My wife's car was broken into tonight. The drivers rear door fixed quarter panel was broken and the CD/Radio stolen.
This happened outside our local swimming pool.
Checking my insurance details tell me that I have a £60 excess for the glass - Which wont affect my No claims bonus (NCB).
Autoglass have quoted me £110 for the glass If I pursue alone.
So the answer here is pay the £60 excess and go thru insurance.
However, the claim against loss of car stereo is different.
The insurance details - I have read them twice - still leave me scratching my head unsure. It appears that this would be considered a seperate claim to the glass, and thus a £150 excess would be applied and count against my NCB ??
I can replace the stereo with an equivalent for £80 at Costco.
Is this standard practice? Or have I just read the thing wrong?
Right now, I plan to claim for the glass and purchase the stero on my own - Thus, protecting my NCB and saving £70 !
Seems unfair to have 2 seperate claims - One of which will cost me NCB and also £70 extra for a replacement radio - for what is a "No fault occurance "
Any thoughts from the backroom on this.
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If you can get the stereo for £80 then just pay your excess to Autoglass and get your new window.
Hope the new stereo is a removable fascia and that she takes it with her!
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Sorry to hear about this.
If I am correct, and Mark or someone else may disagree, replacement of glass is usually NCB damage free.
However, as for the stereo, you have suffered a loss and if you make a claim your NCB will be affected, or if you have protected NCB, you will have a "fault claim on your record"
On the positive side, you're lucky that the toe rags got in by damaging the window. If they had wrecked the door or lock then claiming for this would have affected your NCB.
In your position, I would get the glass replaced and pay that £60 excess, then replace the stereo myself.
In addition, get a decent thatchem 1 alarm fitted.
Hugo
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"In addition, get a decent thatchem 1 alarm fitted."
Why?
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In addition, get a decent thatchem 1 alarm fitted.
A Thatcham one would work better ;o)
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If you're going to claim on insurance then I'm guessing that only one excess is payable as it is the excess that covers theft of, or theft from, the vehicle.
My uncle used to claim on his insurance repeatedly when he had about 3 stereos nicked many moons ago, it wasn't long before he couldn't get a low quote on even a 1.3 base model Escort.
I'd think twice about claiming...
Blue
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I remembered about 2 years ago, when my quarter glass got smashed, I was quoted similar price.However,I phoned around for those mobile glass fitter and they were able to replace/install for a mare £35.
I've just checked my insurance policy and lucky for me it covers for stereo theft,as normal pay a excess and nothing happens to my NCB.
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Don't claim for the stereo. It is common for glass to have a separate excess to the main policy due to the relatively low costs involved. Remember that for the stereo they will not only supply a replacement, but also arrange to have it fitted. Far cheaper for you to get a replacement unit for up to the value of the excess but do make sure it is a face-off unit, preferably with a blinking LED or similar highly visible indicator that the unit is disabled. The toerags frequently go back and hit the same car after a couple of weeks in the safe knowledge that it will have a nice new stereo.....
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My car was broken into 2 years ago and a laptop stolen. They smashed a side window and it was this that was claimed for (the laptop was insured under a separate company policy).
So when it came to renewing the insurance I put down for a broken window and assumed a no fault claim). However, the insurance company wanted to know how this occurred and had categories of malicious damage or attempted theft from vehicle - both of which were treated as 'fault claims' and hence affected the NCB.
I would assume that even if you don't claim for the stereo the insurance company would want to know how the damage happened (maybe not until renewal time) and that will affect your NCB.
The alternative of not telling them and just paying for it yourself will presumably come under the usual non-disclosure of information clauses?
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err.. since when was it my fault if some toe rag breaks into my car when I'm not there?
Agreed that you still need to notify them even if you don't make a claim. If you don't then you witheld relevant information and your next year's policy is voidable.
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Well it's not your 'fault' but doesn't this come down to the "it's a no claim bonus not no blame" argument that's been discussed before?
If a stone goes through your windscreen you claim and pay the £50/60 excess, end of story. If you claim for the side window, generally the cause is some form of attempted or actual theft or vandalism.
The insurance company can't recover the money they pay out and hence the bonus may be reduced or if not I bet the premium will go up at renewal.
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