Can someone explain car insurance excess?

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Kempstonian

Has the memory of a goldfish
Location
Bedford
[QUOTE 5538212, member: 9609"]You are mostly insuring for the damage you could cause to others - very easy to do a million pounds worth of damage to another person. May be people in cars worth £2,000 drive with less care than someone in a £20,000 car ? so yes you could be a bigger risk.
I think it can be even more costly when you go 3rd party only, (presumably the deem you as to not giving two hoots)

I wish they made it a compulsory £10,000 excess on any motor vehcle, I suspect it would make drivers a little more careful how they drive.[/QUOTE]
My car has done less than 18,000 miles and is in great condition. Just before Christmas somebody drove into the side of it and made off. If I had claimed on my insurance they would have written the car off due to its low book price and paid me out £2,000 (less my excess of course). I can't afford to get another car, so I had to fork out £550 to get it fixed. I drive is just as carefully now as when it was new.
 

Kempstonian

Has the memory of a goldfish
Location
Bedford
Ok. But it isn’t a new for old policy. You will only get the cost of a replacement, same age mileage and condition.
Yes I know, but that's kinda my point. Premiums should be going down as the car gets less valuable, not up. They get more each year for a lessening risk, when it comes to a written off car.
 

Kempstonian

Has the memory of a goldfish
Location
Bedford
[QUOTE 5538232, member: 9609"]but whoever crashed into your car should be paying from their insurance - and yes I do agree that book prices can be pretty disappointing if you have a good example of that vehicle.

And in my proposal of compulsory £10,000 excess, there would need to be some fund for those who have no fault claims with uninsured or hit and run drivers. A huge excess would get drivers concentrating, their carelessness needs to hurt them.[/QUOTE]
Assuming they HAD insurance. I will never know because they drove away. It was the Thursday before Christmas so they could have been drunk I suppose, or had no driving licence... there must have been some reason for them to drive away.
 

vickster

Legendary Member
Assuming they HAD insurance. I will never know because they drove away. It was the Thursday before Christmas so they could have been drunk I suppose, or had no driving licence... there must have been some reason for them to drive away.
Increasing insurance premium following a claim maybe
 

Kempstonian

Has the memory of a goldfish
Location
Bedford
Increasing insurance premium following a claim maybe
Yeah, could be. It was in the 'office party' week though and the lack of judgement when coming out of a T-junction and hitting me as I drove past leads me more toward the 'inebriated' liklihood. Either way I lost out. Its a small consolation to know that they also suffered car damage because I found glass wedged between tyre and rim on my back wheel.
 

midlife

Guru
Yes I know, but that's kinda my point. Premiums should be going down as the car gets less valuable, not up. They get more each year for a lessening risk, when it comes to a written off car.

The assumption is that as a car gets older you get less bothered about crashing it, so there is more chance you will bend it. Becomes more acute when you are younger, an expensive new car is less to insure than an old banger......
 

Beebo

Firm and Fruity
Location
Hexleybeef
The assumption is that as a car gets older you get less bothered about crashing it, so there is more chance you will bend it. Becomes more acute when you are younger, an expensive new car is less to insure than an old banger......
Plus the biggest cost is the third party risk which doesn’t change how ever cheap or expensive your car is.
 

nickyboy

Norven Mankey
Plus the biggest cost is the third party risk which doesn’t change how ever cheap or expensive your car is.

Correct. Plus, most claims for damage to your own insured car (such as if you crash into a wall for example) are the same value, regardless of how new or old the car is.

The only time the argument is relevant is if the car is written off. But presumably this is an unlikely event and the fact the car is new or old has little effect on the overall risk
 

NorthernDave

Never used Über Member
Ageas are one of the biggest motor insurers in the UK. They were called Fortis up to 2010.

Yes I know, but that's kinda my point. Premiums should be going down as the car gets less valuable, not up. They get more each year for a lessening risk, when it comes to a written off car.

The cost of repairing / replacing your car in the event of a claim is a small part of the risk insured.
It's the third party risks that cost.
If you cause an accident you could hit and write off a £70k Range Rover leaving your insurers with the bill for replacing it.
Or, say you did £30k damage to that Range Rover - it would be repairable but is likely to be off the road for weeks (or months), leaving your insurers with a bill for a like for like replacement hire car (£80 to £100 a day?).
And if the occupants of the Range Rover were to claim injury, the costs go stratospheric.

https://www.abi.org.uk/news/news-ar...rers-paying-out-a-record-amount-to-motorists/
 

Kempstonian

Has the memory of a goldfish
Location
Bedford
You are all right of course. I wish I could give up the car altogether but I do need it sometimes. Maybe I'll look at the costs of leasing one on those occasions.
 

Bazzer

Setting the controls for the heart of the sun.
Thank you all. Sorted now. LV wanted £252 renewal with my wife added as another driver. Not going to happen. Will be going with Ageas for £160 for the two of us and £250 voluntary excess plus the dreaded £245 compulsory of course.

This would be the same Ageas who insured the woman who before Christmas, hit me and drove off without stopping. Whilst I accept this is no indication of the company, it's reaction since has quite frankly been p1ss poor. Having to be pushed all the time for responses, still not refunded me the £3 it cost me to trace the driver's insurers and despite being told within 48 hours of incident and several emails from me, has still not asked for the evidence from me.

Edit: Of course from the driver's point of view, the insurer not actively engaging with a third party, may be seen as a benefit.
 
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