Not all states offer glass specific policies, but Louisiana has joined the ranks.
Governor Bobby Jindal signed a bill that allowed vehicle insurers to offer specific policies to cover windshield damage. This sounds a lot like the coverage I had added to my policy when I lived in Arizona… and I loved that coverage. Made auto glass claims a breeze!
Read more from James Lee.
In 2009 he joined TGSC Group as the managing director of product development. James brings expertise in customer satisfaction and service delivery to the team. He guest blogs for TeleGlass and is an amateur photographer. Find him on Twitter @jronaldlee.
Did you know that your credit score can be used to calculate what your auto insurance rates will be?
It starts with the actuary. That’s a job title – this person is the math geek at the insurance company who tries to predict how much, on average, people just like you will cost the company in claims per year. For example, take all the men between the age of 24 and 29 who have one minor driving infraction over the past five years, and using a series of calculations that can best be described as multi-dimensional calculus (I’ve studied this a bit, and it’s hard), you figure out what the average guy in that group will cost the company. Then you add factors like what kind of car he drives, how far he drives, how many days a week he works, whether he has more than one kind of car, whether he wants full glass coverage on his vehicle, and you add it all up to come up with the rate he will pay for auto insurance.
If the actuary can prove, statistically, that if that guy has a credit score below 500, he is more likely to be in an auto accident, the insurance company can charge that guy more for insurance.
There doesn’t have to be a causal relationship. There just has to be a demonstrable correlation.
It’s like this – storks don’t bring babies, but before electricity, homes with new born children were more likely to run the fireplace constantly, making areas near the chimney consistently warm. Storks are smart, and when they choose places to build their nests, they figured out that a chimney over a fire place that runs full time is a better place to raise baby storks. People saw storks nesting near chimneys of homes that have new born children, and 300 years later we have the story of storks bringing babies.
Storks didn’t cause the babies, but there was a predictable relationship between babies and storks on the roof. Statistically, if a home had storks nesting near the chimney, the home was more likely to have a baby in it.
Insurance is the same way.
If you have a low credit score, regardless of the circumstances that led you to that point, you’re now part of a population that is slightly more likely to create an auto insurance claim. That means some insurance companies use this to raise the rates of people with lower credit scores (and lower the rates of people with high credit scores). Worst case scenario, some companies might even cancel a policy.
Some states are doing something about it. For example, New Hampshire just passed H-1236, which prohibits the credit score of a policy holder of being the determining factor in canceling a policy. Insurance companies can still use it as part of the decision, but it cannot be the only reason.
It’s a confusing topic… what do you think? Should your insurance company use your credit score when it determines how much your coverage should cost?
Read more from James Lee.
In 2009 he joined TGSC Group as the managing director of product development. James brings expertise in customer satisfaction and service delivery to the team. He guest blogs for TeleGlass and is an amateur photographer. Find him on Twitter @jronaldlee.
There’s nothing I can say that will be more impactful than this video. If you don’t have ten minutes to watch it now, please come back and watch it later.
Read more from James Lee.
In 2009 he joined TGSC Group as the managing director of product development. James brings expertise in customer satisfaction and service delivery to the team. He guest blogs for TeleGlass and is an amateur photographer. Find him on Twitter @jronaldlee.
If you didn’t, there’s a good chance your neighbors did.
Mitchell International, a company that works closely with insurance companies and repair facilities, recently released findings that show that comprehensive deductibles are trending upward across the United States. As we specialize in auto glass, we took notice. This is where your glass coverage lives, so it’s relevant to our customers.
While there are windshields out there that cost over $500, almost all of them cost less than that. For consumers that raise their comprehensive deductible to $500, they are almost always assuming one hundred percent of the risk associated with a glass claim.
It’s true, some insurance companies might waive the deductible if you have a small crack or chip in your windshield, but that’s only relevant if your windshield is repairable. In the case that the glass must be replaced, a waived deductible will not apply (and it’s important to note that not all insurance companies will waive the deductible for repairs, so it might not apply either way).
What does this mean to you?
Think twice before raising your comprehensive deductible. Make sure your deductible is not higher than what you would feel comfortable paying out of your own pocket, and remember, without comprehensive coverage, your car’s glass is your responsibility.
Read more from James Lee.
In 2009 he joined TGSC Group as the managing director of product development. James brings expertise in customer satisfaction and service delivery to the team. He guest blogs for TeleGlass and is an amateur photographer. Find him on Twitter @jronaldlee.
