Myrtle Beach and Horry County residents have had a significant financial protection for years that most of them have never used: South Carolina Code §38-77-150, which requires insurers to cover auto glass claims without applying a deductible. If you have comprehensive auto insurance on a South Carolina-registered vehicle, your windshield replacement has always been legally required to cost you $0. Most Myrtle Beach drivers don’t know this — and even fewer know it may be going away.
Here’s a complete guide to SC’s windshield law, how to use it, and why the urgency is real.
South Carolina Code §38-77-150: What It Says
SC Code §38-77-150 is the state’s comprehensive auto insurance statute. Among its provisions is a specific protection for auto glass: insurers offering comprehensive coverage in South Carolina are prohibited from applying a deductible to auto glass repair or replacement claims. This means that when you file a glass claim, your insurer must pay the full cost — no deductible, no contribution from you.
This protection applies to all SC-registered vehicles with comprehensive auto insurance. It covers windshields, side glass, rear glass, sunroofs, and all other auto glass damaged in a covered comprehensive event. Comprehensive events include rock chips, cracks, hail damage, storm damage, vandalism, and any other non-collision glass damage.
Who Qualifies in Myrtle Beach and Horry County
To qualify for zero-cost glass replacement under §38-77-150, you need:
- An active comprehensive auto insurance policy
- A South Carolina-registered vehicle
- A covered glass damage event (non-collision)
If you’re a Myrtle Beach resident or Horry County homeowner with comprehensive coverage on your SC-registered vehicle, you meet all three requirements. The law applies immediately.
Note for visitors and tourists: SC’s zero-deductible law applies specifically to SC-registered vehicles. Out-of-state visitors with vehicles registered in other states will use their home-state policy terms for any glass claims in Myrtle Beach. Most comprehensive policies cover glass damage regardless of state, but the deductible-free guarantee is SC-specific. See our visitor guide for full details.
Does Filing a Glass Claim Affect Your Rates?
This is the question that prevents most Myrtle Beach drivers from acting — and the answer is definitively no. A comprehensive glass claim in South Carolina is a non-fault event. Your insurer cannot use it to surcharge your policy, raise your rates, or flag your record. The law recognizes that a windshield chip from US-17 debris or a crack from a spring hailstorm is not a driving behavior event. It tells your insurer nothing about your risk as a driver.
SC’s insurance regulatory framework prohibits fault-based surcharges on non-fault comprehensive claims. File the claim, get your windshield replaced, and your premium stays exactly where it is.
How to File Your Myrtle Beach Glass Claim
The fastest way to process a glass claim in Myrtle Beach is to call us first. We handle the insurer communication and claim filing as part of our service. Here’s the complete process:
- Call (843) 600-0100 or submit a quote request. Provide your vehicle info and insurance carrier.
- We verify your §38-77-150 coverage. We confirm your comprehensive policy and the zero-deductible status of your claim.
- We schedule mobile service. We come to your home, your hotel, your vacation rental, or anywhere else on the Grand Strand.
- You sign the work authorization. One simple form. That’s your only action.
- We complete the work and bill your insurer. You receive a zero-dollar invoice.
The HB 4817 Timeline: Why Act Now
SC House Bill 4817 passed the House of Representatives and is now pending before the SC Senate. The bill proposes to amend §38-77-150 to allow insurers to apply standard comprehensive deductibles to auto glass claims — eliminating the zero-deductible protection that SC drivers have had for years.
The bill’s projected effective date, if signed into law, is January 1, 2027. That means every glass claim filed before December 31, 2026 under current law is zero-deductible. Every claim filed on or after January 1, 2027 — if HB 4817 passes — would be subject to your standard comprehensive deductible, typically $250 to $1,000.
The Myrtle Beach market has an unusually high windshield damage rate due to US-17 and US-501 traffic, tourism-season construction activity, and coastal weather events. Any Horry County driver with current windshield damage — a chip, a crack, hail pitting — has a clear financial incentive to file that claim now, under current law, rather than waiting and potentially paying out-of-pocket after January 2027.
The Bottom Line
South Carolina §38-77-150 is a genuine financial protection for Myrtle Beach and Horry County drivers. It’s in effect today. HB 4817 may take it away in January 2027. Every Horry County resident with comprehensive auto insurance and any windshield damage has one clear action to take: schedule a replacement now, at $0, under the law that currently protects you.