How a Waiver of Excess Works
Most car insurance policies have certain aspects of it that you will have to pay for if you have an accident or if your car gets vandalized. This part of the policy is commonly referred to a waiver of excess in many countries such as the UK. In the United States the waiver of excess is more commonly referred to as a deductible. If you’re in the UK and decide to rent a car then you’ll encounter a waiver of excess.
When the amount of the waiver of excess is exceeded in damages then you pay the amount of the waiver of excess and the insurance company covers what’s left over. So if you have a waiver of excess of $1,000 and an accident causes $5,000 in damages to your vehicle then you will have to pay the $1,000 up front and the insurance company will cover the other $4,000. While a waiver of excess is not included in the premium of the insurance policy you pay it is still very helpful.
There are some situations that it will be preferable and profitable not to make a claim. If the damages are very minute and are barely over your waiver of excess that you have to pay then you will probably want to just pay it all yourself. There is a good reason to paying for the damages yourself. In most cases after an accident the insurance company will raise the premium that you have to pay every month. If you’re a young driver or have a bad record, then this increase can be quite a lot.
Your excess waiver amount will vary depending on what insurance plan you decide to go with. The higher the deductible that you choose the lower insurance premium will be. If you are a safe driver and have very few claims then you will benefit more from having a higher deductible. However this can cause problems if you are in an accident and end up not being able to pay the excess waiver at the time.
If you have an insurance policy and find the waiver of excess to be a percent rather than a figure you should consider asking if they can get a regular figure for it. This is because the percent can hurt you if you are involved in an expensive accident and have to pay thousands of dollars rather than a set price.
When you pay the waiver of excess it usually is to cover damage that was done to your car whether it’s due to an accident, theft, or weather damage. Most of the time third party liability coverage does not have a deductable. If you choose to you can get additional coverage to give you a piece of mind.
You might have been led to believe that the waiver of excess is only for auto insurance. However there are many types of insurance that have a waiver of excess on them. Some other types of insurance that you’re likely to see a waiver of excess is health, travel, and home insurance. If you do rent a car in the UK it’s important that you understand that your credit card can and may be charged for damage before it’s reimbursed by the insurance company.
Graham McKenzie is the content syndication coordinator for Carinsurancesa.co.za. South Arica?s leading car and vechile portal.
