Does Your Extended Warranty Cover Your Windshield?

A long time ago and far away, I was driving home from college after my last day of classes during my junior year.

It was a beautiful sunny day, which is the only reason I saw the rock get flung by the semi-truck in front of me. I tensed up at the last second as it smashed into my windshield while driving at 60 MPH.

I was lucky. The windshield held up, and I didn’t get into an accident.

My window glass? Not so much. It was totaled, and I was a broke college student who hadn’t started his moneymaking internship yet.

Not the best way to start your summer.

If you find yourself in the same situation, you might be wondering if your windshield is covered under your extended warranty.

Does Your Extended Warranty Cover Windshield Replacement?

There’s two things working against having your windshield covered.

For one, an extended warranty is meant to cover your car in case of a material defect in workmanship. In plain English, it covers your car if something wasn’t made the way it was supposed to be made.

If your windshield cracked on its own accord, perhaps on account of the frame not being manufactured correctly, you may have a case if your windshield is a covered part in your extended warranty.

If it was cracked/chipped/damaged in an accident, or as a result of an act of nature like my flying rock example above, your prospects don’t look as good. Accidentals aren’t covered in most extended warranties. For example:

“[…]or any part of the vehicle has been subject to an accident, physical damage […]”

Let’s say your windshield damage wasn’t caused by an accident though. Let’s say it was caused by a manufacturer defect.

In this case, you have to contend with another exclusion.

Extended warranties are meant to cover the cost of mechanical breakdowns specifically. It’s usually spelled out in your extended warranty contract like this:

“Coverage under this vehicle service CONTRACT applies only to MECHANICAL BREAKDOWNS. Items that are not MECHANICAL BREAKDOWNS are excluded from coverage”

That does mean your extended warranty almost certainly doesn’t cover your windshield.

That doesn’t mean all hope is lost, though. The above applies only to third party warranties, as your manufacturer warranty may be more forgiving.

If your car is under 3 years old and has less than 30,000 or so miles on it, you should still be covered by your manufacturer’s warranty and it’s possible they will be more lenient. It’s worth asking about, at least.

Even if your windshield isn’t covered by your extended warranty, all hope is not lost. They’re still a few ways to get your windshield replaced for free.

Your Car Insurance May Cover Windshield Replacement

Even though I didn’t have an extended warranty when my windshield was destroyed, I did have car insurance.

My USAA comprehensive coverage covers damage to car glass as part of my plan. That happened to include my windshield, which I had replaced for free.

Not bad, huh?

However, USAA is much like the other entries on this list where you’re expected to have comprehensive insurance coverage or a plan that specifically covers your glass if you want your windshield to be covered.

Now, the reason I paid $0 dollars for my repair was that I lived in a zero deductible state at the time. These states (Arizona, Florida, Kentucky, Massachusetts, and South Carolina) require insurance companies to allow those with compressive insurance to pay for an add windshield replacement with no deductible to their policies.

So if you find yourself in one of these states with comprehensive coverage, enjoy your free windshield. If not, you may have to go through the process of making a claim through your insurance. If you have a busted windshield, repair costs likely won’t exceed $400 dollars, so if you have a $500 dollar deductible it may not be worth it.

That said, we’ve gone ahead and gathered the top 5 insurance companies other than USAA to see if they cover windshield replacement.

State Farm

State farm does not appear to have a uniform “if your windshield is damaged” we’ll replace it free provision. Comprehensive insurance does appear to cover your windshield for free. Otherwise, you should expect to pay a deductible. The most common State Farm deductible is $500 and considering the price of a windshield replacement (~$200) it may be better to just fix it.

For more information, visit the State Farm windshield and glass claims portal here.

https://www.statefarm.com/claims/claims-help/auto/windshield-repair

GEICO

Depending on your contract, if you have what GEICO terms “comprehensive physical damage coverage” your windshield may be covered if it’s broken, although you’ll likely be subject to a deductible.

Cracks and chips that are smaller than a dollar bill can be repaired if you have the appropriate coverage. GEICO will waive your deductible if this is the case. For more information, check your auto insurance policy for your coverages, or read here.

https://www.geico.com/claims/glass-claims-guide/

Progressive

Much like GEICO, Progressive requires you to have comprehensive insurance in order to get a covered windshield replacement. You will be subject to a deductible unless you live in a state that offers what Progressive calls a $0 deductible option on glass only replacement claims. This deductible can be separate from your main deductible.

Progressive will waive your deductible if your windshield is cracked or chipped and the crack or chip is less than 6 inches long.