A couple weeks ago, I was selected to participate in a web retailer’s beta testing of their new web site. The company is one I’ve used to purchase cute socks for my family in the past, and given my responsibilities at TGSC Group (TeleGlass’s parent company), I thought maybe I’d be able to offer some value as a beta tester for the new web site.
I know what goes in to making a web site that actually works. A lot of time, the stuff you worked hardest on perfecting might not even go noticed… but if it doesn’t work, no customers can use your site, and when the company isn’t earning any revenue, people notice.
Long story short, I had a good time going through Sock Dreams‘ web site. I found a few glitches, wrote them up in a way that their tech developer could hopefully use, and sent it off. Oh, and purchased some really cute monkey socks for one of the kids.
A couple weeks later, the beta site went live, so if you want to see a good example of an on-line retailer in action, head on over to the Sock Dreams page and check them out. Here’s what I like:
They make it easy to find their various products
They deliver on their promise (you get exactly what you asked for, when they said they would give it to you)
Real human beings who care about their business behind the scenes
Regarding that last bullet – I’ve never placed an order there that didn’t show up with something hand written on the invoice, even if it was just a quick “Thanks!” in the margin.
I’m writing about this because it’s what we’re trying to do here at TeleGlass, too. We’ve tried to make the web site easy. When you request auto glass repair on our web site, we have tools in place to monitor your service assignment from start to finish so we can ensure that we deliver on the promise. Last, we have real human beings taking care of you behind the scenes. Real people who care about giving you excellent service.
Thanks to Niq and her crew for letting me be part of the beta, and inspiring us to keep doing the best job possible on our little corner of the internet.
Read more from James Lee.
In 2009 he joined TGSC Group as the managing director of product development. James brings expertise in customer satisfaction and service delivery to the team. He guest blogs for TeleGlass and is an amateur photographer. Find him on Twitter @jronaldlee.
First the House passed it. Then the Senate amended it and passed the bill, and sent it back to the House. The House has now passed the revised version, and it’s now just waiting for Governor Jan Brewer’s signature. What am I talking about?
We’ve talkedpreviously about this bill. We had guests here at Seeing Clearly say they don’t like it one bit because it targets the glass industry. We had other guests talk about the people we lovingly refer to as creepy windshield stalkers, and offer their opinion that if it weren’t for high pressure salespeople trying to push repairs that insurance policy holders don’t want or need, this legislation wouldn’t be needed.
In any case, you can find the language here. Here are the highlights again:
It is unlawful for a person who sells or repairs auto glass to knowingly submit a false claim to an insurer for auto glass repair, replacement, or for related services.
Bills for services that were not provided cannot be submitted.
It is illegal to say you did work in one place when you really did it in another geographic area.
You cannot file a claim not authorized in writing by the owner of the vehicle.
You cannot put one date on the invoice or claim if the work was done on another date.
You cannot “falsely sign” a work order on behalf of a policyholder (no forging the customer’s signature).
You cannot “misrepresent” your relationship to the insurance company or the cost of the repairs. You cannot tell people that the insurance company has approved a repair unless that is true.
You cannot make a statement on behalf of the insurance company regarding the coverage for the glass claim, including telling someone that their repair will be entirely paid for or done at no cost.
You cannot add damage to the auto glass to increase the scope of the repairs needed.
You cannot do work that is beyond what is required to repair/replace the auto glass.
We think that Arizona politics is a strange brew. In point of fact, after living in Arizona for over thirty years, I’m amazed any legislation passes both the house and the senate, but that’s a story for another blog. Regardless, this bill has now passed both the House and the Senate, and appears headed for the Governor’s signature.
In the end, I’m guessing that this will have next to zero impact on reputable businesses, but as always, we welcome your comments.
Read more from James Lee.
In 2009 he joined TGSC Group as the managing director of product development. James brings expertise in customer satisfaction and service delivery to the team. He guest blogs for TeleGlass and is an amateur photographer. Find him on Twitter @jronaldlee.
Saw an article in USA Today in which the author says that over a dozen cities have banned digital billboards.
Detractors site how much the billboards attract drivers’ attention. Industry representatives claim they have studies that show that accidents did not go up when electronic billboards are installed.
My personal opinion is that digital billboards are distracting to drivers… otherwise why pay the substantially higher costs to install them? Billboards are an attempt to get the attention of people in cars. That includes the person behind the wheel, right? If it costs an extra quarter of a million dollars to install a digital billboard, does that not indicate that the billboard industry believes they are better at grabbing your attention?
Attention that should be focused on the road?
In New England, where TeleGlass National’s headquarters is located, both Vermont and Maine have banned digital billboards. I, for one, hope more states follow suit.
