Insurance windshield replacement in Charlotte: how an NC glass claim works

Charlotte Auto Glass is the Charlotte website of Impex Auto Glass, at 5641 David Cox Rd in north Charlotte. Impex works with all major insurance providers. It is not a partner of any insurer, and nothing on this page is legal or insurance advice: your own policy decides what is covered.

Is glass damage covered?

In North Carolina, glass damage normally falls under comprehensive coverage, which the NC Department of Insurance calls Other Than Collision. The Department lists breakage of glass, and missiles or falling objects, among the losses comprehensive covers, and says the coverage pays the cost of repair or the actual cash value of the car, less any deductible.

So the first thing to check is whether your policy has comprehensive coverage at all. Liability-only policies do not pay for your own glass. If you have comprehensive, a rock chip, a cracked windshield or a smashed door window is usually a comprehensive claim.

The deductible, and whether a cracked windshield is replaced for free

North Carolina has no law that waives the deductible for glass. The Department’s wording, less any deductible, points the other way, and Impex’s own pages say the same: North Carolina does not have a zero-deductible glass law. Your comprehensive deductible normally applies to a glass claim.

Some policies include full glass coverage, which changes that. It is an option on some policies, not a right under state law, so read your declarations page or ask your agent. If your deductible is higher than the cost of the job, a claim may not be worth making at all; ask Impex for the quote first and compare.

Will my insurance go up if I claim a cracked windshield?

North Carolina’s Safe Driver Incentive Plan, SDIP, charges insurance points for convictions and at-fault accidents. A rock chip or a broken window is neither, and the Department’s FAQ says an insurer cannot charge points for an accident that was not your fault. So a comprehensive glass claim does not add SDIP points.

The same FAQ adds a caution: many companies look at how often you claim, counting fault-free claims as well as at-fault ones, when they decide whether to renew comprehensive and collision coverage. One glass claim is unlikely to matter much; a run of small claims might. If the job costs little more than your deductible, paying it yourself can be the simpler choice.

You choose the shop: G.S. 58-3-180

North Carolina has a clear rule on this. 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 shall be paid regardless of the repair service selected.

• If your insurer recommends a shop, it must tell you that you are under no obligation to use it, that you may use the shop of your choice, and that payment is the same either way.
• It must also tell you whether it has a financial interest in the shop it recommends.
• No insurer may require repair at a shop it owns.
• Violations can bring a civil penalty of up to $2,000 each.

The NC Department of Insurance puts it in one line in its FAQ: an insurance company cannot require you to go to a particular repair shop. So if you want the work done at the David Cox Rd shop, or by Impex at your car, say so when you open the claim.

How a glass claim with Impex usually goes

1. Check your policy. Comprehensive coverage, your deductible, and whether you have full glass coverage.
2. Get the quote. Send the form or call Impex with the vehicle, the VIN and the damage. Knowing the price helps you decide whether to claim.
3. Open the claim, or let Impex help. Impex says it handles the entire insurance claim process for you and offers direct insurance billing. Have your insurer’s name and your policy number ready.
4. Name your shop. Tell the insurer you have chosen Impex Auto Glass. Under G.S. 58-3-180 that is your call.
5. The work. Repair or replacement at the shop or at your car, with camera calibration when a new windshield requires it.
6. Settle up. If your deductible applies, that part is yours to pay; the insurer pays the rest of the covered amount.

An example: Allstate windshield replacement

Plenty of Charlotte drivers search for their own insurer’s name, so take Allstate windshield replacement as an example. Nothing about the North Carolina rules changes with the company. If an Allstate policy written in North Carolina includes comprehensive coverage, glass damage is normally a comprehensive claim, the deductible on that policy applies unless it includes full glass coverage, and the policyholder chooses the repair shop under G.S. 58-3-180. The same goes for any other insurer. Impex Auto Glass is not affiliated with Allstate or any other insurer; it works with all major insurance providers on the customer’s behalf.

Calibration and the claim

If your car has a forward camera behind the windshield, a replacement may need ADAS calibration afterwards. I-CAR lists removing the windshield as one of the events that may require aiming the camera, and says requirements vary by year, make and model. Impex performs the calibration on site immediately after the replacement when the car requires it, so mention any lane keeping, collision warning or adaptive cruise features when you ask for the quote. The calibration is part of putting the car back as it was, which is why it belongs in the same job.

What to have ready

• Your insurer’s name and your policy number.
• A claim number, if you have already reported it.
• The date and roughly where the damage happened.
• The VIN, from the base of the windshield or the driver’s door frame.
• Photos of the damage.
• For a break-in, the police report number if you made one.

Repair or replacement: what it means for the claim

A small chip that can be filled is a smaller claim than a new windshield, and it keeps the original glass and its factory seal. If you are claiming anyway, ask for the chip to be looked at quickly, before it spreads into a crack. The pages on windshield repair in Charlotte NC and windshield crack repair in Charlotte explain what can be repaired, and car window repair in Charlotte covers side and back glass, where a claim follows the same rules.

If anything about your policy is unclear, your agent or insurer is the one to ask about coverage; Impex can explain the glass side of the job and the quote.

Questions people ask