It is difficult for a master to understand what Lithuanians do in the kitchen – repairing this fault costs so much that it is sometimes cheaper to buy a new one.

Glass breakage: a common consequence of children’s play

The property insurance specialist says that there are more than 300 reports of broken glass in the home each year, and often the most important attribute in the kitchen is not broken windows or door glass.

“The girl played, accidentally hit the table and the table broke. Not everything was completely shattered, but it fell apart. Then I applied to the insurance company for the benefit, they asked for photos, bought documents and transferred the money, ”says Ingrida Gražulevičienė, mother of a small child.

According to Vasarė Širmelytė, a property insurance specialist at BTA, children are often involved in such situations: mirrors and glass parts of furniture break when they play. However, they are certainly not the biggest culprits in such events:

“The company receives more than 300 complaints each year about the risk of glass breakage. The plates and the glass of the furnace are often cracked and broken. Often windows and doors. There are also cracks in ceramic showers or sinks.”

When insuring real estate, according to V. Širmelytė, the insurance company covers damage caused by breaks and cracks of the glass surfaces of windows, doors or other stationary partitions of the house. In addition, according to the risk of glass breakage, damage to furniture, appliances, home decoration items made of glass and ceramic breakage are covered.

However, these risks should not be confused with the risk of breaking the screens of televisions or telephones: “The protection of screens in telephones, laptops and tablets is an additional risk, but it is not a risk of glass breakage”, says the insurer . specialist.

When a cracked countertop is not just a question of aesthetics: when is it dangerous to use it?

Ernestas, the foreman at the Salvata service center in Vilnius, says the company receives at least 1-2 inquiries a week about cracked or cracked countertops: “” says the man.

According to Ernest, the plate is broken more often because smaller plates and objects (cups, tools, glasses, salt, pepper, etc.) fall from the upper cabinets onto the glass. Meanwhile, the corners of frameless cooktops can crack even under heavier pots. The price of the glass of the heating plate, says the interlocutor, depends on the manufacturer and the age of the model: “Often, when the model is very old, the price is really disproportionately high.”

According to the supervisor, customers sometimes look for new and unused countertop glass that has been damaged during delivery: “Although the packaging looks healthy, the factory packaging is probably not always reliable. We also heard from customers that the glass broke just when cooking, when using several plates at the same time, when the surface was very hot and loaded, ”says a specialist from the plate replacement company.

In cases where the glass on the countertop has cracked, it can still be used. However, if the cooktop breaks at the control buttons, it may not just be a matter of aesthetics: “As with phone screens: it all depends on the severity of the violation. If the glass is not only broken, but the internal parts of the hob are already visible, it is dangerous to use such a device. “

Various options are available after the event

According to the interlocutor Ingrida, the insurer offered two options: “They offered or buy a similar new table and then the purchase amount will be reimbursed, or cover the amount I paid to buy this now damaged table, without VAT. That’s what I chose in the second option and I got a slightly lower amount because VAT was deducted. “

How does an insurance company behave if an analogous item that has broken is no longer in trade? Ingrida says that in her case, the insurance company looked for another table: “They found a similar table, because my man was bought outside of Lithuania, it would probably have been impossible to find a completely identical one. Just the same dimensions to fit my broken table. “

Evidence is essential to avoid fraud

V. Širmelytė says that damage is assessed by calculating how much it would cost to replace a damaged or broken item with a new one. The average amount of these damages is about 350 euros.

How does the insurance company prove that the damaged item is yours? “In the event of an incident, we ask you for proof that the item belongs to you. If the client does not have checks or bank statements, it is possible to use photographs that show that the items were at home and before the event ”, said the specialist about the necessary procedures before the compensation was paid.