Why Replacing a Damaged Windshield is Important in Phoenix, AZ?

Now more than ever before, replacement of damaged windshields is important for motorists in Phoenix, Arizona. If you currently have a cracked or damaged windshield in need of replacement, it is important to act on it right away. Because right now it can be repaired free of charge, as long as your vehicle has full coverage insurance. Although this might be changing in the near future, so do not procrastinate about it.

This warning is being given for good reason, but lets start by going over some relevant information before explaining this in more detail. For those who may not know a lot about Phoenix, as a city to drive in.

Replacing damaged windshields is a common occurrence in a city like Phoenix. At any given time of year, the road construction and weather conditions cause Arizona motorists to deal with a variety of roadside hazards. Also the desert terrain can lead to damaged glass while driving, even in the best of climate conditions. Without a doubt, rock shattered car windshields are such a common occurrence that Arizona insurance companies have made free replacement of broken glass mandatory.

Well this has never been a problem for insured drivers in Phoenix, because anyone with a full coverage policy can call for local windshield replacement at no cost. Local residents who have been through this know, there have been numerous companies that happily come to you and replace your broken or cracked windshield. It has been a convenient and hassle free proposition for everyone involved, or so it had seemed. Apparently, this assumption was not all together true, due to the potential impact of a new bill being proposed in 2017.

Insurance providers are pushing a Phoenix bill that would cut coverage of windshield replacements for motorists. Despite the decades old requirements that insurance companies offer customers a standard zero deductible replacement for automobile glass, these same insurers want to revoke such coverage. Senate Bill 1169 would allow insurers to start charging an actual deductible for windshield and auto glass repair work.

Local insurance providers claim the cost of continual windshield replacement is a huge expense. Since their companies are held responsible for all the glass repair claim payouts, the bill would simply eliminate this professional obligation for insurers. Senate Bill 1169 is justified as the latest effort to provide better insurance services, but it really is more an insurance industry targeting maneuver on auto glass repair businesses.

Such businesses have flourished in Phoenix, due to the higher rates of windshields breaking in the desert. The two main causes of such damaged glass being rocks flying at cars while driving and the intense heat occurring in Phoenix much of the year. It doesn’t help matters that Phoenix has a prevalence of desert rocks and landscaping, something made worse by the city road work that causes gravel debris randomly at all times of year for drivers.

For driving consumers, free windshield has been a given so long, that this new bill is taking many people by surprise. Most insurance companies would say free windshield replacement has always been a matter of convenience, but not something they should be required to provide to customers. The laws in Arizona have always stated that driving with cracked or broken windshields is illegal. Also the issue of fraud within the auto glass replacement industry will usually be addressed and argued by insurers, as their companies see it.

In fact, 88 percent of all national glass repair claims come from states that enforce zero deductibles for auto windshield replacement. There are currently 8 states with such requirements, and Arizona is not the only one proposing new potential legislation to change insurance provider obligations. The majority of states allow insurers to charge extra premiums for windshield replacement coverage, so Arizona maybe in for a long overdue change soon. That remains to be seen, but keeping Senate Bill 1169 in mind, it is a good idea to get your free windshield replacement needs taken care of while you still can.

So if anyone asks you, why replacing a damaged windshield is important in Phoenix, Arizona during 2017. The best answer is simple and practical, when you really think about it.

Because it is still free.