Let’s face it. If you live in Florida and drive a motor vehicle, windshield damage is a common occurrence. From a simple rock chip to catastrophic damage as pictured, all damage to your windshield should be immediately attended to.
Windshields are considered safety equipment and actually are designed to absorb impact in the event of a rollover accident. Cracks weaken the integrity of your windshield and require replacement. Small rock chips that are not in the driver’s line of vision can be repaired preventing further breakage.
Fortunately for Floridians, we have an actual law on the books that requires insurance companies to completely waive all deductibles for windshield claims. The law is outlined in the Statute below and is very precise in what it says:
Florida Statutes
TITLE XXXVII. Insurance
Chapter 627 – Insurance Rates and Contracts
Part XI. Motor Vehicle and Casualty Insurance Contracts
Section 627.7288 Comprehensive coverage; deductible not to apply to motor vehicle glass.
The deductible provisions of any policy of motor vehicle insurance, delivered or issued in this state by an authorized insurer, providing comprehensive coverage or combined additional coverage shall not be applicable to damage to the windshield of any motor vehicle covered under such policy.
Basically, as long as you maintain comprehensive coverage on your vehicle, you can get service through your insurance policy for your windshield, whether a repair or a replacement, without any out-of-pocket expense. This isn’t something that your insurance company does as a service to you. In Florida, it’s the law.
Common Misconceptions
There are several misconceptions and “rumors” that are heard daily in the automotive glass industry regarding windshield replacement insurance claims. We will try to dispel the ones that are heard most often.
Misconception #1:
“My insurance company only gives me one “free” windshield per year so I have to wait”
First, insurance companies rarely give anyone anything for “free”. If it were left up to insurance companies, Florida policy holders would have their glass claims handled and policy deductibles apply just like they do in the vast majority of states that do not have a deductible waiver statute in place. Insurance companies are not bad. The simply fact is that they are in business to turn a profit and they don’t give anything away.
We are called frequently by customers who happen to reside in Florida, but for one reason or another have their policy based in another state (with an out-of-state address). Since the statute above applies to Florida-based policies only, these people unfortunately are forced to spend out-of-pocket funds for windshield replacement. The amount depends on how high their deductible happens to be. If windshield replacement were a matter of “free” service provided by insurance companies, an out of state address would not matter.
Second, there is absolutely no limit on the number of windshields that you can have replaced as long as you carry coverage on your vehicle. For example: You had a windshield replaced in August for damage that you received during the summer. Your insurance company paid for the replacement and you spent nothing. During October, you to drive to the mountains to see the beautiful fall changeover and during your trip, a rock from the road hits your windshield and causes it to crack. As long as you had coverage in force when this second incident occurred, you can AGAIN get your windshield replaced at no cost to you through your insurance policy. And if it happens again……..you get another no-cost windshield replacement. This is a very common misconception and it is heard almost daily in this industry.
Misconception #2:
“My insurance covers my windshield, but I have to use the shop my insurance company tells me to use if I need to get it replaced“.
This is 100% FALSE regardless of who your insurance company is. In Florida, as well as many other states, you have the right to choose whomever you wish to effect repairs on your vehicle through your insurance policy (as long as they are properly licensed). This means windshield replacements too! Your insurance company cannot tell you where you must have the work done or even “pressure” you to have it done at a certain place. Insurance companies can get into BIG trouble doing this and therefore this is not a common practice. Most insurance companies clearly state that “you have the right to choose any repair shop to complete the repairs on you vehicle”, either in a recording when you call in to make your claim or via a script that is read by the person taking your claim.
“A “network” shop is nothing more that a shop who meets licensing, insurance and tenure qualifications and agrees to give up enormous discounts for their work in order to simply say that they are part of the “network”. Many larger and established local shops choose not to join these networks and they are generally the optimum choice in their communities”.
Insurance companies are for-profit entities. You should always keep this in mind when you are dealing with them. As harsh as this seems, this includes agents too. They certainly do not get out of bed in the morning to sell insurance and write policies for the fun of it. Keeping this in mind, let’s look closely at a practice called “steering” that is used by some insurance companies and their claims administrators in order to maximize profits by keeping you in their “network” of repair shops:
First, an industry fact that you need to be made aware of: In the vast majority of cases, when you call your insurance company to report glass damage, you are NOT speaking with an employee of your insurance company. You are speaking with an employee of one of the three largest third party glass claims administration companies. Insurance companies rarely administer their own glass claims. The sheer volume of claims dictates this.
If your insurance company utilizes one of these third parties, (most major companies do) when you called your claim in and you chose the “new glass claim” selection from the phone menu or you simply told the adjuster or your agent that you needed to file a glass claim, you were transferred to one of the big three call centers. If you filed electronically or with your agent, your claim was simply “assigned” to their glass claims administration company who decided for you which shop you used for your replacement, not your insurance company.
The “Big Three” are: Lynx© Services, SGC Network© and Harmon Solutions Group© HSG. There are a couple of others, but these three administer glass claims for the vast majority of major insurance companies. They get a piece of every single claim that they administer and an even bigger piece if they are successful in “steering” you to one of their “network” shops. SGC Network© administers a substantial number of the claims in the U.S. and they are actually financially affiliated with Safelite© Auto Glass (same company). Guess who SGC Network©’s “network” shop is…..