Florida's Windshield Law Explained: $0 Deductible, "Waived" Deductibles, and the Pros and Cons for Tampa Bay Drivers

By Justin Bryan · November 4, 2026 · Auto Insurance

Every Tampa Bay driver knows the sound: a dump truck drops gravel on I-275 or US-19, a rock kicks up on the Howard Frankland, and there's a fresh star crack blooming in your windshield before you reach the next exit. Here's the good news most drivers around St. Petersburg, Tampa, Clearwater, and Wesley Chapel don't know: if your auto policy includes comprehensive coverage, Florida law says your insurer cannot charge you a deductible for that windshield — not $500, not $250, not a dime. This post explains the law itself, what it means when a glass shop offers to "waive your deductible," and the honest pros and cons of how Florida handles windshields.

The law: one sentence in §627.7288

The whole benefit lives in Florida Statute §627.7288. In the statute's own words, "the deductible provisions of any policy of motor vehicle insurance, delivered or issued in this state by an authorized insurer, providing comprehensive coverage or combined additional coverage shall not be applicable to damage to the windshield of any motor vehicle covered under such policy." Translated:

• Your policy must include comprehensive coverage (the "other than collision" coverage for road debris, storms, theft, and falling objects). Florida doesn't require you to buy comprehensive — it's optional unless your lender or lease does — but without it, this law gives you nothing.
• It covers the windshield only. A cracked side window, rear glass, or sunroof is still a comprehensive claim, but your regular deductible applies to those.
• Repair or replacement, the deductible is $0 either way. A chip repair and a full replacement are both "damage to the windshield." On modern vehicles, replacement often includes recalibrating the driver-assistance cameras mounted at the glass — part of doing the job right, and part of why replacements cost what they do.

File the claim with your insurer the way you would any other: you'll recieve a claim number, and the insurer pays the glass shop (or reimburses you) for the full covered amount. Note that this is a comprehensive claim, completely seperate from PIP and the no-fault system we covered in our Florida no-fault explainer — nobody's injuries are involved, just glass.

"We'll waive your deductible" — what that pitch really means

Because Tampa Bay is full of mobile glass vans working parking lots from Largo to Brandon to Sarasota, you'll hear this line: "We'll waive your deductible." On a Florida windshield, that's a pitch with nothing behind it — there is no deductible to waive. The law already set it to zero. What some of those offers are really selling is the paperwork that used to come with it: sign here, and the shop takes over your claim. Florida shut that down in 2023. Under Senate Bill 1002 (effective May 25, 2023):

• No inducements. A repair shop, its employees, or anyone paid to solicit claims may not offer you anything of value — cash, gift cards, a "waived" deductible — in exchange for making an insurance claim for glass repair or replacement.
• No assignment of benefits for glass. For policies issued or renewed on or after July 1, 2023, an assignment agreement handing your post-loss glass benefits to a shop is prohibited, and any such agreement is void and unenforceable.
• No steering, either direction. Just as a shop can't buy your claim, your insurer can't require you to use a particular glass company. You pick the shop.

So if someone in a parking lot offers you something free for your signature, that's not a deal — it's the exact pattern the 2023 law was written to stop, after Florida saw tens of thousands of auto glass lawsuits a year (figures cited in the legislative debate put 2022 filings in the tens of thousands). Call your insurer or your agent first; it takes five minutes.

The pros

• Safety with no price barrier. A cracked windshield hurts visibility and is part of the vehicle's structure — it supports the roof and helps airbags deploy correctly. A $0 deductible means nobody in Pinellas or Pasco County is driving around on a spiderwebbed windshield because the repair money went to rent.
• It matches the risk. Between I-4 construction, Skyway traffic, gravel trucks on SR-54, and hurricane-season debris, Tampa Bay windshields live a hard life. The most common glass loss costs you nothing out of pocket.
• Simple claim, your choice of shop. No deductible math, and the anti-steering rule means you can use the local shop you trust in Dunedin or Riverview instead of whoever a call center assigns.
• Small chips get fixed early. A free repair today prevents the full replacement next month, which is better for everyone.

The cons

• It's not really "free" — it's prepaid. The cost of all those windshields is built into what Floridians pay for comprehensive coverage. Critics of the law argue the $0 deductible removes any reason to shop on price or question whether a chip truly needs a full replacement, and every driver shares the bill through premiums.
• It invites abuse. The pre-2023 history proves the point: the $0 deductible plus assignable benefits created a solicitation and lawsuit industry that the Legislature ultimately had to legislate against. The inducement and AOB bans help, but parking-lot solicitation hasn't vanished.
• Only the windshield, only with comprehensive. Liability-only drivers in Tampa or New Port Richey pay 100% out of pocket, and everyone pays their normal deductible for side and rear glass — a gap that surprises people at the worst moment.
• A claim is still a claim. A glass claim goes on your claims history. One chip repair shouldn't move your rate the way an at-fault crash does, but it's worth asking your agent how your carrier treats glass claims before you file one for a tiny chip you might rather pay cash for.

The bottom line for Tampa Bay drivers

If you carry comprehensive coverage anywhere in Pinellas, Hillsborough, Pasco, or Sarasota County — from Tarpon Springs and Palm Harbor down through St. Petersburg and Clearwater, across to Tampa, Plant City, and Land O' Lakes, or down in Sarasota, Venice, and North Port — a damaged windshield costs you $0 in deductible, by law. Don't sign anything in a parking lot, don't fall for a "waived deductible" that doesn't exist, and choose your own shop. Not sure whether your current policy even includes comprehensive, or what your glass claim history looks like? Use the form below and we'll review your auto policy with you — it's the two-minute check that decides whether the next rock on the Courtney Campbell costs you nothing or several hundred dollars.

Sources

• Florida Statute §627.7288 — comprehensive coverage; deductible not to apply to motor vehicle glass (Online Sunshine)
• Florida Senate — CS/SB 1002 (2023), Motor Vehicle Glass — chapter 2023-136: inducement prohibition, assignment-of-benefits prohibition for policies issued or renewed on or after July 1, 2023, anti-steering

This post is general information about Florida insurance, not advice about any specific claim or policy.