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My insurer didn't fix my chipped windscreen - should I have to pay now that it's cracked?

I have car insurance with Saga that gives me unlimited time in Spain. In April, on the way down to Spain, my windscreen was chipped by a stone. I contacted Saga but they have no agreement with any windscreen companies in Spain. Their advice was to run the car and if the crack got worse I was advised not to drive it but we were not returning until mid July. On return to the UK I'm now advised that I will need to pay an excess of £75 to replace the screen. Is this fair because if the screen had been repaired earlier I would not have had to pay anything?

Asked on 19 July 2017 by connollyt

Answered by Honest John
Unfortunately yes. You could have had the chip repaired yourself in Spain, kept the receipt and sent it to Saga on your return. You would then not have needed a new screen. They are applying the terms and conditions of the contract. This is called acting as an agent of necessity, it would have been necessary to have the chip repaired rather than a screen replaced. Because you would have been mitigating the insurers' loss, it would have been very hard for them to refuse reimbursement of the repair for the chip.

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