Does auto insurance cover a cracked windshield?
Auto insurance covers a cracked windshield under comprehensive coverage — so it depends on whether you carry comprehensive and whether the repair beats your deductible.
What flips the answer
- Covered when
You carry comprehensive coverage and the repair or replacement exceeds your deductible.
- Covered when
You have full-glass coverage, or your state waives the windshield deductible for comprehensive policyholders.
- Not covered when
You carry liability-only coverage with no comprehensive.
- Not covered when
The chip repair costs less than your deductible.
A cracked windshield is paid under comprehensive coverage, the optional part of an auto policy that covers glass, theft, and weather. Liability alone won't repair your own windshield, and collision only applies if the crack came from a crash you're already claiming.
Your comprehensive deductible applies. A small chip repair is often cheaper than the deductible, so paying out of pocket makes more sense; a full replacement can run higher than the deductible, in which case comprehensive pays the balance.
Some insurers offer optional full-glass coverage with no deductible on glass, and a handful of states require insurers to waive the deductible for windshield repair or replacement. Repairing a crack early usually prevents a costlier full replacement.
Florida, Kentucky, and South Carolina, among others, require no-deductible windshield glass service for drivers carrying comprehensive coverage; most states do not.
That's the general answer. Yours is written in your actual policy.
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