Insurance Excesses

What is an insurance excess?  This is the amount payable by the insured when a claim arise and is NOT covered by the insurance policy.  Many different excesses can be applicable on a policy.  It is therefore of utmost importance to familiarize yourself with the excesses on your insurance policy.

The following excesses are mainly applicable to car insurance:

a)  Standard Excess

b)  Additional Excesses, and

c)  Voluntary Excess

Standard Excess

This is the basic excess of the section on the policy from which you are claiming.  The first amount payable by the insured.

If loss or damages incurred are less than this amount, a claim cannot be submitted under the policy.

Additional Excesses

Any additional excesses need to be added to the basic excess when applicable.  For example, if the policy states an additional excess of R1000 if the driver of the vehicle is under the age of 25 years, the R1000 will be added to the basic excess if the driver is under the age of 25 when the car is involved in an accident.

Voluntary Excess

You can choose to increase your basic excess in order to pay a reduced premium, but be sure that you’ll be able to afford the higher excess when you need to claim from your policy.