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Glass Doctors - Windscreen Repair - Advice For Dealing With Your Insurance Company Regarding Your Windscreen Repair

My insurance co. says I must use their nominated supplier...

You never know who you could be talking to!

"Sorry Madam, we can't repair your windscreen because the chip is within 5cm of the edge of the screen."

"Sorry Sir, we can't repair your windscreen because it has heating elements in it."

"I'm afraid it's against the law to repair in the drivers vision area."

"The British Standard doesn't allow repairs over 10mm on the drivers side."

"Sorry Sir, we can't repair that chip because it's within 50mm of another repair."

"We can't repair a windscreen chip with legs on it as it may crack."

These are some of the favourite excuses used by windscreen replacement companies to sell you a new screen. None of them are valid.

In fact you were probably speaking to a screen company when you rang your insurer! Windscreen companies have staff working at insurance companies and also sometimes run the so-called "glass help lines" and will answer the phone in the name of your insurer, so you think you are speaking to your insurer when you are speaking to a replacement company! Naturally the "advice" given by such "help lines" is biased and sometimes misleading. (We have spent 15 minutes discussing damage size of a "£5 coin" with a phone operative just to demonstrate that they had no idea what they were talking about).

It was an overseas call centre! They had never even seen our currency!

You are under no legal obligation to use the nominated supplier. Insurers would rather you did so because they have negotiated special discounts for screen replacements and have billing arrangements already in place. The Competition Act 1998 outlaws restrictive practices of this kind.

It's an MOT failure, will the insurance companies nominated screen company repair it?

NO! It is "against their guidelines" to repair damage over 10mm diameter in the drivers vision area, (but naturally they will not volunteer this information unless asked, so you end up at their depot when they tell you it "needs a new screen"). This will cost you the £75 excess if you fall for this scam.