Does car insurance cover broken windows?
Collision car insurance will cover broken windows if they are shattered as a result of an accident or collision, but you'll need comprehensive car insurance to cover broken windows caused by anything other than an accident. Vandals, car thieves, even Mother Nature may break your car windows, and a comprehensive insurance policy will protect your vehicle from all three. Get free comprehensive car insurance quotes below.
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Ty Stewart
Licensed Insurance Agent
Ty Stewart is the founder and CEO of SimpleLifeInsure.com. He started researching and studying about insurance when he got his first policy for his own family. He has been featured as an insurance expert speaker at agent conventions and in top publications. As an independent licensed insurance agent, he has helped clients nationwide to secure affordable coverage while making the process simpl...
Licensed Insurance Agent
UPDATED: Mar 5, 2024
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Editorial Guidelines: We are a free online resource for anyone interested in learning more about auto insurance. Our goal is to be an objective, third-party resource for everything auto insurance related. We update our site regularly, and all content is reviewed by auto insurance experts.
UPDATED: Mar 5, 2024
It’s all about you. We want to help you make the right car insurance coverage choices.
Advertiser Disclosure: We strive to help you make confident car insurance decisions. Comparison shopping should be easy. We are not affiliated with any one car insurance company and cannot guarantee quotes from any single company.
Our car insurance industry partnerships don’t influence our content. Our opinions are our own. To compare quotes from many different car insurance companies please enter your ZIP code on this page to use the free quote tool. The more quotes you compare, the more chances to save.
On This Page
- Various windows can break across the car
- The reason for the broken window will determine if insurance provides coverage
- Collision and comprehensive coverage should be added to a basic policy
Car windows can break at any time. Broken glass can occur in the following situations:
- accidents
- road debris
- vandalism
The coverage you have on your auto insurance policy will determine if you are covered.
Compare car insurance quotes and find the coverage you desire at the best price.
Types of Windows in Your Car
When you deal with broken windows, insurance companies will want to know what window or windows have broken. Since they are all made of glass, they all have an equal chance of breaking. Much of the damage will depend on the type of accident.
The different windows that could break include:
- Windshield
- Driver’s side windows
- Passenger’s side windows
- Rear window
Depending on the make and model of your car, you might have other windows as well. These might include a sunroof window, a window attached to the hatch, as well as smaller windows that don’t open but are part of the overall design of the car.
With so many different types of windows, there are varied replacement costs.
Some windows are also harder to install, making them more costly for the labor.
When you file a claim with the insurance company, they will have you get quotes on repairs.
If the cost of the repair is less than your deductible, you then have to decide whether you want to continue with the claims process for the insurance company to pay for the repairs.
If the cost to replace a window is $600 and you have a $1,000 deductible, the car insurance company will not pay for the repair.
In other instances, the window is just one part of the total amount of damage and therefore the window repair would be covered along with all of the other repairs.
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How Windows Break
Windows break in a variety of ways. Most car manufacturers today use tempered glass. Tempered glass is stronger than the glass you might have at your home. It’s capable of withstanding a lot before it cracks or shatters.
The most common reasons for glass breaking are:
- Car crash
- Road debris (such as rocks)
- Flying debris (something flew out of another car and struck your window)
- Vandalism (baseball bat, bullets, etc.)
Insurance companies need to know how the window broke when you call to file a claim. Only certain reasons will be covered by your policy.
Some of your coverage should be based on how windows break. If you live in a high crime area or an area where there is a lot of road debris or car accidents, you may want to pay a little more to have a higher level of coverage.
Read more: Does car insurance cover road debris?
Forms of Insurance to Have
Auto insurance is mandatory. However, you are only required to have a basic insurance policy, which is the liability insurance that the state requires you to have.
You have the option to add-on more coverage to your policy.
Adding on various types of coverage and at higher amounts is recommended so you’re covered against more “what if” scenarios, including broken windows.
The different types of coverage below will show you how you could be covered by broken windows.
- Property damage – If you’re at fault in a crash, the property damage liability will replace all of the windows of the other vehicle that are cracked or shattered in the accident.
- Comprehensive – If you experience a broken window because of a non-driving related incident, such as hail, road debris, or something else, this coverage will cover the window replacement.
- Collision – If you have an accident where you are at fault and your window breaks, this coverage will provide the window replacement.
Insurance will only cover the cost of the damage up to the level you have on your policy.
You can often increase coverage by $10,000 or more without spending much more per month on your premiums.
The more coverage you have, the better protected you are from all of the various things that could happen to you and your vehicle, on and off the road.
Before making any final decisions on your insurance company, it is important to learn as much as you can about your local insurance providers, and the coverages they offer. Call your local insurance agent to clear up any questions that you might have. Questions to consider asking include, “What is the best coverage plan for me/my family/my situation?” “What are the minimum coverage requirements in my state and what form of coverage do you recommend?” “Do you guys offer any bundle discounts if I take out both my auto insurance and home insurance with you?” and “What is the average rate of insurance quotes you guys offer?”
Before making any big insurance decisions, use our free tool to compare insurance quotes near you. It’s simple, just plug in your zip code and we’ll do the rest!
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Ty Stewart
Licensed Insurance Agent
Ty Stewart is the founder and CEO of SimpleLifeInsure.com. He started researching and studying about insurance when he got his first policy for his own family. He has been featured as an insurance expert speaker at agent conventions and in top publications. As an independent licensed insurance agent, he has helped clients nationwide to secure affordable coverage while making the process simpl...
Licensed Insurance Agent
Editorial Guidelines: We are a free online resource for anyone interested in learning more about auto insurance. Our goal is to be an objective, third-party resource for everything auto insurance related. We update our site regularly, and all content is reviewed by auto insurance experts.