Getting into an accident is already a very unfortunate event, however, having to deal with making an insurance claim and paying the car insurance excess stated on your policy is another stress on your head.

But don’t worry, we’re always finding new ways to help our customers, so we’ve provided you with a mini guide on insurance excess to clear up any confusion you may have!

What Is Car Insurance Excess?

After an accident, you have to worry about the repairs your car needs, so when you make a claim on your insurance policy, you have to contribute a certain amount of money towards this. What you pay is referred to as an insurance excess.

Your insurance provider will inform you of what your excess will be and you will be obligated to pay this if you claim after a fault accident, however, to find out a legal way to avoid having to pay the excess on your insurance policy, make sure you read till the end!

Read more: Insurance Repairs in London

Now that you know what an excess is, there are two main types you need to be aware of:

• Compulsory Excess – When you are sorting your insurance policy out, your insurance provider will state the compulsory excess, which is a certain amount of money that you must pay if you ever make a claim.
• Voluntary Excess – This is an optional sum of money you can decide to add to your policy, in order to decrease your car insurance premium. If in the future you make a claim, it will need to be paid alongside the compulsory excess.

Some people get enticed into increasing the voluntary excess, just so their insurance premium can decrease a little. Especially when you’re looking for car insurance quotes and all of them are sky-high. However, if you find yourself in the position of making a claim after an accident, you will have to pay the total excess and you may then find increasing the voluntary excess was not such a good idea.

So, remember to only choose an amount that you are sure you will find affordable if the situation was to arise.

How Much Excess Do You Have To Pay?

As we previously mentioned, the insurance company you’re with will decide how much compulsory excess you will have to pay and it’s up to you how much voluntary excess you would like to add on to it. Your total insurance excess is the combination of both compulsory and voluntary excesses, so if you make a claim, you will have to pay the full amount.

Let us give you an example, if the compulsory excess stated on your policy is £250 and your voluntary excess is £100, that would mean your total excess to be paid in the event of a claim would be £350.

Depending on which insurance policy you have, they may or may not have extra compulsory excess. For instance, if you’re a young driver (under 25) and you’re looking for an insurance policy, your compulsory excess could be higher, as there may be a further young drivers excess added to it due to you being categorised as a higher risk by insurance companies. Additionally, you could also be subjected to a higher compulsory excess if you own a luxury car, most likely because the cost of repairs on these vehicles is expensive.

There may be other additional excess charges, however, again it depends on the insurance provider.

Note: If you are already on an insurance policy but you’re unaware of what your excess is, you can check the documents of your policy or call up the insurance company you are with, in order to find out.

If The Accident Was Not Your Fault, Do You Still Have To Pay The Excess?

This is a common question people ask, especially if you had no fault in an accident, it seems unfair that you have to pay towards the repairs! So usually, If it is a non-fault claim and you have the name and address of the driver who was at fault for the accident, then your insurance provider may forego the excess. This is due to the fact that your insurance company can claim the costs back from the third parties’ insurance.

Is There A Way To Avoid Paying The Excess?

Okay, this is where we come in! At Bodyteq, we have a special product available for all our customers… the Excess Guarantee policy. Now you’re probably sick of hearing the word excess, but this policy is perfect for someone who is looking to get this ‘excess’ stress off their head.

For as little as £25.00 (one-time payment), our excess guarantee policy will cover your car insurance excess up to £1,000! Meaning, your vehicle will be tended to by trained and skilled technicians, who will repair any damages in our new modern & developed repair facility. You won’t have to worry about any excess costs for the repairs because, with this policy, we cover all of it.

For example, you’ve just been in a fault accident and the excess stated on your policy is £500. This sum will need to be paid to either the insurance company or the company carrying out the repairs to your vehicle. Alternatively, if you took out an Excess Guarantee policy with Bodyteq, in the event of an accident, we would cover the cost of your excess so you don’t have to contribute anything towards the repairs.

For more information about this beneficial policy, then check out this link: The Excess Guarantee or give us a call on 0207 998 4712!