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I've been through a few windshield replacements, the last just this past April. If you have standard glass coverage, you'll end up paying the deductible. There is no effect to your policy cost because the claim falls under the comprehensive coverage part of your policy.
Most large insurance companies farm out glass coverage management to a third-party company. The process is pretty much cookie cutter. The third-party has glass replacement contracts with the large glass repair companies (e.g. Safelite) and set predetermined pricing with other independent glass repair companies. If your car is older than 2 years, most insurance companies will not pay for original equipment glass (i.e. a BMW windshield). The idea behind all this is to replace the glass at the lowest possible price. There is nothing you can do to change that paradigm, without paying a company to replace the glass outside of the insurance process.
If your deductible for comprehensive coverage is $500, that will be close to what the insurance company sets as a replacement cost for BMW cars. The more driving tech the car has the higher the glass replacement price is.
Now, the crack will propigate thru the glass eventually. Hitting a cold windshield in the winter with the defroster on full blast usually will grow the crack. Conversely, if you were to wash your car in the summer sun with a hot windshield and you dumped a bucket of gold water on it at the start of washing the car, the crack would propigate through the glass. If that were to happen, that would be the filing date of the claim.
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