Car Insurance - Replacement Windscreen

matduggy

Firstly, apologies if I have posted this in the wrong forum, but this seemed to be the most relevant place for my question:

Unfortunately when returning to my car after a game of badminton yesterday, some unmentionables had thrown a rather large stone at my windscreen and left a significant chip and crack directly in the drivers field of vision.

Fortunately my car was booked in with an independent garage today for other repairs anyway, and this garage can replace my windscreen for approx. £160 inc. VAT this afternoon. However, my car insurance policy is with Direct Line, and the wording under Windscreen damage is confusing and I'm not completely certain what I'd pay. The policy states:

"If you do not deal direct with Autoglass or Auto Windscreens, our maximum payment will be £125 for replacement and £40 for a repair after deducting the excess". The quoted excess for approved companies is £60.

Obviously the bill is over the £125 threshold, so does this mean I pay a £60 excess, plus the difference between £125 and £160 (£35), therefore £95 in total? Or... does the £60 excess cover me for the difference above £125, leaving me just the £60 to pay?

I would appreciate your advise on this matter, as I know how ambiguous legal wording can be.

raskazz

In this case you would pay the £60 excess; this leaves approx £100 remaining for the insurer to settle with the repairer. As this is less then the £125 limit, it will be paid by Direct Line.