Car insurance excess can be confusing – especially when it comes to understanding what you’ll pay out of pocket and when. This guide explains the basics of car insurance excess cover: what it is, how it works, and whether it’s worth adding to your policy. We’ll also explore how excess cover from ALA can help reduce your financial risk, especially if you’ve chosen a higher excess to keep premiums low. Whether you’re a new driver or just reviewing your options, this article will help you make an informed choice.
Insurance excess is, simply put, the financial contribution that you agree to pay towards every motor insurance claim. It also acts as a threshold to determine which costs your insurer will cover and which you are liable for.
You are liable to pay for repairs when the cost is less than the total agreed excess. However, this doesn’t count as a claim, so it won’t affect your insurance premium. On the other hand, you pay the agreed excess amount, and the insurer covers the rest if the total cost is larger than your excess*.
There are two types of excess, voluntary and compulsory – which combine to give your total insurance excess.
*Some insurers don’t separate the types of excess, instead, you can choose from varying total excesses. Unless there’s a ‘zero excess’ option, there is a compulsory excess.
You have to pay the excess amount you agreed to in your policy, each time your claim goes over the excess. You can’t receive an insurance payout until the excess amount has been paid.
This payment includes the compulsory and your voluntary excess. You may incur admin costs for amending your voluntary excess before your renewal date.
The two ways to avoid excess costs are to use a provider who offers zero excess cover, or buy an excess cover policy.
If you have high excess to reduce your car insurance premiums, it can be particularly helpful to have excess cover to reimburse your out-of-pocket expenses.
ALA is a trusted insurance provider known for affordable policies and award-winning customer service. The excess insurance is no different. From just £23.89 per year, you can cover your motor insurance excess.
How it works: You pay the excess to your comprehensive car insurer, then we pay you back. You can make multiple claims on the same policy, so it’s a cost-effective solution.
It covers your voluntary and compulsory excess from your comprehensive car insurance provider. You pay the amount to your provider, and we will reimburse you, unless any of the following exclusions apply:
Our excess cover is available for a range of vehicle types, including cars, motorhomes and vans. There are no age, mileage restrictions and we cover financed and privately bought cars. If you have a comprehensive motor insurance policy, it’s likely you’ll be able to take out a policy with us.
Excess protection is not a legal requirement. However, it can come in handy for anyone with a comprehensive car insurance policy. It can be more cost-effective to cover your insurance excess than pay the additional premium.
Some drivers might need excess coverage more than others. Young drivers are often faced with higher excess costs. Simultaneously, inexperienced drivers or those without a no-claims discount may wish to select a higher voluntary excess for affordability reasons.
Excess cover costs from £23.89 for a whole year, and you can cover up to £2,000. The great thing about excess protection policy is that you can use it as many times as needed until the claim limit runs out.
It’s usually considerably more expensive to choose lower excess options on your comprehensive car insurance than to buy excess cover from ALA. Secondly, the alternative, higher excess, will cost you each time you make a claim. Excess coverage is a small, one-off cost that protects you for the whole year.
Excess coverage is a good idea for drivers with high premiums, or if you want to reduce your out-of-pocket expenses.
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While some car insurance providers do offer excess coverage as an add-on, the two types of policy usually work together to reduce your out-of-pocket expenses.
While excess coverage is valuable for higher contributions, you are more likely to need to claim on your insurance if your excess is low (remember, they only pay when your costs are over your agreed contribution).
Moreover, a lower yearly policy limit will be much more affordable, making third-party excess cover a no-brainer.
Finally, if each excess claim is smaller, you can make more claims on the same policy than someone with a higher excess. With annual policies from £23.89 to £63.71, covering between £250 and £2,000 of excess, it’s a smart choice.
If someone else is at fault for a driving incident you’re involved in, you will be claiming on their policy, not your own. This means that you may not be able to claim excess reimbursement from us, especially if the excess is waived.
Secondly, if no one is at fault, you can claim excess repayment from ALA, since you’re claiming on your own insurance policy.
Unfortunately, we can’t cover incidents that have occurred before your policy start date. It’s a good idea to buy excess insurance as soon as possible, to reduce the risk of a large expense when claiming on car insurance.
If you get a new car, or your car changes owner, you can transfer the remaining premium onto another vehicle or amend your policy details to reflect the new owner. We never charge hidden admin fees, as we value transparency and excellent customer service.
It’s true that ALA GAP insurance comes with up to £250 of excess cover. However, this only applies after a total loss (theft or write-off). This leaves you having to cover your normal motor insurance excess. Also, £250 doesn’t cover everyone’s excess, so it can be a good idea to have a back-up policy* for extra confidence.
*Unfortunately, you cannot combine policies from different underwriters, but you can decide which policy would be the most appropriate to use at the time.
Unfortunately, ALA’s excess cover policies aren’t available for short-term hire cars; you’ll need a specific hire car excess insurance for this. However you can cover contract hire or leased cars on our insurance just like you’d cover owned cars.
You can make as many claims as you need until you reach your annual claim limit. You can choose a claim limit of up to £2,000.
Normally, you will have to wait 30 days before your policy start date until you make an excess claim. However, this waiting period doesn’t apply in the following circumstances:
We give you 180 days from the date of the incident to make an excess claim, so this waiting period shouldn’t impact you too much
You can email https://www.excessclaim.co.uk/ to start your excess claim. You’ll need to provide the following information:
So that we can help you as quickly as possible, provide as much information about your claim as possible.
ALA excess cover is available for almost any vehicle, except if you use it for hire and reward, competition, and business purposes other than Class One Business Use. Explore our exclusions.
We understand that life gets in the way, so you have 180 days (6 months) from the date of the incident to claim your excess reimbursement. While our claims window is generous, we do not cover incidents that occurred prior to your policy start date.
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