ADUK Archive

Having happily enjoyed free chip repairs for a number of years now, I am somewhat disgusted that my recent insurance policy (Ageas Insurance Ltd via IAM Surety) are now stating a £10 excess on repairs! The guy from Surety said that this was becoming 'standard' due to a high number of payouts for repairs. Excuse me for thinking that it was to encourage drivers to maintain their vehicles in a safe state, increasing their safety in the event of an accident!

Has anyone else come across this new excess or am I just having the mickey taken by this policy? I only bought it yesterday and it doesn't kick in for a day or two so I still have that nice 14-day cooling off period to cancel.

Edited to correct name of insurer - and to add: don't get me started on the notable drop in quality of service from IAM now that they're Cornmarket instead of Adelaide!

Wonder if there's a large increase in claims due to the number of councils failing to repair roads, or thinking "surface dressing" is a suitable replacement for tarmac?

Can't remember who it was - Admiral maybe? - but it changed from free to £25 over the course of my experience with them. £75 I think for a new windscreen. It's still much better than the £300+ or so it'd cost to do independently.

It was never about safety but about encouraging you to repair chips before they developed into full windscreen claims with the associated costs.

Looking round to re-insure the fleet, £10 for repairs and £75 for a new windscreen now seems to be the norm.

Hmmm , if they're going to start charging for repairs , which usually can still be seen , I'm going to be more inclined to just insist on a new screen .

Last time I had one , last year , it developed into a crack by the time I got home ; replacement excess was £50 on my classic policy with Peter Best underwritten by Ecclesiastical Insurance .

Pontoneer wrote:Hmmm , if they're going to start charging for repairs , which usually can still be seen , I'm going to be more inclined to just insist on a new screen .

Last time I had one , last year , it developed into a crack by the time I got home ; replacement excess was £50 on my classic policy with Peter Best underwritten by Ecclesiastical Insurance .

Last time I had a large chip directly in front of me, the chap who came out insisted he had to measure it before being allowed to replace the screen, so you might not be offered the option if you're claiming.

I suppose it's easy enough to make sure it's large enough !

I was changing wiper blades on one car and inadvertently opened the front boot. Cue one OEM replacement windscreen (£300 or more) for only the £75 excess.

Now, when do I need to change the blades on the Golf - a 12 year old windscreen which is showing its age...

I called Autoglass out to repair a chip having paid the £10 excess. The fitter warned that sometimes removing the cup that the resin is injected through could actually enlarge the chip into a crack. This is what happened and I had to cough up another £60 to have the screen replaced.

jonquirk wrote:I called Autoglass out to repair a chip having paid the £10 excess. The fitter warned that sometimes removing the cup that the resin is injected through could actually enlarge the chip into a crack. This is what happened and I had to cough up another £60 to have the screen replaced.

Seems fair, since you 'benefited' from both a repair and a new screen

jont wrote:Wonder if there's a large increase in claims due to the number of councils failing to repair roads, or thinking "surface dressing" is a suitable replacement for tarmac?

It could be something to do with Autoglass having the virtual monopoly on windscreen repairs/replacement.