Insurance Excesses
In the simplest of terms - if your cover allows you to make a claim against your own Insurance Company, the excess is the amount of money that you will have to pay toward the claim if you are making a claim against your own Insurance, in the event of your vehicle being damaged or stolen.
What types of Excesses are there?
Because of the types of claims you can make there are four types of excess that you should be aware of:
Excesses on Fully Comprehensive Cover
As you have seen already, you can make a claim against your own Insurance Company if you have Fully Comprehensive Cover or Third Party Fire & Theft Cover.
What types of Excesses apply to Fully Comprehensive policies?
Because of the types of claims you can make with a fully comp policy there are four types of Excess that apply
Excesses on Third Party Fire & Theft
As you have read already if your vehicle is covered by Third Party Fire & Theft cover, you can only make a claim against your own Insurance Company if your vehicle has been stolen or damaged by fire or in rare circumstances, for damage caused as a result of an attempted theft.
What types of Excesses apply to Third Party Fire & Theft Policies?
Because of the types of claims you can make with a third party fire and theft policy only two types of Excesses that could apply.
Fire and Theft Excess
Windscreen Excess could apply if the cover were extended by choice to cover the windscreen.
Excesses With Third Party Only Cover
With third party only cover you cannot make a claim against your own Insurance Company
What type of excess applies to Third Party Only Policies?
No Excesses Apply
Each Excesses Explained
Accidental Damage Excess ADXS
This is the amount of money that you would be liable to pay if you make a claim against your own Insurance Company, in the event of your vehicle being damaged, and a claim is made to have the vehicle repaired. (Damage caused by theft or attempted theft is covered under the FTXS) This type of Excess only applies to Fully Comprehensive Policies.
Malicious Damage Excess MDXS
Here MDXS is the Excess that must be paid when you make a claim to have your vehicle repaired following an incident where your vehicle is damaged as a result of ‘Malicious Means’ i.e. Vandalism. This Excess usually mirrors a value the same as the Fire and Theft Excess and is therefore offered as the same i.e. MD/FT Excess.
Fire and Theft Excess FTXS
The Fire and Theft Excess is the amount of money that you would have to pay toward the claim in the event of you making a claim because your vehicle has been destroyed by fire or stolen. It also covers damage caused as the result of an attempted theft. (This is quite a grey area because it has to be damage as a result of an Attempted Theft such as the door locks being damaged or the ignition cowling being tampered with. Any other damage would not be covered on a Third Party Fire and Theft policy.)
Windscreen Excess (Glass Cover) WDXS
Windscreen Excess only applies to Fully Comprehensive Cover as standard or Third Party Fire and Theft Policies Through choice, if taken as an added extension. At the present, the prices seem to vary between £40 and £60. This may seem a high Excess to pay, but some cars do have Windscreens (Front and Rear) that cost hundreds of pounds. The big difference with windscreen claims is the fact they do not affect your ‘No Claims Discount’.