Do You Pay Excess When Making a Claim?
Yes. You pay your excess on every claim you make against your own car insurance policy.
Your insurer deducts the total excess from whatever it pays out, whether the claim is for repairs, a write-off, or theft.
Your total excess is the compulsory amount set by your insurer plus any voluntary excess you chose when you bought the policy. Both are deducted before you receive anything.
Our guide on what car insurance excess is and how it works covers the basics. This article focuses on what happens when you actually need to make a claim.
Yes, on any claim against your own policy — compulsory plus voluntary, deducted before you see a penny. Where it comes back is when the other driver is at fault and their insurer settles, though you may wait months. The calculation worth doing before you claim: a small repair can cost less than the excess plus the no-claims discount you would lose.
Compare car insurance quotes and set an excess you could actually pay.
When do you pay excess and when do you not?
You pay excess on any claim against your own policy, regardless of the cause. You do not pay excess when claiming against the other driver’s insurance.
Which scenarios require excess?
| Scenario | Do you pay excess? | Why |
| You cause an accident | Yes | You are claiming on your own policy for your own vehicle damage |
| Someone hits you and admits fault | Yes initially | You claim on your policy first, then your insurer recovers the excess from the at-fault driver’s insurer |
| Hit-and-run or untraced driver | Yes | You claim on your own policy. Recovery through the MIB is possible but not guaranteed |
| Theft or attempted theft | Yes | Theft is a claim on your own comprehensive policy |
| Vandalism or malicious damage | Yes | Same as theft — you are claiming on your own cover |
| Storm, flood, or hail damage | Yes | Weather damage is a claim on your own policy |
| Windscreen chip or crack | Reduced excess | Most comprehensive policies have a separate, lower windscreen excess of £0 to £100 |
| Other driver was at fault and you claim on their insurance | No | You are claiming against their policy, not yours |
The key distinction is whose policy you claim against. Your excess only applies to claims on your own insurance.
How much excess will you pay?
Your total excess is the compulsory amount plus the voluntary amount. Compulsory excess typically ranges from £100 to £500 depending on your age, vehicle, and driving history.
What affects the compulsory amount?
Insurers set higher compulsory excess for younger drivers. A driver under 25 might face £400 to £500 compulsory excess compared to £150 for a driver over 30.
High-performance or expensive vehicles also attract higher compulsory excess. The insurer calculates this based on repair costs and theft risk for your specific car model.
How does voluntary excess work?
You choose your voluntary excess when buying the policy. A higher voluntary excess lowers your premium because you are agreeing to pay more towards any claim.
Only set a voluntary excess you could comfortably afford to pay tomorrow. A £500 voluntary excess on top of a £300 compulsory excess means finding £800 if you need to claim.
Does your excess change at renewal?
Your compulsory excess can change when you renew because your insurer reassesses your risk profile every year. A birthday that moves you into a lower age band may reduce it.
Your voluntary excess stays at whatever you chose when you last set it. You can adjust it at renewal to find the best balance between upfront cost and monthly premium.
How is the excess actually deducted?
For repairs, you pay the excess directly to the garage when collecting your car. For write-offs, the excess is deducted from your settlement payout.
What happens with repairs?
Your insurer sends the car to an approved repairer and pays the repair bill minus your excess. When you collect the car, the garage asks you to pay your excess amount before releasing the vehicle.
What happens with write-offs?
If your car is written off, the insurer calculates its market value and deducts your total excess. A car valued at £8,000 with a £500 excess means you receive £7,500.
Our guide on car insurance costs explains how vehicle value and claim history affect what you pay.
What about windscreen claims?
Most comprehensive policies include separate windscreen cover with a lower excess, often £0 for repairs and £75 to £100 for a full replacement. This does not affect your no-claims discount.
Can you get your excess back after a claim?
Yes, if the other driver was at fault. Your insurer recovers the full claim cost from the at-fault driver’s insurer, including your excess.
How does excess recovery work?
You claim on your own policy and pay your excess upfront. This gets your car repaired quickly without waiting for the other insurer to accept liability.
Your insurer then pursues the at-fault driver’s insurer through a process called subrogation. If successful, your excess is refunded and the claim is reclassified as non-fault.
Recovery can take weeks or months. In disputed claims or hit-and-run incidents, recovery may not be possible at all.
Is excess protection insurance worth it?
Excess protection reimburses your excess regardless of who was at fault. It typically costs £20 to £60 per year and is available as an add-on or a standalone policy.
If your total excess is £500 or more, excess protection can pay for itself with a single claim. If your excess is under £200, the annual cost may not justify the cover.
What happens if an uninsured driver hits you?
You claim on your own policy and pay your excess as normal. The Motor Insurers’ Bureau handles compensation claims involving uninsured and untraced drivers, but the process can take many months.
How does the MIB process work?
If the driver is identified but uninsured, you can claim under the MIB’s Uninsured Drivers Agreement. If the driver cannot be traced at all, the Untraced Drivers Agreement applies, though payouts are typically lower.
In both cases, you pay your excess through your own insurer first. Recovery from the MIB or the uninsured driver is not guaranteed.
Should you always make a claim?
Not necessarily. If the damage costs less than or close to your total excess, paying out of pocket is usually the better financial decision.
When is it better to pay yourself?
If the repair costs £600 and your excess is £500, the insurer only pays £100. But making that claim reduces your no-claims discount and can increase your premium at renewal by far more than £100.
A rough rule is to avoid claiming if the damage is within 20% of your total excess. The long-term premium increase almost always outweighs the short-term payout.
How much can a claim add to your premium?
A single fault claim can increase your renewal premium by 20% to 50% depending on the insurer. Losing a full no-claims discount built up over five or more years can add hundreds of pounds per year.
Even a non-fault claim may appear on your record and affect quotes from other insurers. Always weigh the payout against at least two years of higher premiums before deciding.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Yes, on every claim against your own policy. The only exception is when you claim directly against the other driver’s insurance because they were at fault.
There is no point making a claim. You would pay the full cost yourself, and the claim would still affect your no-claims discount.
You can ask your insurer to adjust your voluntary excess mid-term, but this usually changes your premium and may involve an admin fee.
The excess itself does not affect it, but making a claim does. Any claim typically reduces your no-claims bonus unless you have no-claims protection.
Yes, excess is the UK term and deductible is the US equivalent. Both refer to the amount you pay towards a claim before your insurer covers the rest.
Yes. It reimburses your excess regardless of fault and typically costs £20 to £60 per year as an add-on or standalone policy.