Chipped windscreen. Here’s how you’re covered.

Chipped windscreen in brief

A small stone or stone chip hits your windscreen leaving a crack. What do you do next?

To the untrained eye, the seriousness of a chipped windscreen is often not that easy to assess. It’s obvious something needs to be done if your view of the road is impaired. Did you know that a car’s windscreen accounts for 30 percent of the stability of its bodywork? Or that 90 per cent of all stone chippings go on to crack within three years?

To avoid more serious damage, you should arrange a repair as soon as possible. Fortunately, in most cases there’s no need to replace the windscreen as a mobile repair will suffice. Provided, that is, that the damage is no larger than a 2-franc coin and is more than 10 cm away from the edge of the windscreen.

What is a mobile repair?

A mobile repair is a method recognized by the Motor Vehicle Inspectorate for repairing windscreen damage quickly and in a way that conserves resources. The procedure involves filling the hole with a special resin and curing it with ultraviolet light. It usually takes no more than 30 minutes.

What’s the difference between damage caused by a stone and glass breakage?

Rockfall and chipped windscreens are two different things for insurance purposes.

Insurance companies class rockfall as an event triggered by natural forces in which a falling rock damages your car. By contrast, if your windscreen is chipped or cracked by a stone that bounces off the road, this is classed as glass breakage. Glass breakage can involve not only the windscreen, but also the side, rear or sunroof.