Mercury Indemnity Company Of America windshield replacement Arizona and Florida

Two states, two different deductible rules

Mercury Indemnity Company Of America policies land on our schedule in both of the states we cover. That matters more than it sounds, because Arizona and Florida treat glass deductibles in entirely different ways, and the rule that applies to you follows your policy — not the road you happened to be on when the crack appeared. A Florida-written policy keeps its Florida treatment on a trip through Tucson, and an Arizona-written policy does not pick up Florida's rule because a rock found you on I-75. Check which state your policy was written in before you assume anything about what you will owe.

If your policy is written in Florida

Florida law (Fla. Stat. 627.7288) requires insurers to waive the deductible for windshield replacement when the policy includes comprehensive coverage. Two limits are worth understanding before you pick up the phone. First, it depends on comprehensive — if you carry liability only, there is nothing for the statute to act on. Second, and this is the part that catches people: it applies to the windshield and nothing else. A driver's door glass, a rear window, a quarter glass behind the back door, or a panoramic sunroof panel is an ordinary comprehensive claim with your ordinary deductible attached. If you are calling about anything other than the front windshield, plan on that.

If your policy is written in Arizona

Arizona law (A.R.S. 20-264) requires insurers to OFFER optional no-deductible safety-glass coverage. Read that exactly as written — it is an offer, not an entitlement, and nothing about it is automatic. The coverage exists on your policy only if you elected it at some point, which for a lot of drivers means a decision made years ago and forgotten. Pull up your declarations page before you call; the election usually appears as a separate safety glass or full glass line. If it is there, ask what it covers, because Arizona's option is written around safety glass generally rather than the windshield alone, and the specifics belong to your policy language rather than to us. If it is not there, your comprehensive deductible applies in the normal way.

Filing: expect to work with the carrier directly

Some carriers route glass claims through a third-party administrator that issues a referral or dispatch number before a shop can be assigned. On the Mercury Indemnity work we see, that is generally not the pattern — these claims are typically set up with the carrier directly, and there is usually no dispatch number to chase down first. In practice: call the claims number on your ID card or file through the carrier's app or website, say it is a glass-only comprehensive claim, and write down the claim number they give you. If you do happen to be handed a referral number, keep it and pass it along — it costs nothing and occasionally smooths the paperwork.

One thing does not change in either state: you choose your own glass shop. That is your call in Arizona and in Florida, whether you call us before you file or after.

Your model year decides what the job actually is

The vehicles we service on these policies split close to evenly between the ADAS era and everything that came before it. Toyota, Chevrolet, Honda, Kia and Jeep are what we see most often, and those two halves are genuinely different jobs — so it is worth knowing which side your car falls on before you schedule.

Newer vehicles: there is a camera behind the glass

On a recent Corolla, RAV4, Camry or Tacoma with Toyota Safety Sense, a Civic, CR-V or Accord with Honda Sensing, a Forte, Sportage or Telluride, or an Equinox or Silverado with forward-collision and lane-keeping features, the forward-facing camera mounts to the windshield. Replace the glass and that camera has moved. Recalibration is part of finishing the job correctly, not an optional extra someone tries to sell you afterward — lane keeping, automatic emergency braking and adaptive cruise all reference that camera's aim.

Recalibration is either static, dynamic, or both depending on the manufacturer. Static work needs level ground and clear space in front of the vehicle for targets. Dynamic work needs a road drive at steady speed with visible lane markings and decent weather. Tell us up front what driver-assist features your car has and we will plan the visit around what it needs. It is also why the correct glass part matters: the right camera bracket, and the right combination of acoustic interlayer, heated wiper park, rain sensor and heads-up display for your build.

Older vehicles: fitment, trim and what is under the moulding

On a pre-2018 Silverado or Sierra, an older Wrangler, a Grand Cherokee, or a Civic or Camry from the previous generation, there is no camera to aim — but there is often more to deal with at the pinchweld. Florida's coastal humidity and salt air encourage corrosion under the moulding, and Arizona's sun bakes urethane hard and turns cowl clips and mouldings brittle enough to break on removal. Trim on older vehicles is frequently one-time-use. None of that is a surprise to us, but we would rather tell you what we find before we start than after, so if we open a windshield and find rust at the bond line, you will hear about it and decide how to proceed.

Have this ready before you call

• Your policy number and claim number, if you have already filed
• Whether the policy carries comprehensive coverage, and which state it was written in
• Your VIN — it is the fastest way to get the right glass the first time
• Which glass broke: windshield, door, quarter, rear or sunroof
• What driver-assist features the vehicle has, if you know
• Where the vehicle will be sitting, and whether that spot is reasonably level with room to work

How the appointment works

We are mobile only. There is no shop to drive to and no waiting room — we come to the vehicle at home or at work, in Arizona and in Florida. We replace glass; we do not do chip repair, so if the damage is a small chip you may want to weigh your options before filing anything. Next-day service is typical across most of our service area once the correct part is confirmed. After installation, the urethane needs its safe drive-away time before the vehicle is driven, and we will tell you exactly when that is before we leave.