This is the most common thing every customer with a broken car glass wants to know. For every damage in your car, where you want your insurance company to pay for the damage there is a compulsory insurance deductible that you need to pay. The customer often wants discounts on deductibles or even searches for a car glass company that can completely waive it off.
You may think that it’s a good idea if you don’t have to pay anything for the car glass replacement, but hold your thought and go through the article to know why it’s not in your favor to get such a discount or waive off.
How does an insurance claim work?
For any car damage, you can visit a workshop. In case of car glass damage, you can opt for an auto glass specialist. You have the option to pay all through your pocket or can opt for the insurance claim. Depending on the type of your insurance policy, you may only need to pay a compulsory deductible for comprehensive insurance cover or an add-on depreciation for adhesive and plastic parts in case of a non-comprehensive cover.
If you opt for an insurance claim, your car glass company will process the claim with the necessary paperwork and ask you to pay for your deductibles and depreciation. Once you pay your part, it will inform the insurance company and your insurance company will settle your claim and pay the rest of your bill to the glass company.
What is the compulsory insurance deductible?
In most of cases, motor insurance policies in India include windshield and other glass damages as per law. The insurance policy which is comprehensive covers complete damage and you don’t need to pay the depreciation for the parts replaced. While for a non-comprehensive insurance policy certain depreciation needs to be paid out of your pocket.
But regardless of the nature of your policy cover, comprehensive or non-comprehensive, you need to pay a fixed amount as part of the total bill out of your pocket, it is called Compulsory Insurance Deductible.
As standard in India, for non-commercial cars, the Insurance deductible is ₹ 1000 for a car having engine capacity less than 1500 cc and ₹ 2000 for all other cars.
Some policies also have add-on compulsory deductibles which are added when a new policy is issued. This additional compulsory deductible is offered by insurance companies against discounts on premiums. So you need to pay more during insurance claims.
What is the purpose of having a compulsory insurance deductible in your policy?
Through your insurance policy, the Insurance company covers your financial losses. But a total financial cover can prove to have negative results. Some time people become irresponsible due to insurance and don’t care about small damages which can be covered under insurance. Though insurance deductible is very less in monetary terms. It has a psychological effect. Through the insurance deductible, Insurance companies also share a bit of financial loss with you on each claim. Your insurance claim kicks in after you pay your part of the claim as the insurance deductible. It also discourages unwanted insurance claims.
Why insurance deductibles can’t be waived?
While you are searching for an expert car glass replacement company for your damaged car glass, you will notice that different companies offer different prices for the same car glass. Even in case of insurance claims, you may notice some companies that give you a discount even on your compulsory deductible.
But Auto Glass Masters don’t offer any discount or waive off in deductibles or depreciation. We also discourage customers to search for a car glass replacement company that can waive off their deductibles. There are two reasons why your compulsory insurance deductibles can’t be waived.
The first reason is it is illegal to waive this clause. To get your damage bill paid by the insurance company, it is mandatory that you pay your deductible to the car glass company and then after submitting the cash receipt to the insurance company, it will pay their part to the workshop.
Second, Insurance companies and their surveyor have a complete price list of parts and labor for most of car makes and models. Deductibles are so designed that while you opt for a claim you pay a considerable part out of your pocket and make you more responsible while you drive. If a car glass replacement company uses original parts it doesn’t have enough profit margin to waive off your insurance deductible completely.
How does some car glass replacement company offer to waive off your insurance deductible?
This is correct that some car glass workshops offer a complete waive off. But as a customer, you should consider how can they offer such a waive off when they don’t have enough margins. It is simple mathematics, they will compromise with the quality of the parts or workmanship to compensate for their losses.
You must understand that there is no non-profit automotive glass replacement company. Companies work to earn. If the customer forces them to get a waiver which is not fair, they may offer you one in cut-throat competition. But at the end of the day, they have to compensate it through lower quality work or replacement parts. As they can’t cheat the insurance company that has expert claim surveyors.
Expert advice: If any auto glass replacement company offers you a compulsory insurance deductible waive off, don’t fall for the trap. Instead, ask them how will they get additional payment for the job if you are not going to pay for it. The most obvious answer you will get is – we will charge extra to the insurance company. This answer itself explains what kind of company you are going to deal with. It’s understood that if a company can cheat your insurance company with whom they have regular dealings, it can also cheat you. Any trusted brand like Auto Glass Masters, will not offer you undue discounts. On the other hand, a professional car glass expert has a fair and transparent billing system and offers you the best service and quality products for the money you have paid. So, always choose your car glass replacement company wisely and don’t fall for such unfair discounts that can, in turn, compromise your own safety.
