How to claim glass on your policy and pay nothing extra

Start by opening your policy and finding the line about glass. There are three possibilities: glass is part of your comprehensive cover with no excess, it is there with an excess of five or ten per cent, or it is not there at all. In the first two cases a claim is almost always worth making.

What to get ready. The vehicle registration document, your ID, your policy number and a photo of the damage. If you also have a photo of the place where it happened, include it. In borderline cases it saves the claims handler a round of questions.

Do not report it yourself first. It sounds back to front, but if you file through the insurer app and only then come to us, you are already inside a process that cannot easily be switched over to a cover note. Ring us first. We do the inspection and the report in one go and you pay nothing up front.

The cover note is what you are after. It is the document in which the insurer confirms it will pay the workshop directly. You then pay only the excess, if you have one. Without a cover note you pay the whole amount and wait for a refund, and with a windscreen that gap in your wallet is noticeable.

Mind the deadline. Most insurers want the report within fifteen days of you discovering the damage. Drive around with a crack for three months and then report it, and the claims handler may cut the payout on the grounds that you let the damage grow.

It will not spoil your bonus. Almost no insurer reduces the no-claims bonus for glass, because they keep it outside ordinary claims history. Do check your own policy though, because some packages get stricter once you have several claims in a single year.

If you are not sure, ring us with your policy number. In a couple of minutes we will tell you whether a claim is worth making, what you would top up and whether your insurer accepts an electronic inspection.