Trying to deal with my insurance company. Advice appreciated.

Forums › Transport (cars, bikes and boats) › Trying to deal with my insurance company. Advice appreciated.

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ObidiahSlope

260 posts

Ultimate Geek

#2579814 6-Oct-2020 04:16

The key word here is reinstatement. If the insurer mandated replacement is a like for like replacement then they will prevail. On the other hand a replacement which borks some Honda specific feature such as windshield wiper rain detection they are not reinstating your original windscreen. Then you have a compelling argument for an OEM(original equipment manufacturer) replacement.

Obsequious hypocrite

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Fred99

13684 posts

Uber Geek

#2579849 6-Oct-2020 08:54

State's policy document weasel-wording:

arrange for the car to be repaired as near as possible to the
condition it was in before the loss happened, using parts and
practice appropriate in the New Zealand repair industry,...

Then there's this statement on "Repair guarantee"

All repairs to the car that are done through our approved repairer
network, are quality guaranteed while:
1. you own it, and
2. while it is insured with us

IANAL - but the condition that the guarantee only applies while the car is still insured with State seems to be an attempt to contract out of the CGA, which is probably not legal (or if it is - then it shouldn't be, IMHO - they seem to be claiming it's "our" approved repairer network - they do all the negotiation including instructing the workshop on how the repair is to be carried out through their assessors, they're IMO an "agent" of the repairer - they should be first port of call if there's a problem - regardless of whether you've still got a policy with them)

trig42

5788 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified

#2579859 6-Oct-2020 09:04

I had the screen replaced on my 2007 Mazda3 a couple of years back.

It was done at Smith and Smith, with a non-OEM windscreen. At the time I asked my insurer (AA) about the quality of the non-OEM screen, and the fact my car had sensors in the screen. They said if there were any issues, they would have S&S replace the screen again (and again and again if needed).

I didn't notice any issues with the screen, and the sensors all worked fine, so no drama, but it was a bit of a concern knowing it wasn't a Mazda part going in.

Scott3

3898 posts

Uber Geek

Lifetime subscriber

#2579883 6-Oct-2020 09:46

State advertise on their website uses the wording "repair it as near as possible to the condition it was in before the loss". In my book replacing a OEM windscreen with an aftermarket one is not repairing it as near as possible to the condition it was in before.

"If your car is damaged but repairable, we may arrange to repair it as near as possible to the condition it was in before the loss, or we’ll pay you the cost of the repairs.

If it's uneconomic to repair your car, we’ll either pay you the amount your car was insured for, or we’ll pay you market value, this is what your car was worth before it was damaged. If you bought the car new less than a year before the damage, we may replace it with a new one"

www.state.co.nz/car-insurance/comprehensive

tripper1000

1600 posts

Uber Geek

#2579893 6-Oct-2020 10:14

I'm with AMI (same parent company as State) and I asked them nicely for OEM. They thought about it for a week and eventually said yes. OEM was ~$900 ex Japan. No special sensors in the windscreen so after market would have been a practical alternate.

The installer messed it up so it leaks rain (still dealing with that! They weren't keen on a warranty claim because of the cost).

Talking to the installers, OEM is better and they prefer to install them as the fit is better and they don't have issue with defects. Apparently warranty claims on after-market for optical distortions are pretty normal/a weekly occurrence as the quality is variable, so if you are force into aftermarket and it is bad, you were just unlucky and don't be shy about sending it back and getting them to repeat the job. They will find the minimum standard tolerable to customers and if they get too many warranty claims, lift the standard to better brands.

Bung

6326 posts

Uber Geek

Subscriber

#2579896 6-Oct-2020 10:21

Danite:
I have a 2017 CX-5 with a projected HUD and ran into this issue.. Insurance company put in a aftermarket 3rd party and the projection just looked wrong, if you looked with one eye it was ok but with two it kind of gave you a headache.

I just went back to Smith and Smith and told them that and they replaced it again with genuine Mazda glass and it was back to normal.

Harder to justify in your case but there may be some argument around the sensors you could make.

Looking into how HUDs work it seems that the problem of light reflecting of the 2 glass layers in the screen can be dealt with by varying the thickness of the plastic layer between the glass or by using a polarized light system. Either way seems to rely on precision that cheap replacements aren't likely to have. Some things can be recalibrated others have to be right from the start.

Geektastic

17927 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#2579962 6-Oct-2020 11:09

One question that I always ask our brokers if they suggest a different car insurer at renewal is whether or not all replacements, including glass, are original genuine manufacturers items.

We had a Toyata some years ago that had exactly this issue and they stuck a dodgy aftermarket screen in that was so optically bad that the edges were like looking through magnifying lenses. I had a long argument about it in which I received a lot of flannel about "honouring obligations under the CGA" and so forth. I vowed that I would never again be in that position.

As a related aside, I read that the new Subarus, with Eye Sight, are required by Subaru to have only OEM screens because the cameras look through them and also need to be calibrated again if the screen is changed. Not sure if that is indeed true, but I saw it in an article somewhere.

Fred99

13684 posts

Uber Geek

#2580013 6-Oct-2020 11:59

Geektastic:

As a related aside, I read that the new Subarus, with Eye Sight, are required by Subaru to have only OEM screens because the cameras look through them and also need to be calibrated again if the screen is changed. Not sure if that is indeed true, but I saw it in an article somewhere.

Cars with lane sensors need to have the system recalibrated if the front or rear bumpers are removed/refitted, the car has to be set up on a patterned grid on flat ground using OEM equipment to reprogram it. So add a few hundred $$$ to the cost of fixing minor supermarket car park dings.

I shudder to think how much it'll cost to keep these cars roadworthy when they're 10 years old - about the average age of the NZ fleet.

mudguard

2061 posts

Uber Geek

#2580083 6-Oct-2020 13:55

In my current job I've averaged a windscreen per year. I had one non genuine Toyota one, and optically it was slightly distorted right at eye level. Drove me nuts. Fortunately it didn't last long. I need one for my current car which has more sensors, but the two big chips have stopped growing and aren't at eye level so I'll leave them for a bit. Murphy's law suggests I'll get another one as soon as it's replaced anyway.

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