# Voluntary Excess ?



## Demented

I’ve always insured my vehicles with a Zero Voluntary Excess and no choice but accept either a £100 or £150 Compulsory Excess.

However, when using Confused.com QuickQuote app, I was offered a very low Comprehensive Premium (£330pa) which includes all the adds ons, such as Courtesty Car, Glass & Legal Cover but with a Total Excess of £445

The Compulsory Excess is £100.

So, I’m now thinking, as I have max NCD; would it be wise to buy the less expensive Policy but with the high Voluntary Excess; in the hope that the high Excess would only be payable should the worse happen?

The same Policy with a Zero Voluntary Excess is £475pa, only £145 more than it is with the £345 Voluntary Excess; if I take out the lower cost Policy, I’m in effect saving that £145 difference unless I have an accident in which I’m to blame.

I hope my trivial quandary makes sense; and if so, I’d like opinions from forum members.


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## JonnyW

I do this, £300 voluntary excess.. You save money on the quote, but obviously if it goes wrong you're up for a bigger payment. It's worked over 9 years so far, touch wood.


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## tosh

You can also get excess insurance
Get a quote with high and low excess
See how much excess insurance is
Make your decision then; I used to have £100 excess but it’s a bit cheaper with £500 excess and an excess insurance policy now because of modifications.


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## davies20

JonnyW said:


> I do this, £300 voluntary excess.. You save money on the quote, but obviously if it goes wrong you're up for a bigger payment. It's worked over 9 years so far, touch wood.


This is my thinking, larger voluntary, because, I ALWAYS aim not to use my insurance - so i take the gamble. So far its paid off!


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## The Cueball

Yeah, I've had a very high excess for aorund 20 years now.

Never needed to claim my insurance (so far, touch wood), so have enjoyed the benefit of lower premiums year after year.

I do this for my car, bike and home insurance.

:thumb:


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## andy665

GoCompare now provide cover for the first £250 of excess so if you can get a good quote from them it can work well - no idea on what (if any) loopholes there are in terms of how / when they payout


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## Demented

Thanks for all replies & opinions; food for thought.

When I started insuring cars; I don't think Voluntary Excess even existed. I always believed they were a gimmick, to get the Insured to effectively pay more for less.

I was of the thinking; _why am I paying for Insurance, if I'm choosing to pay a voluntary excess as well, plus a compulsory excess;_ and for years, I've steadfastly and, by the looks of it, foolishly refused to ever consider adding a Voluntary Excess to my policy, even though I've never actually had to pay an excess.

Also, thanks to replies; I've also discovered that Excess Insurance; which I've used in the past for Car Hire, is available for Private Car Policies too.

A quote for Excess Insurance up to £750 is £40 per year.

The Free £250 Excess Cover from Gocompare is also an option; thanks.


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## fatdazza

At the end of the day it comes down to how likely it is that you will have to make a claim.

Most people over estimate their ability to drive safely (there are studies which quote 90% of people think they are above average drivers, which clearly cannot be true in real life).

I am in no way suggesting I am a "good driver" (indeed I may just be "lucky" or a "safe driver") but in 30 years of claim free motoring I have saved a good amount from keeping a high voluntary excess on policies.


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## Christian6984

Ive always set the excess to something i would be happy to pay should i need it. I think mine are around a total of £300-400, one car is worth around £2k and the other is nearer to £10k. Could be lower for the cheaper car i guess. Only had one claim in 16 years motoring which was late 2018 when i was hit by a uninsured driver and the sill got bent in on the run around. The insurer only saw pictures of the car and was declared a write off, went straight off to Copart as a Cat B (Breaker). They gave me a good payout which was more that i could have sold it for so was happy. At renewal time i had just enough no claims protection that i didnt loose any, so its effectively stayed at 3 years for another year. Policy went up around £100 for the year.


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## GSI-MAN

I sorted my insurance the other day
And I played around with my excess
If I put my excess to £0 compulsory and voluntary I paid about £2 more than if I put them at £250 each.


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## Shiny

Discount for voluntary excesses can vary massively from Insurer to Insurer. 

Some of the comparison site give you a massive voluntary excess even though no voluntary excess was selected. They've got to get to the top of the list somehow. Alway jiggle the quotes with various excesses to find a level of discount/voluntary excess that works best for you.

My advice would be to consider what you can comfortably afford in the event of a claim. I've had customers in the past that have had an accident and then put off the repair while they save up the £500 (or whatever) excess as they don't have £500 disposal income.

Saving £100 a year for a £300 voluntary excess means money in your pocket once you have gone 3 years without a claim. £25 a year saving would take 12 years to break even and not worth doing in my opinion.


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## Demented

Gocompare not that great: cheapest quote £475 per year, includes all essential add ons, their Free £250 Excess Cover and a Total excess (voluntary & Compulsory) of £350.

The quote through the Confused app was £330per year & a Total excess of £445.

I’m not made of money but I’m able to pay my Ins premium in full each year rather than pay for paying monthly and if need be, I can easily afford to pay a total excess of £1000 but I would rather not; if really necessary, rather than save up, I’d pay what’s necessary by credit card or just buy another car.

I begrudge the thought of paying any excess, especially one that I’ve selected.

During my years of driving, I’ve never had to pay an excess and I currently have maximum NCB (protected) which to some extent, lessens the risk.


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