Here’s the situation: About a year ago I caught the corner of my garage while backing out; this pulled the bumper fascia away and did a bit of damage (not major, mostly just cracked and displaced plastic that can’t simply be pushed back together).
More recently a flying stone hit my windshield causing a crack that now runs the length of the glass.
I’d like to get both fixed but I don’t know if involving my insurance is the way to go.
*Is there any way the insurance company might cover both repairs with a single deductible?
*If not, should I just bite the bullet and pay for the repairs? ($500 deductible, bumper repair should run $1000 - $1500)
*What is a ballpark figure for windshield replacement?
I had something sort of similar happen. I had a small dent in my front bumper that I never reported to my insurance because I didn’t care about it. Then I was rear ended, causing major damage to the vehicle.
The adjuster called me wanting to know if my front bumper was damaged in the accident. I told him no, a deer caused that. When I picked up my vehicle everything had been repaired. Then I got cancellation notice in the mail due to multiple claims over a short period of time.
Since they are separate incidents I don’t think you can lump them together unless you lie and say they happened at the same time. An adjuster will look at the damage and may challenge your assertion. I wouldn’t want to be accused of insurance fraud, but that’s just me.
If I were you I would contact my insurance company or agent and explain what happened. You don’t have to file two claims or any claims for that matter if you don’t want to. Depending on your deductible it may not save you any money if they are minor issues so there may be no point to filing a claim.
Most insurance companies won’t drop you for two minor incidents so I wouldn’t be too worried about that unless there are other reasons why you are a high risk driver.
I recently got a new windshield. The dealer quoted the replacement at $1300.00. Another shop quoted $475.00. I had a $200.00 deductible.
I got a recommendation from a friend to go to a particular shop and had the windshield replaced for $175.00. It was actually $200.26 with tax. That seemed to be about the standard rate at this shop which does nothing but windshields. They did a nice job and I was out the door in under 2 hours. So, shop around.
My insurance has a different excess (deductible) for windscreens than for bodywork - it is dependant on my using their own contractor and I pay the fitter the excess.
I too would avoid a fraudulent claim since the consequences of being caught out would be financially painful, and the bus service here is not that great.
As with Ca3799, I would shop around for the screen, and forget the bumper.
A while back I got hit while I was parked and the guy just took off. I never saw him. Because I failed to report it to the police, my insurance charged it as an accident in which I was at fault. I recall that I paid about about $2000 more in premiums while those rates where in effect (Three years?). They paid about $2200 in repairs so for that accident it was basically a wash, kind of like getting a loan to fix the car, then paying it back. However, the experience taught me two things;
[ol]
[li]Always report accidents to the police.[/li][li]Don’t bother with insurance if you are at fault and the payout would be less than $2000.[/li][/ol]
Keep in mind that your number might be different based on where you live and your accident history.
I suspect that your glass coverage (if you have it) is entirely separate from collision (in any case that damage was clearly not your fault). I would look into getting your insurance involved with that, but I would likely handle the bumper without getting them involved.
Also, get the windshield repaired immediately. That sounds dangerous.
Don’t bother with windshield repair- they work “OK” at best at preventing further damage and never look good. Put that money toward replacement.
A cracked windshield can be a safety issue due to obstruction of vision and increasing the risk of more serious damage if the glass is hit again.
My insurance company reported to me that it was covered because of the safety factor. (I also had full coverage, so that may have been the real truth.) Still, it’s better to have the glass replaced if the crack is longer than a dollar bill.
So liability insurance will cover cracked windshields? Mine was cracked a couple of weeks ago and while it isn’t really a safety issue yet, it probably will be eventually. The crack is pretty large.
No, liability insurance doesn’t cover it. Usually it’s comprehensive and often there’s a different deductible - for example, my collision and comprehensive have a $500 deductible but I have no deducible for a windshield repair.
No, it is two incidents, so two claims. Plus one is collision and the glass damage is under comprehensive.
There really is no ballpark figure without knowing the year, make and model of the vehicle. I used to work with glass claims and have seen windshields from $200 to well over $2000. It varies dramatically.