What is Excess in Insurance? - Travel Insurance Explained (2024)

FAQs

What is Excess in Insurance? - Travel Insurance Explained? ›

Excess insurance pays after other primary or secondary insurers have covered their portion. If you have health insurance through two different entities, like your regular health insurance and a travel plan with health coverage, the primary carrier is the one that pays or reimburses your medical bills first.

The excess is the amount you pay when you submit a claim. If an excess is payable under the policy, this amount is deducted from the final claim settlement/payment. The standard excess is $200. You can reduce this amount to $100 or to $0 by paying an additional premium.

You pay an excess when it's your fault and you make a claim on your insurance. If you've been involved in a road traffic accident that wasn't your fault, you shouldn't have to pay the excess. The party who is at fault will need to make a claim on their own insurance policy to cover the cost of any damage.

The higher the excess, the less you might pay in premiums, and vice versa. Of course, a higher excess means you may end up paying more out-of-pocket if you need to make a claim. If you're a safe driver with a clean driving history, going with a higher excess could make sense for you.

Excess is what you'll pay if you make a claim on your health insurance cover. The excess can have a big impact on your policy, especially when it comes to deciding the monthly or annual cost of your cover. It is important to remember that the higher the excess, the lower the monthly premium will be.

An excess is not always applicable. In some cases, you may not need to pay an excess, depending on the area of your policy you are trying to claim from. However, it is important to note that the specific excess amount can vary between different insurance providers.

By opting for a higher excess, you may see significant savings on your insurance costs. This can be especially beneficial for those with a low-risk profile or a history of few claims, as they are less likely to need their insurance coverage frequently.

An excess liability insurance policy, also known as excess liability coverage, offers financial protection and higher policy limits if a claim is made that exceeds the limit of an underlying liability policy. It's similar to having an additional insurance policy on top of your existing coverage.

Excess and surplus lines insurance covers policyholders that have unique risks, extra high risks, and/or poor loss history. These candidates would generally be unable to obtain insurance through standard lines, meaning that there's a huge gap in coverage for them.

An excess usually applies for most claims unless there's someone else we can recover the costs from, like the driver of another car who caused the accident. In some cases you'll be asked to pay the excess to the repairer or supplier. We can also deduct it from any payment we make to you.

What is the purpose of an excess? ›

Insurance excess is a pre-agreed amount of money that you need to pay to your insurance provider in the event of a claim, such as a car accident or a flood at home. In many cases, you'll be asked to pay the excess immediately so that the claim process can begin.

Let's say you have a collision and your car requires repairs costing £5,000. If your excess is £500, the insurance company will only pay £4,500 to the repair shop, leaving you to pay the remaining £500.

For example, if you purchase your policy with a $200 excess and you submit a claim for $600, you are liable for the first $200 and we would reimburse $400. The lower the excess amount you choose, the higher your insurance premium.

The excess helps keep the cost of handling and meeting insurance claims down and so the premiums everyone pays are cheaper.

You will need to pay your excess if you're in an accident and you make a claim, even if it wasn't your fault. The good news is you may be able to recover this amount from your car insurance provider if there is evidence that the accident was someone else's fault.

Examples of excess in a Sentence

Noun They were equipped with an excess of provisions. The tests found an excess of sodium in his blood. He lived a life of excess.

If your insurance company have dealt with the claim, they are usually able to claim the excess back for you, but it's best to clarify with them during the claims process.

Sometimes the insurer can recover damages from the at-fault driver, and can refund the excess to you. This may not happen, because your insurer may decide it's not worth the time or money to pursue the other person – it could take months or years.

Excess of loss reinsurance is a specific type of reinsurance where the ceding company is compensated for losses that exceed a specified limit. The purpose of an excess of loss reinsurance is to assist insurance companies with managing risk.