A glass claim, step by step, for Forsyth County drivers

Is glass covered at all?

Glass is covered if you carry comprehensive coverage, which North Carolina calls ‘Other Than Collision’. The NC Department of Insurance lists ‘breakage of glass’ and ‘missiles or falling objects’ among the losses it covers, and says it pays the cost of the repair less any deductible. Your declarations page shows whether you carry it.

The deductible question

North Carolina has no law that waives the deductible for glass. Some states do; North Carolina is not one of them. So unless your policy includes full glass coverage, your comprehensive deductible applies to a windshield the same as to any other comprehensive loss. Some policies do include full glass coverage, and the only way to know is to read yours or ask your agent. That is also the honest answer to the common question of whether a cracked windshield is replaced at no cost in North Carolina: only when your own policy says so.

For a chip, the arithmetic often settles it. A resin repair usually costs much less than a new windshield and may come in under your deductible, in which case there is nothing to claim. See windshield repair in Winston-Salem for what can be filled.

Step by step

1. Photograph the damage with a coin for scale, and note where and when it happened.
2. Find your policy number and check for comprehensive coverage, the deductible and any full glass coverage.
3. Choose who does the work. You do not have to use the company your insurer suggests (see below).
4. Get the quote with your vehicle’s VIN, so the glass is right for your car and its camera.
5. Open the claim with your insurer, or ask the glass company to help. Impex works with all major insurance providers and says it can handle the claim with your insurer.
6. Have the work done and keep the invoice with the claim number.

Your right to choose the shop

North Carolina’s G.S. 58-3-180 says a policy covering damage to a motor vehicle ‘shall allow the claimant to select the repair service or source for the repair of the damage’, and that the amount the insurer owes is paid regardless of the repair service you select. If an insurer recommends a shop, it must tell you that you are under no obligation to use it and that you may use the shop of your choice. Violations can bring a civil penalty of up to $2,000 each. The NCDOI puts it plainly: an insurance company cannot require you to go to a particular repair shop.

Will a glass claim cost you points?

North Carolina’s Safe Driver Incentive Plan charges points for convictions and at-fault accidents. A rock chip or a cracked windshield is neither, so a comprehensive glass claim does not add SDIP points. That is not the whole story: the NCDOI also notes that many insurers look at how often you file claims, at-fault and fault-free alike, when deciding whether to renew comprehensive and collision coverage. One glass claim is rarely a worry; a habit of small claims can be.

Mistakes that slow a claim down

• Waiting until a chip has become a crack, which turns a small repair into a full windshield.
• Not having the policy number, or the VIN, when you ask for the quote.
• Assuming the insurer must pick the shop, when the choice is yours under G.S. 58-3-180.
• Forgetting that a new windshield on many newer cars also needs the forward camera calibrated, and leaving it out of the quote.

Which page fits your damage

• A chip: windshield repair in Winston-Salem
• A crack: windshield crack repair in Winston-Salem
• A broken side or back window: car window repair in Winston-Salem
• A new windshield east of the city: windshield replacement in Kernersville, NC or windshield replacement in High Point, NC

Questions people ask