PHOENIX — You're driving down the highway and you hear a bang.
It's a rock that hit your windshield and now there's a small chip.
It happened to Chad, so he called his insurer.
"It was such a small, little piece where they were able to come out to my house and just glue it," Chad says.
At the time, he thought he was doing the right thing.
Now, he's not so sure.
Auto glass damage happens so often in Arizona that insurers here are required to offer no deductible glass coverage.
And it used to be filing glass claims wouldn't have much impact on your rates or renewals.
That has changed.
"Even though a window chip or windshield replacement is not your fault, it's still a claim that has to be paid out," says Kristi Redding.
Redding is an agent/broker with Insurance Professionals of Arizona.
She says some higher-end windshields can now cost a lot of money.
"One windshield claim could be in excess of $5,000. I don't think people are understanding, a claim is a claim. Even though it is just a windshield claim, it's money that has to be paid out by the insurance company," she says.
"Companies now are taking a look at a three-year snapshot to see how many glass claims you've had. A lot of carriers are declining coverage if you've had more than two or three," Redding says.
Some of you let me know it's happening to you.
Angela says her insurer dropped her "because we used our windshield coverage."
Lori says, "my only claims have been for glass loss... My insurance company threatened to cancel... The only option was to sign a waiver to decline coverage for glass or go to another auto insurance company."
"Statistically, if you have filed numerous windshield claims in the past, you are likely to file numerous windshield claims in the future. And that really is what insurance is based on," Redding says.
With five glass claims, Chad says he had trouble finding any insurer who wanted his business.
"That's the craziest thing because I haven't been in any accidents out here," he says.
Chad says he only had one windshield replacement.
He says the other claims were all small chips filled in.
"Make sure with your insurance company, how it's looked at before just running to get your glass repaired for any little chip. Because now looking back, I would have never done that," Chad says.
But be careful — chips can lead to cracks and less protection for you.
If you have a large deductible, you could pay for a repair out of pocket and not file a claim.
That would depend on repair costs and what your policy covers.
We contacted Allstate, State Farm, Progressive and Geico asking how they look at glass claims.
Only Allstate got back to us saying in part, "each claim is unique and we resolve each claim according to the customer's policy."
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