Windscreen Insurance

Windscreen insurance is an add-on to a comprehensive car policy that gives your glass its own sum insured. Partner Product Disclosure Sheets call it "Cover for Windscreens, Windows and Sunroof". Liberty's illustration sets it at RM1,000; Tokio Marine's and Takaful Malaysia's at RM2,000; Zurich's enhanced version at RM3,000. Whatever the figure, it is separate from the car's main sum insured, and a claim against it is not treated as an own-damage claim on the car.

It covers the front windscreen, side and rear windows and the sunroof. It does not cover mirrors, headlamps, paintwork or the body - those are ordinary accident damage under the base policy.

Without the add-on, a cracked windscreen is still claimable - as own damage under comprehensive cover. But an own-damage claim resets your No Claim Discount to 0% at the next renewal, and you pay the excess first. On 55% NCD with a RM1,500 base premium, that is RM825 of discount lost to fix RM600 of glass. Most owners quietly pay for the glass themselves, which is the same as having no cover at all.

The add-on fixes that. Berjaya Sompo's PDS puts it directly: windscreen claims can be submitted "without losing your NCD entitlement". BJAK's own FAQ confirms the same rule across partners: can I claim windscreen damage without losing my NCD? - yes, if you hold the add-on. Two conditions apply on most wordings: the claim must be glass-only (a windscreen broken in a collision that also dents the bonnet is an accident claim), and after a claim the glass sum insured is used up until you reinstate it for a small additional premium.

Zurich's Z-Driver PDS prices windscreen cover at 15% of the windscreen sum insured per year, for both the standard and enhanced versions. Other partners price within a similar range. So the premium scales with how much glass cover you buy, not with the car's value:

The right figure is a real replacement quote for your model, not the default. Under-insure the glass and you pay the difference at the workshop.

1. Photograph the damage. Close-up of the crack and a wider shot showing the plate. If it was a break-in, a police report is needed; for a stone chip or heat crack it usually is not - the partner's hotline will confirm.
2. Call the insurer, not the glass shop. The claims hotline is on your e-policy and the partner's BJAK page. They direct you to a panel windscreen workshop and open the claim. Going to a non-panel shop first can turn a cashless repair into a reimbursement you have to chase.
3. Panel workshop replaces the glass. Cashless up to the glass sum insured. If OEM glass costs more than your sum insured, you pay the difference. Some partners - AIG - send the fitter to your home or office.
4. Reinstate the cover. After a claim the glass sum insured is exhausted for the rest of the policy year. Ask the insurer to reinstate it; the premium is a fraction of the original.
5. Check the NCD line on your next renewal. It should be unchanged. If a windscreen-only claim has been logged as own damage, raise it with the partner.
6. Excess. Most partners apply no compulsory excess on a windscreen-only claim; some apply a small one. It is stated in the Product Disclosure Sheet under the windscreen line.

• AIG - free windscreen repair service at your doorstep, the fitter comes to you
• Berjaya Sompo - "Enhanced Cover for Windscreens, Windows and Sunroof"; windscreen claims submitted without losing NCD
• Zurich - standard and enhanced windscreen cover, both at 15% of the glass sum insured; enhanced version illustrated at RM3,000
• Takaful Malaysia - windscreen, windows and sunroof cover illustrated at RM2,000; note CART does not apply to windscreen-only claims
• Tokio Marine - windscreen cover illustrated at RM2,000 on Private Car Plus
• Liberty - windscreen, windows and sunroof cover illustrated at RM1,000

All 16 partners offer windscreen cover on comprehensive policies. Compare who includes what on the Insurance & Takaful Partners page; the Product Disclosure Sheet on each partner page is binding.

Yes, almost always, if

• You drive highways or behind lorries - stone chips are the top cause
• Your car has a rain sensor, camera or acoustic glass - replacement runs well past RM1,000
• You are on 38% NCD or above - the discount you would lose on an own-damage claim dwarfs the premium
• You park on the street - break-ins are a windscreen claim

Marginal if

• The car is very old with plain glass that costs a few hundred ringgit to replace
• You are on 0% NCD anyway and would not claim small amounts
• You are on third party or TPFT cover - the add-on is not available

• Windscreen & NCD FAQ - The short answer
• NCD checker - See what a claim would cost you
• Comprehensive car insurance - The base cover this attaches to
• Special perils (flood) cover - The other must-have add-on
• Compare add-ons by insurer - Which partners include what