Car Insurance Claims Explained
What are car insurance claims? What is car insurance excess? And what are you paying for? Also, when must I pay that and when can I avoid paying it?
Excess is a levy that a client has to cover when agreeing to an insurance policy. It’s an amount that you must pay before the remainder of a claim is settled.
You have the option to pay a higher premium so that excess isn’t a prerequisite. But that means insurance costs go up. The excess system attempts to discourage fraud. And because a client would need to make a payment first, it decreases the risk of a possible fraudulent claim. That is the main reason excess exists.
Car Insurance Claims – Explore the Options
Make sure to sit down and discuss options regarding excess with a broker before deciding on a policy because each one has certain excess T&Cs. Read policies carefully and be sure to understand what excesses a are a liability.
Clients who are not at fault for an accident are still required to pay an insurance excess. But can then attempt to claim the excess fee back from the guilty party. Therefore it is critical to always track the status of a claim to be sure the insurer refunds the excess and reinstates a bonus or no-claims discount, once the insurance company gets the money from the other party’s insurance policy.
Car Insurance Claims – Track Your Status
But because only 35% of cars on the roads have insurance, it will be hard to reclaim the excess fee from offenders with uninsured vehicles. And that would leave the client to pay the excess in full. That also means that clients will lose their no-claims discount.
The insurance company can levy more than one excess on an insurance claim. Many insurance companies charge a high or additional excess fee if a driver is younger than a certain age, has been involved in frequent accidents or has a bad claims history.
Most policyholders understand these excesses, but some people do not know about theft excess, which means that the client will be held responsible for paying an excess when someone steals a car, or it gets hijacked. Some insurers have issued a time of accident excess. Therefore the excess fee will depend on what time the incident occurred.
Car Insurance Claims – Waiver on Policy
Clients can choose to have a waiver on a policy whereby the insurance company deletes the core excess, but this is likely to result in an increase in a premium paid. This excess waiver is often only applicable to the basic excess, though, and clients could still find themselves responsible for any additional excess noted on the policy.
If the government introduces compulsory third-party insurance, it will favour the customer. The bigger the pool of premium contributors, the lower the premiums and excess because the contributions of many will compensate the losses of a few.
Conclusions
Sometimes excesses are insignificant if they are worth more than the value of a claim in an accident. There is then no reason to claim. Even small claims will affect a no-claim bonus, so always consider if a claim is worth it or not. Usually, a no-claims record of 2-3 years results in lower rates. Always shop around and compare to find the best insurance fit.
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All info was correct at time of publishing October 30, 2018
