ICBC windshield replacement: what is covered and what you pay

Does ICBC cover windshield replacement?

Yes, if your policy includes Comprehensive coverage. ICBC's glass claims page puts it in one sentence.

“You're covered if you have ICBC Comprehensive coverage.”

Comprehensive is optional coverage, so it is not on every policy. It is the part of your Autoplan that pays for damage that did not come from a crash, and ICBC's list of what it covers includes "falling or flying objects such as a rock or gravel hitting your windshield".

If you carry Basic Autoplan only, or Basic plus Collision, glass is not covered and you pay for the replacement yourself. We give you a firm cash price in that case, and it is the same price whether or not you mention insurance.

Your insurance papers show the coverage you bought under a line called Comprehensive, with the deductible next to it. If you cannot find it, give us your plate number when you call and we check coverage when we open the claim.

What you pay: your deductible and nothing else

A windshield replacement under Comprehensive is paid by ICBC, less your deductible. ICBC describes the deductible as "the amount you have to pay towards work performed before your insurance covers the rest." You chose that amount when you bought the policy, and it is printed on your Autoplan documents.

Here is how the money moves on one of our jobs. You pay the deductible to us at the appointment. We invoice ICBC for everything else: the glass, the labour, the mouldings and clips, and camera recalibration when your vehicle needs it. There is no second bill afterwards, and you are never asked to pay the full amount and wait for a cheque.

Some drivers have a deductible that is higher than the cost of the job. That happens with older vehicles and with the higher deductible options. When it does, we tell you and quote the cash price instead, and you skip the claim entirely. We would rather you know that before we order glass than after.

Will a glass claim raise your premium?

ICBC's Comprehensive coverage page answers this directly.

“Submitting a Comprehensive claim won't affect your premium.”

A windshield replacement is a Comprehensive claim. It is not a crash, and there is no fault to assign.

There is one thing worth knowing if you have made several Comprehensive claims recently, for example theft, vandalism or animal damage. ICBC has what it calls an escalating deductible, which it describes as "the deductible offered to some customers when they have more than the average number of Comprehensive claims." If that might apply to you, ask your Autoplan broker how a replacement claim would affect your deductible before you choose between the claim and the cash price. Chip repairs do not count. In ICBC's words, "windshield repairs are free and do not impact your future deductible amounts or premiums."

You do not need to call ICBC first

This is the part most people get wrong. You do not report a windshield claim to ICBC and then find a shop. ICBC tells drivers to go straight to a Glass Repair Program facility.

“You can go directly to an ICBC-approved Glass Repair Program facility. If there are no Glass Repair Program facilities in your area, please call us to report your claim.”

ICBC lists what an approved facility does for you. Quoting the page, the facility "can start and process your claim", "invoices ICBC directly for the repairs", "collects the deductible and any applicable taxes from you, if applicable", and "provides a limited glass replacement warranty."

We are an approved facility that works out of a van instead of a building, and that changes nothing about the claim. You call or text us, we confirm coverage and open the claim in ICBC's system, and the claim number is created right there. If you already reported the damage and have a claim number, give it to us and we use it.

If you go to a shop that is not on the program, ICBC says you must report the claim yourself, pay the shop in full, photograph the damage and the replacement, and send the photos and invoice to ICBC "for reimbursement consideration." It is slower and you carry the cost until ICBC decides.

If it is only a chip, the repair costs you nothing

Before we book a replacement we look at whether the damage can be repaired instead, because a repair under Comprehensive has no deductible at all. ICBC's guideline for a free repair is that the damage is "smaller than a loonie", that the repair "leaves no residual damage greater than ¼ inch in the driver's line of vision", that it is not "a long crack", and that there is no pre-existing damage that does not qualify.

ICBC adds that these are "general guidelines only" and that the facility decides whether the damage "is safe and appropriate to repair." That is our call to make, and we make it the same way whether ICBC or you is paying. If a chip can be saved, we repair it and ICBC pays for it in full. If it has run into a crack or sits where a repair would leave a mark in your line of sight, it is a replacement, and we tell you why.

One more line from ICBC that matters: "Chip repairs are only covered when done by an ICBC approved glass repair program facility." A repair at a non-program shop is not a free repair.

Camera recalibration is part of the claim

If your vehicle has a forward-facing camera mounted at the windshield, it needs to be recalibrated after the glass is replaced. That camera runs lane keeping, automatic emergency braking and adaptive cruise, and it is aimed through the glass.

ICBC's glass claim information sheet (form CL462) lists proof of "successful calibration of ADAS equipment" as part of a claim when calibration is billed, so recalibration belongs on the claim rather than on a separate bill to you. On our jobs it is included whenever the vehicle needs it. Some vehicles can be calibrated where they sit and some need a controlled space and targets. We tell you which one applies to your car when we quote it, not after.

Which glass goes in

ICBC's public claim pages do not set a rule on original equipment glass versus aftermarket glass, so we will be plain about our own practice. We install glass that matches the original specification for your vehicle, including the correct camera bracket, sensor window, acoustic layer or heating elements where the vehicle came with them. If a specific windshield is required for your camera system, that is the one we order.

If you want the automaker's branded glass and the claim does not cover the difference, you pay only the difference, and we tell you that number before we order anything.

What happens on the day

1. 1You call or text us with your plate number and the year, make and model. We confirm coverage, open the claim, and tell you your deductible and the appointment time.
2. 2We order the correct glass for your vehicle and confirm the day before.
3. 3We come to your driveway, your workplace lot or your parkade. Most windshields take 60 to 90 minutes. Larger vehicles and vehicles with a lot of trim can take up to two hours.
4. 4We remove the old glass, prepare the frame, and bond the new windshield with automotive urethane. We recalibrate the camera when the vehicle needs it.
5. 5You pay your deductible. We bill ICBC for the rest and give you the paperwork.
6. 6We tell you the safe drive-away time for the adhesive we used, which is usually about an hour. Leave the retention tape on for 24 hours and skip the car wash for two days.

Every installation is covered by our workmanship warranty against leaks, wind noise and moulding fit for as long as you own the vehicle, in addition to the limited glass replacement warranty that ICBC lists for program facilities.

Side windows and rear glass

ICBC's page is titled glass and windshield claims for a reason. Comprehensive covers the other glass on the car too, and the deductible applies the same way. Side windows and rear glass cannot be repaired, only replaced, and a smashed door window is usually a theft or vandalism claim, which is also Comprehensive. We vacuum the broken glass out of the door and the seat rails as part of the job.

If you would rather pay cash

You can. Some people have a deductible that is close to the cost of the job, some would rather not open a claim, and some are driving a car that is not insured under Comprehensive. We quote a firm cash price before the appointment and it does not change on the day. If the cash price is lower than your deductible, we say so.