This is a warning to people about breaking your windscreen whilst on holiday, especially if your insured through Hastings Direct

So you have Windscreen cover in your policy and you also have breakdown cover with another party. Hence you feel you have all options covered. WRONG.

A Broken windscreen is not a breakdown so your breakdown company will be powerless to help. Obviously all Inurance companies use third parties for Windscreen replacements / repair.

However the amount they pay the third party determines how helpful the third parties are with regards to scheduling your replacement.

How does Five days sound? too long? I thought so too,

I cancelled the booking and rang the alternative of the two third parties.

They never called back to arrange a time, I waited over 24 hours before calling them to cancel.

Calling hastings at the weekend is useless as the Windscreen team don't work weekends.

Having to be back at work the Monday I left the car on a residential street for a week,

paid my own travel home and back to the car.

Hastings offer a maximum of £95 if you use an alternative non affiliated company.

This is when I found out How the windscreen companies regard Hastings Direct.

They dont like working for them because they pay the lowest rates.

That's what I was told be several independant fitters.

I arranged to have the screen repaired at a time convenient to me on my return to the car.

Something Hastings affiliates could not do.

If you think this is a rant, it just so happens I had a friend renewing his insurance whilist this was ongoing.

He was going to go with hastings and decided to question them on this matter before proceeding.

His words were "Your totally stuffed".

Its not a breakdown, and you have to accept the response time from the affiliated companies.

in other words Hastings know the response times will be unnaceptable to most people,

hence they will opt to go independant and receive only £95 rather than hastings fork out the full cost.

I have just cancelled my renewal with Hastings.

Be sure to check what Windscreen cover actually means, yes your covered, but what is the response time.

Even if the car is sitting on your drive, five days is a long time to make alternative travel arrangements for. Let alone if your away on Holiday. T

his probably applies to All insurance companies so double check.

This is not unique to Hastings.

Last time i had a windscreen damaged, had to book it in with local Autoglass centre which was an appointment 3 days later. The service to replace at home or work was about 5 days.

Most Insurers have a contract with one glass company and they might not offer a quick service where your car is.

Something people might wish to check when arranging cover. What glass cover is provided and is any emergency repair guarantee offered ?

Insuring a car is easy. Getting the right* cover is the hardest part.

* - right for you, in the sense that the proposer takes reasonable steps to make you aware of all the salient points of that cover so that you can make an informed decision before [policy] inception. This way you know exactly what will happen in the event of a claim scenario.

I would have thought that a broken windscreen makes the car unroadworthy so the breakdown company would take it to your address or closest repair garage.

Obviously I'm wrong, or not?

I would have thought that a broken windscreen makes the car unroadworthy so the breakdown company would take it to your address or closest repair garage.

Obviously I'm wrong, or not?

Then it would be an Unroadworthiness Cover not a Breakdown Cover

FWIW the AA define Breakdown this way:

A broken windscreen isn't a "malfunction"

I think a cracked windscreen would fall under this:

an event:

a) which causes the driver of the relevant vehicle to be unable to start a journey in the vehicle

And

b) after which the journey cannot be commenced or continued safely

Can you safely drive with a cracked windscreen?

thread is coming up for 3yrs old gentlemen...

why bump it GM just to comment?

dx

thread is coming up for 3yrs old gentlemen...

Ah, I hadn't spotted that, I won't comment further then. I thought it was new.

thread is coming up for 3yrs old gentlemen...

why bump it GM just to comment?

 

dx

I found it after a Google search on a similar matter I'm helping someone with; seems pointless to start a new thread so given it was indexed via an internet search thought I'd update this one for relevancy.