Learn more here.

https://www.progressive.com/claims/faq/glass-repair-vs-replace/

Allstate

Allstate covers your windshield repair if you have comprehensive coverage, although your deductible will still apply and you’ll have to submit a claim.

Whether or not you pay a deductible will depend on the state you live in, and what your policy is. If you have full glass coverage in one of the states where it’s sold, you won’t have to pay out of pocket.

Liberty Mutual

Liberty Mutual follows a comprehensive coverage model for their windshield replacement much like the other insurers on this list. Much like other providers as well, it should waive your deductible for repair work for any cracks that are considered smaller than a dollar bill, which is about 6 inches or so.

What Are My Other Options?

If your insurance is out, you’re probably going to have to pay directly. While it might be tempting to go for the budget option and try to save every penny possible, this isn’t always advisable.

For instance, although this is a cheap repair that you can do yourself with the cost being as low as $10-$20 if you can find a junkyard windshield, it’s possible you can botch the installation and pay for it later.

The same goes for using a discount windshield provider who may skirt quality and safety standards.

Your windshield is meant to protect you, and we don’t advise skimping on it if possible.

From experience, the best way to get a lower price on your windshield is to comparison shop with at least 3 windshield companies locally.

When I had my windshield issue, I started with SafeLite to get a baseline price, and then requested a quote from 3 other local windshield shops. I didn’t realize my insurance actually covered the repair until a second call to SafeLite, but you can use the same method.

Generally speaking, as long as you do your homework and compare prices with multiple vendors, you should end up with a price you can stomach.

Preventing Issues With Your Windshield Going Forward

If your insurance doesn’t cover your windshield right now, we can help you find a better rate on comprehensive coverage that does include your windshield.

Whether you are an active service contract or a maintenance plan customer or not, we can provide you with discounted auto insurance, homeowners insurance, renters insurance and if you bundle these insurance policies you will get a multi-policy discount.

Contact us today for a no-obligation auto insurance quote, we can help you save 25% or more on your annual auto insurance premium. Ask about our multi-policy discount, when you bundle your auto and homeowner’s insurance needs you can save more money.

Once again, please call today to receive your auto insurance quote or you can complete the form on top of this page and one of our licensed auto insurance agents will contact you.

What Is A Direct Warranty Provider?

Now, if you’re also considering getting a vehicle service contract with us as part of your car insurance you should know what a direct provider is. It’s an important distinction that is worth talking about.

A direct warranty provider is a warranty company that administrates and services its own claims, legally speaking. What that means, is when a direct warranty provider sells you an extended warranty, they are responsible for paying your claims, as well as handling any customer service issues that arise.

Direct providers can offer lower prices for their plans and better customer service because everything is handled in house. 

Currently, only Protect My Car and Endurance are direct warranty providers.

Other extended warranty companies aren’t selling their own plans.  When you buy a policy with them, they then transfer the responsibility for your future claims to a 3^rd party finance company. They get paid, and then that finance company that you didn’t choose becomes the legal entity responsible for paying your claims.

This can be a huge hassle. Claims take longer to get paid, and we’ve seen prices that are more expensive.

That’s not to mention that the 3^rd party finance company has no connection to you as a human being and has every financial incentive to pay as little as possible on your claim.

With over 13 years in this business, everyone will tell you that choosing a direct warranty provider is the best way to go. You’ll avoid getting a run around from claims agents, and instead will get help from a real person who wants to see you off smiling.

Want To Get The Best Extended Warranty For Your Car? Choose Protect My Car & Save

Protect My Car is far from “any” extended warranty company. Our lowest-cost plan, the Driveline covers more than the basic coverage you’ll get from other extended warranty companies, including your starter, and important bits like your air conditioning, windshield washer pump, and alternator.

Best of all, we’re able to do this at a lower price than our competitors because we’re a direct warranty provider.

As a proud direct warranty provider, you’ll never be mistreated when you join us. There’s a reason our average review score (TrustPilot, Consumer Affairs, BBB) is a 4.3/5.0, and I want you to find out why.

We know there are a number of other great extended warranty companies out there, we know we’re the best and we want to prove it to you.

That’s why, for a limited time, we’re giving away $50 dollars in rewards just for getting a quote with us. From there, you’ll be able to shop all of our different plans, online, with no phone call needed. You can even buy the driveline in less than 5 minutes and have your fuel pump covered and ready to go.

Because we’re a direct warranty provider, you may find that our plans are significantly cheaper than what you’re paying right now.

So don’t wait, get your free quote today and claim your $50 dollars in free rewards. You’ll be one step closer to not having to shell out hundreds for expensive repairs ever again.