| What Is a Waiver of Excess? |
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| Written by Graham McKenzie |
| Wednesday, 17 March 2010 08:30 |
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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.
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. In the example above you'd be better off paying the $2,000 rather than having the insurance company pay the difference and then raise the premium of your car insurance because you made a claim. If you're a young driver you should be cautious before reporting an insurance claim as most insurance companies will increase the premium by a good amount. The amount of your waiver of excess will depend on the type of coverage that you have and what amount you choose. The deductibles can range from as little as $250 to $1500. It's important to remember that the higher that you have the deductible the lower your monthly insurance payments will be. The problem with having a higher deductible comes if and when you need to make a claim as you would need to come up with that amount before your insurance policy will cover the difference. You may see a waiver of excess expressed as a percent from time to time. A percent can be beneficial or harmful to you. The lower the total cost of repairs is the better it will be for you however if the damage is high then you'll have to pay more then you may have originally thought. A waiver of excess is usually used to pay off damage that has occurred to your car due to an accident, theft, or harsh weather. Liability only will never have a waiver of excess since it only covers damages done to other vehicles. It's possible to have better coverage for your waiver of access as well as a lower amount that you have to pay. However this will also increase the cost of your monthly payments. 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. DISCLAIMER: This article is provided as information only and is not to be taken as financial advice. Graham McKenzie is the content syndication coordinator for Carinsurancesa.co.za. South Arica?s leading car insurance portal. |