War on Insurance

[yanwenrose]

Hello guys,
As you can see, my car got smashed badly in this video. I just can't believe a random guy would just do that to my car out of so many cars out there, I guess I was just having bad luck. This guy picked up a stone and threw it inside my car, the stone bounce it on my seat and cracked the front windshield and crack it, so my damages are the back and the front windshield, nothing was taken from my car. That guy who did it probably has issues.
I called my insurance company right away and they told me to go to the preferred auto glass company in Toronto. After two days of fixing the car, I got a bill of 1800 dollars.
My insurance deductible is 1000 dollars, at the end i have to pay 1000 or i won't be able to drive my car away from the auto shop.
My bill was
Front windshield Material- 597.81 dollars. Steal Kit- 68 dollars. Labour fees- 123 dollars
back windshield Material- 653.45 dollars. Steal Kit- 68 dollars. Labour fees- 130 dollars.
Plus 13% tax. Total bill: 1853.49
Apparently, different insurance companies have different sets of prices for broken parts, and the price they charged is way higher than normal ones if you DON'T go though insurance.
Let's say, same store, the same material and same brand of the front windshield, they charged for 200 dollars if you don't go through insurance, however, they charged for 500 bucks if you do go through insurance, my question is, how is this fair?
I called 8 auto glass shops in the GTA, all of them gave me a quote of 200-250 dollars for the brand XYG Tempered glass. How dare if this place I went charging 500-600 dollars?
The auto shop and the insurance company partner up and they were trying to rip everyone off.
I could have just not go through insurance but this is not the point, the point is, they shouldn't be charging this much just because it's insurance?
at the end of the day, I paid 1000 dollars for my deductible but this could have been only 600 dollars job at the same store with the same material.
I will contact marketplace tv show on CBC and try to get on tv to do a full investigation about this, and no, don't call me Karen, that's not what I am trying to do,
I just want justice.

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[yanwenrose]

it was seal kit, not steal kit, sorry!

 

[Phy]

It's not that they're "partnered" (though they might be) it's that they know insurance is going to pay for it, so they can charge a higher price.

When I worked for a water damage restoration company, we would charge more if it was going through insurance versus if they were paying out of pocket. No partnership with the inurance company, it was just understood that they expect to pay a certain amount and wouldn't fuss about it unless a company tried to get greedy or make shit up.

 

[tacthecat]

In USA if you have Comprehensive, there is usually no deductible for vandalism or glass breakage - might want to check with your insurance company. Deductible only applies to Collision and only if you're responsible or must collect from your insurance company because the other driver has no insurance and won't pay up to fix your car.

 

[Nickthewaffler]

I feel bad for you man really. It sucks. This is just the nature of insurance, and now it'll probably cost you more over time with your rate going up because of this. My honest take on it however, is that is your fault, as in this could have been easily prevented. It's super important to know what your insurance covers and to get estimates on damage with and without insurance after an accident. Many people in the US pay out of pocket for collisions and other damage to prevent insurance increases.

Also, these kinds of practices are commonly done by cheaper insurance companies, and most big name brands use the same reputable body work companies that charge the least for good quality work. That is just my experience with the accidents I've been in and what I've read online.

Point of the story, know your insurance company, know your policy, and try to never use it. Insurance is a scam if you rely on it, but a tool that can save your ass if needed.

 

[Conika]

Damn dude, this sucks big time. I can’t really comment on the insurance side of things because I’m in the US and our insurance coverage is different. Don’t let this ruin your day, one time when I was younger someone hit and run my sister at a stop light, she had a high deductible and low premiums. When I saw that she had to pay such a large sum of money it made me really look at and do the math for my premium vs deductible. It turned out that taking a smaller deductible was smarted because it was only saving me about 10 bucks per month in my premium... so it would have taken me about 8 years to “save my deductible”... which is just dumb. I hope this helps you in the future.

 

[logan5]

I had a front windshield replaced (in another Civic Si) last year after a rock hit it. I called Geico and they said it would fall under comprehensive insurance. I had a $500.00 deductible. Geico said that they would actually repair the glass for free if it was possible, but mine was cracked about 12". I had a local glass shop replace it for $425.00 complete. They even came to my house to do it. It was an aftermarket replacement, but it was just fine and the installer did a great job. Fortunately, the 2019 Civic Si's don't have Honda Sensing, so a recalibration of the front camera wasn't needed.

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