Are Windscreens FREE?
Most of us have 'no excess' glass cover with our vehicle insurance.
This generally means that it's really easy to get your windscreen repaired or replaced.
Not much if any paperwork to do and the problem goes away, for FREE*
*conditions apply
Some think that they're entitled to at least one screen per year, for FREE, as part of their insurance policy. This may be correct in some isolated cases, but it's not the norm.
You can sometimes get a big surprise when it comes time to renew your insurances for the year, especially with commercial vehicle insurance. It's all about your claims history.
Windscreens are definitely not FREE and in some cases the costs can build up in your claims history and come back to bite at your next insurance renewal.
There are also some interesting differences in cost between
'Genuine Parts' and 'Aftermarket Parts'
Below is a quote for an aftermarket Hino truck windscreen.
The cost is about what you'd expect in today's market.
And here is a quote from the same company for a genuine Hino truck windscreen.
More than 5 times the price of the aftermarket windscreen. How can that be justified?
The truck owner was asked whether they wanted a genuine or aftermarket screen, they were not told any pricing and had no idea that the genuine screen would cost more than 5 times more than an aftermarket screen.
They chose a genuine screen.
It was replaced and that was the last they thought about it.
Their insurance renewal offer arrived a couple of months later and the cost had hugely increased. Their broker didn't or couldn't explain why their truck insurance premiums had increased so much, especially considering they had not made any accident claims.
The truck owner contacted Craig Silby at easytrucks truck valuations and insurance to ask for help. Silby discovered that the truck owner had made only one claim within the last few years, which was a windscreen replacement from only a couple of months prior.
However, he nearly fell off his chair when seeing the cost of the windscreen replacement, over $3000!
Through his association with commercial vehicle insurance experts TruckSure, at MultiSure Risk Managers, Silby was able to help the truck owner sort out their insurances and get the cost of insurance back to reality, saving the truck owner several thousand dollars in the process.
Part of process involved using his commercial vehicle valuation tools and skills to ensure that the insured value of their truck was 'market value'. The truck was currently insured for almost twice the market value, which the owner would never have received if the truck was written off, plus they would have had to pay a much higher excess than necessary.
It definitely pays to have an insurance broker/adviser that knows and understands the industry you're in, particularly the transport industry.
Contact Craig Silby at easytrucks a month or so before your next insurance renewal, to get a no obligation FREE insurance review.
Along with that you get Craig's ongoing personal and knowledgeable service, plus potential savings on the cost of your insurance premiums.
Kind regards,
Craig Silby
Phone: 021 740 565
TruckValue Registered Valuations MultiSure - TruckSure Insurance Brokers New & Used Truck & Trailer Sales & Advice
easytrucks NZ TRANSPORT CONSULTING easytrucks.co.nz
