Windscreen Cracked

miller

I bought a car which had a fairly large crack in the top of the windscreen. This was noted in the advisories on the previous MOT, but it was outside of the windscreen wiper arc so it passed.

Aforementioned crack has now become a whopper almost straight down the centre of the windscreen (pretty much in the space of an afternoon). It will need replacing and would definitely fail an MOT if it was due.

I have windscreen cover on my insurance. Would I be able to claim? It seems unfair that they should pay for a pre-existing fault, but it has got considerably worse since the policy was bought.

I am quite happy to pay for the whole job if necessary and want to play it by the book.

Viper_7

You bought it knowing about the cracked windscreen, so you can't come back at them.

Yes, just claim off your insurance. You just pay the excess which is about £50-£60 for windscreens.

do it yourself and depending on the vehicle will be in the hundreds.

Ian_W

Erm, if you bought it with a dent in the wing and that then started get rusty, would you expect the insurers to pay for the repairs, cos it got worse?

The damage was there before you insured it and you did nothing about it - speaks for itself really.

slummymummyof3

Who did you buy the car from - was it private or dealership? If you bought from a dealer, I would have said at the time that I expected windscreen to be replaced.

Inactive

miller wrote: »

I have windscreen cover on my insurance. Would I be able to claim? It seems unfair that they should pay for a pre-existing fault, but it has got considerably worse since the policy was bought.
.

Yes claim from your insurers, they will make you pay £50/£75 towards the cost, which isn't actully much less than they pay the windscreen companies.

The fault was acceptable when you purchased the car, it now isn't.

wazza

also it does not affect your NCB (no claims bonus). Make sure you ask the insurer which windscreen replacement outfit to go to.

miller

Thanks to those who made a useful contribution to this thread. I will ring the insurance company and explain the situation to them then I cannot be accused of any foul play.

miller

Quite surprised, the insurance company (Direct Line) are happy for me to pay the £75 and get it replaced.

Inactive

miller wrote: »

Quite surprised, the insurance company (Direct Line) are happy for me to pay the £75 and get it replaced.

Great news, well done..

mchale

wazza wrote: »

also it does not affect your NCB (no claims bonus). Make sure you ask the insurer which windscreen replacement outfit to go to.

I presume when your renewal is up, you will have to declare to any new insurers, you have made a claim, so would this make a difference to the new quotes you get????

Inactive

mchale wrote: »

I presume when your renewal is up, you will have to declare to any new insurers, you have made a claim, so would this make a difference to the new quotes you get????

I'm fairly sure that a " glass " claim is not counted as a normal claim.