Recently, while on his way back from my family's lake cabin, my father's back window was broken out. What caused the break out is still something of a mystery, but we're guessing that a rock bounced off the trailer he was towing and hit the back window.

Now the vehicle my father drives is not an expensive one. It is a Chevy Express Van with a Starcraft conversion package. A nice vehicle, but not one that is either rare or particularly luxurious. Yet when he took the vehicle in to get the window repaired he learned that a replacement window would cost him $1,000! That's right, one relatively small back window apparently costs a grand to replace. And that's not including labor. That's just the price of the window.

Interestingly enough, my father also learned that the $1,000 price tag only applies if his insurance company is paying for the repair. The same window costs only $500 if a private person is footing the bill.

No wonder insurance costs so much. I have no idea if this is legal or not, but it seems to me as though it shouldn't be.