Voluntary excess and insurance?

Question

if getting insurance

what is a voluntary excess ?

should you select to pay a high amount, like £500 so you can get the cheapest insurance?

Answer 1

Voluntary excess is an excess that you agree to to bring the cost down. It is entirely a personal choice as to whether you have a high voluntary excess to bring the cost of your insurance down, but if you do choose a high excess, and have a claim, you need to bear in mind that you will be paying the voluntary excess, the compulsory excess, the additional premium you will have to pay when you lose your no claim discount and any increase the underwriters make because you are making claims. Quite often, with low value cars, you can end up paying out more than the car is worth and you are left wondering why you bothered with the insurance. There is also the issue that if you are short of cash when you have an accident, the repairer will often not release your car to you until you pay the excess, so you could be without a car for some time.

Answer 2

It depends on the value of your car - you need to strike a balance between a reasonable quote & the amount you'd need to fork out in the event of a claim.

The voluntary excess is the amount you elect to pay whenever there's a claim against your insurance.

Answer 3

Well you have to weigh things up.

Selecting a higher voluntary excess brings down your insurance quote, but in the long run, if you end up having an accident, it is better to have as little to pay as possible.

My 19 year old brother had an accident in his car, and had a voluntary excess of £1000 and his car repairs cost about £1200, which was rather irritating. Where as if he had have chosen a lower voluntary excess, he would have paid a lot less x

Answer 4

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maybe it can help you get the best answers...

good luck...;)

Answer 5

The voluntary excess is the amount you pay towards your repair or repair to the other car.  If the damage to your car is £400 and your voluntary excess is £200, then you have to pay £200 and the insurer will pay the other £200.  It is probably best to keep it as low as you can afford.