High Deductibles on Rise in Canada

by Les Shaver

Many Canadians are taking higher deductibles on their auto insurance, leading to a drop in insurance work for glass shops, according to those interviewed by glassBYTEs.com™/AGRR magazine. While this is just one of the factors shops cite for the drop in insurance work in Canada, it's an important one. (Check out the upcoming August/September issue of AGRR for an in-depth look at the other factors at play in Canada since massive consolidation took place.)

"The insurance deductible is $300 to $500 and people are driving around with cracked windows," says Ford Lake, owner of Barry Glass and Mirror in Barry, Ontario. Donald Deane, owner of Mother's Totally Mobile Auto Glass in Hamilton, Ontario, sees this as well. "Up here, people have moved their deductibles up," he says. "The average up here is $500."

Even in the Western provinces where insurance is controlled by the government, glass shops owners are seeing a trend toward high deductibles. "Deductibles are $200 or $300," says Gordon Harris, owner of Econo Glass in Williams Lake, British Columbia. But even with customers taking higher deductibles, Deane says Belron-another important factor at play in Canada-can capture some of the high-deductible market. He contends the auto glass giant is offsetting the price customers pay for deductibles. "They don't call it waiving the deductible," he says. "I think it is a discount."

Additionally, Canadian shops are seeing that many of their customers don't really even want to deal with insurance in the first place. "People are scared of insurance," Deane says. "I've done work for guys who could file it through insurance but they won't do it. Yet they'll still pay for glass coverage."

Les Shaver is a contributing editor for glassBYTEs.com™/AGRR magazine.