Would imagine you are thinking about a Tortoise Beetle. Some have lots of spots.

Google Image search of "tortoise beetles" might even give you the one you remember, depending on your location.

http://bugguide.net/node/view/40795

That's it! Thank you..

I remember catching a small ladybird-like looking insect on several occasions when I was a child, except this had clear plastic-like coating on the body that extended over the edges much like a WW1 British helmet. Would anyone know what kind of insect it was?