Is There an Excess on Van Insurance?
Caeva O'Callaghan | October 4th, 2023
Insurance excess means the amount you’ll pay if you make a claim. But can you get a voluntary excess on van insurance?
Not in most cases, no. And if you do find a voluntary excess on van insurance, it’s likely to be very small.
An excess is the fixed amount you have to pay out if you make a claim on your insurance. Think of it as the price of making a claim. A voluntary excess is when you increase the excess you’ll need to pay in the event of a claim to reduce your monthly premium.
Excesses vary from policy to policy, so make sure you know yours well before you need to make a claim.
In this article, we’ll answer questions like:
- What is van insurance excess?
- What happens if my van is written off
- How do I find out my van insurance excess?
Don’t get caught out by confusing insurance excesses. Before you need to make a claim, make yourself aware of the facts.
What is van insurance excess?
An insurance excess is the fixed amount you need to pay towards a claim before your van insurance provider adds the rest. For example if your excess is €300 and you make a claim for €1,000, your insurance provider will pay out €700.
In many cases, increasing your excess may save you money on your premium. However, when it comes to van insurance, only Allianz offer the chance to voluntarily increase your excess, and doing so will only get you a reduction of €10.
The amount of excess you’ll have to pay in the event of making a claim will vary between insurers, so it’s worth shopping around before you buy your van insurance. Axa, for example, are currently offering reduced accidental damage excess, so for the most up to date insurance deals get in touch and we can organise this for you.
What happens if my van is written off?
Let’s say you were in a bad accident, and your van was so badly damaged you could no longer drive it. In this case, it will be sent to a garage of your insurance provider’s choosing for assessment. They will have a list of approved centres they work with.
If the garage writes off the vehicle, a claims assessor will be called in for a final assessment. If repair costs exceed the value of the van, it will probably be written off as it will be viewed as uneconomical to repair.
In this case, your insurer will pay out the value of the vehicle before it was damaged (after deduction of the policy excess, and of course assuming your policy covers what happened).
If you’re worried about this happening, some companies will replace your van with a new one if your current van is written off and is less than 1 year old. Also, if you’ve modified your van, Axa Van Insurance will cover some non standard accessories up to a limit of €1250, such as a permanently fitted radio or sound system.
How do I find out my van insurance excess?
You should have been made aware of your excess at the quote stage, as well as when you signed the policy. However, if you’ve forgotten what your excess is, you can easily check this by giving your insurance a call, or by checking your policy online if possible.
If you do have the opportunity to increase your van insurance excess, bear in mind that it may save you money on your premium. But you don’t want to lump yourself with a large excess if you get in an accident and can’t afford to pay.
If you want to understand more about van insurance excess and which insurance provider can offer the best deal, get in touch with us today and we’ll be happy to help you out. You can get an instant van insurance online today, we compare the market for you. You can also contact us Mon-Fri between 8.30am and 5.30pm on 0818 224433 or 042 9359051.