this is more to potentially penalise people who leave a repairable chip too long and end up costing them more for a replacement.
In your case @nl1965 it shouldn't be an issue if the initial damage was already beyond repair.
Have you tried organising a replacement in the UK for when you return? Getting it booked in early might ease some pain. I had to wait about 10 days for a slot with the company that I used, how long until you return?
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Thankfully got some sense out of Lloyds insurance eventually and they (or underwriters) authorised the repair. Paid Swiss company myself and now going through the painful process of getting my money back. Annoying that policy says you have same level of cover when overseas but they don't seem to have any provision for glass replacement. The windscreen was way beyond repair as the crack extended half way down the screen. I could have taken the risk of driving it back and used breakdown insurance if it had all gone pear-shaped, but why should I end up stuck in a French motorway aire waiting for that to happen. Back in UK now and just emailed underwriter with invoice, pictures from repairers etc. Lets see what happens next
