Let’s say that you’re driving down the road on your way to the market, and you get stuck behind a large work truck. There’s no other lane to go into and it starts to rain. This can make you easily frustrated as you can’t see a thing and then all of a sudden, smack, that truck’s tire picks up a rock and throws it directly at your windshield.

Let’s just say that many people understand what you’re going through. That rock left some damage to your windshield, and you really are afraid to turn it in due to the high cost of the deductible you took out just to save a few dollars per month on your premium.

• Cracks – Believe it or not, there are several types of cracks that a windshield can suffer. The first and most common type is the chip. The chip is a small piece of windshield that is taken out due to an object being propelled towards it. The second type and most dreaded is the spider. As the name states, the crack resembles that of a spider’s web.
• Weather – If and when you experience a chip or spider crack, you will need to call your insurance company immediately or else the feared expansion will happen to your windshield. An expansion is when the owner does not take care of the crack and harsh weather makes the crack expand. It doesn’t matter if you live in Florida or Antarctica, extreme cold and hot weather is going to affect the windshield.

What to Do

You don’t need to panic when a stone or other object strikes your windshield. That is what comprehensive insurance is for. It takes care of you and your vehicle when the inevitable happens. Once you get home, all you need to do is call your insurance carrier and ask them to give you a rate on how much it will cost to cover the damage.

Sometimes an insurance carrier will deem the accident an “act of Mother Nature” and cover the crack under another type of policy other than your main policy. Most people are relieved to find out that they don’t have to pay that much out of pocket.

Not Covered

If you do not feel like going through your insurance provider to take care of the crack, you can always go straight to the dealership to see what it costs to replace your windshield. It’s a good idea to go straight to where you purchased your car. They will automatically know how to get another one and how much it will cost.

There are currently so many windshield repair companies that are able to assist you when needed. They don’t replace the entire windshield, but come out to wherever you are with a suction type device. They put the device directly on the crack and it seals it up. This may cost a little bit more than replacing your windshield, but at least you can have the job done in a few minutes as opposed to a few days.

Prolonged Crack

If a crack does not go below the rearview mirror, then most people do not bother replacing it. They don’t mind it because they no longer have to worry about the crack’s effect on getting your car inspected. This only applies in states that have inspections.

If you let the crack go on for too long, it may not be covered by your insurance provider. Insurance companies like to take care of accidents and other roadside mishaps as they occur, not months later. The longer you put off replacing it, the quicker your insurance company is going to deny you the right to get it fixed.

Comprehensive insurance providers have a standard in which they can pay for the vehicle to get repaired. An adjuster will come out to wherever you live and put a piece of paper on the crack. If the crack goes longer than the paper, they will not cover it. The opposite occurs when the crack meets the perimeters of the paper.

Insurance 

When shopping for comprehensive insurance, make sure that you find a policy that fits all of your needs. That is not only reserved for accidents and medical coverage, but other things such as windshield cracks because they occur more so than vehicle accidents. They will also end up costing you more money if you haven’t gotten the right policy coverage, so do your research first.

Out of nowhere a storm can suddenly erupt, making you wish you had remembered to roll up the car windows. Even worse, this storm could produce hail the size of golf balls. Now you wish you had also bothered to pull the car into the garage.

When the storm finally ends and the sun begins to peak back through the clouds, you decide to survey the damage. The prognosis – not good. Hail can leave a few minor pock marks, but it can also cause enough cosmetic damage to render the car a “write off.” That means it would cost more to fix the car than to replace it. That’s without even taking into account how badly your windshield or windows could be damaged or even destroyed from hail being pelted at them.

Either way, you are probably looking at some expensive repair or replacement costs. Of course right about now as you begin to file a claim with your auto insurance provider, you are going to be hoping that hail damage is even covered by your car insurance.

Hail & Auto Coverage

It is important to file a claim because you are probably not going to want to pay for the repairs out of your own pocket. This can be an extremely costly problem to fix. Not only that, but if it goes unreported and you have to file a claim for something else down the road, your insurance could deny the claim because of the unreported and unexplained damage.

Of course the most important thing is making sure that your auto insurance even covers hail or storm damage. The scary thing is that too many drivers make the assumption that they will be covered by their policy provider for this type of damage. When it’s time to cover the repair bill they find out their insurance isn’t picking up the tab.

Making Sense of It All

• So how do you know if you are covered? The best thing to do is contact your policy provider to make sure. Most of the time, your hail damage would be covered if you have comprehensive car insurance.

• What is comprehensive insurance? Comprehensive is best known for being that part of auto insurance policy coverage that protects you where other types leave off. Things such as fire, storm damage, theft, and even vandalism are usually only covered by comprehensive insurance.

• Doesn’t comprehensive insurance come with any policy? No! In fact too many drivers who get more than just liability think they are automatically covered for the problems that comprehensive takes care of. There’s lot more to getting your car and yourself as a driver covered than just meeting the state minimum requirements. It’s time for you to get proactive and find out how to get the fullest coverage you need to prevent paying out of pocket for damages.

Don’t take a gamble any longer with your auto insurance coverage. Using just your zip code you can get free quotes to find out what it would cost for comprehensive coverage.

Hitting a deer can be a scary experience. Unfortunately it can also be an experience that causes bodily injury and damage to your car. Every year as many as 200 people are killed in deer related car accidents, not to mention how many deer are injured and left to die after being struck by a vehicle.

The best advice to follow is to do your best to try to avoid coming in contact with a deer while driving. You can help make this happen by making it a point to slow down when you see a deer. They can be unpredictable, so even if it has already crossed the road, it could suddenly dart out again.

Also, when you see one it usually means there are others close by. Be ready to drive defensively and to react to avoid an accident. Because deer are nocturnal and tend to begin grazing at dusk, make sure you are paying closer attention during this time of your drive. Here’s another great guide telling you what you should do if you hit a deer with your car and what happens afterwards.

After the Crash

If you are about to hit a deer, it is not a good idea to try to swerve off the road or into oncoming traffic to try to avoid it. Hitting another car or a tree head on could cause even more severe damage. If you hit a deer, you should then pull over to the

side of the road, if possible. Here are some other things to do:

• First of all, stay calm.
• Avoid contact with the deer, its hooves or antlers.
• Call 911 or ask another driver to do so.
• Set up road flares if you have any in your emergency kit.
• Contact your insurance policy provider.

Once the dust settles, hopefully both you and the deer can survive the crash with little to no injury.

Understanding Your Insurance

One thing most drivers want to know once the crash is over is who is going to take care of the expenses involved. Unfortunately too many drivers find out after hitting a deer that their policy doesn’t cover that. If you are assuming your car insurance covers hitting a deer or any stationary or mobile object, you had better double check.

Most of the time, the only policies that cover hitting a deer include comprehensive coverage. Although collision sounds like it should cover a collision with a deer or other animals, most of the time it doesn’t. Collision is usually meant to cover only an accident involving another vehicle.

Comprehensive insurance is what covers those problems collision doesn’t, such as:

• Hitting a deer
• Storm damage
• Fire
• Theft or vandalism

Either way it may be time for you to do a little research to find out what your current policy covers. Better yet, why not get quotes for to find out what you could be paying to get comprehensive coverage as part of your policy. Even if you already have coverage, you owe it to yourself to get a free look at how much you could be saving on your car insurance.

State Farm recently came out with a study that shows the odds of hitting a deer by each state: