Chipped windscreen in Geneva: what to do straight away?
By AZ Carrosserie · Published on · Updated on
A chip right in the driver’s line of sight, or a crack that keeps growing through the glass: in Geneva, AZ Carrosserie then replaces the windscreen. A side window smashed during a break-in is replaced too. A recent chip outside that line of sight is looked at by the workshop first. Broken glass normally falls under partial casco.
The day the chip appears
A windscreen chipped on the motorway bypass, a small mark you notice in the glass on the way home from work: a chip does not stay the same size. It spreads as the temperature goes up and down.
Take a picture of it the same day. When you describe the damage in the form, tick “Broken glass” and add that picture: it is what steers the next step. Leaving it for a few weeks because the mark looks tiny only gives it time to spread.
Replace or not: four cases
This is what each situation turns into once the car has been examined.
- The chip is right in the driver’s line of sight: the glass is replaced.
- A crack keeps growing through the glass: the glass is replaced as well.
- The side window was smashed during a break-in: it is handled like bodywork damage, with the same procedure.
- The chip is recent and outside your line of sight: let us see it, and the workshop will tell you what should be done.
How the glass is changed
The damaged windscreen comes out, its frame is cleaned, then the new glass is bonded in place. The car stays put until the adhesive has set, however long that takes, before it goes back on the road.
And the camera behind it?
On many models, the camera used by the driver-assistance systems sits behind the windscreen, and many manufacturers ask for it to be recalibrated after a replacement. The workshop does this for every make, cameras as well as radars and sensors, even when the glass was fitted by another garage: see ADAS calibration.
A window smashed in a break-in
You come back to the car in its parking space and find the side window in pieces. Broken glass is part of the workshop’s work, like bodywork and mechanics: one call is enough, and there is only one file. For a break-in or an act of vandalism, call us; we are the ones who contact your insurer, then follow the claim.
What your policy says
Broken glass is one of the items that policies treat separately. What yours covers is written in your general terms and conditions, not on this page: partial casco and full casco only have the scope your insurer gives them. How to deal with an insurer, step by step: Your insurer suggests its own garage.
To place the two kinds of cover, La Mobilière puts broken glass under partial casco in Switzerland, next to theft, storms, hail and accidents involving a wild animal; collisions come under full casco (page “Casco complète ou casco partielle”, in French, read on 01.10.2026).
After an insurance claim
The form keeps one field for the name of your insurer and, if you already have it, the claim number. No number yet? The request is sent all the same. A completed accident statement can be attached too: it means one less exchange with the insurer. What happens next with the claim is set out on Accidents and insurance.
Dropping the car off in Eaux-Vives
The workshop is at Avenue Pictet-de-Rochemont 33ter, 1207 Genève, in Eaux-Vives, open Monday to Friday, 7.30 am – 12 noon and 1 pm – 5.30 pm. The quote request can be prepared at any hour from your phone: mark the window on the diagram of the car, then add the photo of the chip.
See also: Windscreen replacement, with camera calibration and common questions.