Read more from James Lee.
In 2009 he joined TGSC Group as the managing director of product development. James brings expertise in customer satisfaction and service delivery to the team. He guest blogs for TeleGlass and is an amateur photographer. Find him on Twitter @jronaldlee.
First of all, why do you want to remove a windshield wiper arm? For most people, this is not a task that will be required at any point. If your wiper arm is broken, and needs to be replaced, you’ll need to remove the old one first. In this image, you see a wiper arm that has been broken off completely.
The owner of this vehicle removed the nut holding the wiper arm to the windshield wiper motor, then pried straight up to remove what was left of the wiper arm assembly. You can see the plier marks on the what is left of the wiper arm. He also used WD40 and PBlaster to try to loosen up the assembly, but it was all to no avail.
Conventional wisdom is to fold the wiper arm upwards, and then while applying downward pressure (grab the lifted wiper and press downward) strike the portion of the wiper arm that is attached to the bolt with your other hand or a rubber mallet. This usually frees up the wiper arm.
In this case, that technique could not be applied, and the owner wanted to adjust the other wiper arm, too. It wasn’t coming off either. What to do? A battery terminal lifter was used, and it very easily lifted the arm assembly off the bolt. It didn’t create any damage to the arm that wasn’t broken, and it popped the broken arm off neatly.
Read more from James Lee.
In 2009 he joined TGSC Group as the managing director of product development. James brings expertise in customer satisfaction and service delivery to the team. He guest blogs for TeleGlass and is an amateur photographer. Find him on Twitter @jronaldlee.
My car windshield has a 5-inch horizontal crack starting at the very edge and going toward the center. When I run my hand over it from either the outside or inside of the car, I can’t “feel” the scratch. Why is that?
P.S. I would like to get this repaired before the crack spreads. I dropped by an autoglass repair garage and they told me I had to replace the whole windshield. Is there a way to just repair the crack itself…like the process they use for rock chips? I feel like the mechanic is just trying to take my money.
This is a great two part question.
First, if you can’t feel the crack, it’s because of how the windshield is made. The two layers of glass with a layer of safety laminate in between is designed to keep it’s shape, including holding the layers of glass together after a crack. It’s doing such a good job that you can’t feel the crack (or cut your hand trying to feel it!).
Second, YES. You absolutely can repair a windshield’s crack! The best candidate is a crack that is small enough to be covered by a dollar bill and is not directly in the driver’s vision. A crack repair will fill the crack with a special resin that returns the windshield to its full strength. It will make the crack nearly invisible, but under certain circumstances, you may catch the sun reflecting off the crack. That’s why we do not advise repairing cracks directly in front of the driver.
There are times when a shop might recommend you have the windshield replaced even if it falls under those two criteria. It’s important to ask the shop why, because engaging the repair technician in a dialog will give you the information you need to make a good decision.
Read more from James Lee.
In 2009 he joined TGSC Group as the managing director of product development. James brings expertise in customer satisfaction and service delivery to the team. He guest blogs for TeleGlass and is an amateur photographer. Find him on Twitter @jronaldlee.
This time, instead of being all serious about Arizona and the laws in that state, we’re just sharing a pretty picture. It comes to us from Jeff Turner, who took this photo (now on our Arizona auto glass page) from McDowell Mountain Regional Park.
I used to live just a few miles from those mountains, and I can attest that it really is that beautiful there. Here’s how the image looks cropped down for the Arizona windshield page:
Jeff’s a pretty savvy photographer, business person, author, et cetera. He has a lot of things he works on, and when we asked him where we wanted to link to him in return for sharing his picture, he asked us to shine the spotlight on someone else.
Mothers Fighting For Others is dedicated to providing orphans and vulnerable children with opportunities their parents would have provided, if they only could; a loving and nurturing environment and a quality education, so they can learn, thrive and achieve their highest potential.
We like it… and have reached out to ask if someone on their staff would like to share more with TeleGlass readers. Until then, please visit their site to learn more.
Read more from James Lee.
In 2009 he joined TGSC Group as the managing director of product development. James brings expertise in customer satisfaction and service delivery to the team. He guest blogs for TeleGlass and is an amateur photographer. Find him on Twitter @jronaldlee.
Read more from James Lee.
In 2009 he joined TGSC Group as the managing director of product development. James brings expertise in customer satisfaction and service delivery to the team. He guest blogs for TeleGlass and is an amateur photographer. Find him on Twitter @jronaldlee.
Regardless, this bill has now passed both the House and the Senate, and appears headed for the Governor’s signature.
