Excess Protection Insurance
Get excess protection insurance to avoid being left exposed when you have to pay the full excess for a claim.
Why choose Howden for your excess protection insurance?
Howden is the new name for A-Plan. We’re a car insurance broker, and we pride ourselves on doing the heavy lifting, so you don’t have to. Thanks to the great relationships we have with our selected panel of standard and specialist car insurers, we make the process of comparing and sourcing multiple car-related insurance policies, on your behalf, simple and straightforward. What’s not to like?
Here at Howden, we also know that each car-related policy needs to be as individual as its owner, and that’s why we provide a tailored, personalised service, focused on getting to know you and finding out exactly what you want from your coverage.
All in all, whether you need to make a insurance claim, purchase a new policy, or renew an existing one, just know that we’re here to help.
Benefits of working with Howden:
- You can trust us – we’re rated Excellent on Trustpilot.
- We’re driven to save you time, money, and hassle.
- Benefit from a tailored service that comparison sites can’t provide.
- Speak with your local branch, within your community.
- We’re right by your side in the event of a claim.
What is excess protection insurance?
An excess protection policy, which we offer courtesy of Jackson Lee Underwriting Limited, runs alongside your main car insurance policy, and reimburses your policy excess in the event of a fault claim – especially in cases of a “No blame claim” which insurers still class as a “Fault” claim on your policy.
Here’s how your excess protection could support you:
- An incident occurs and you decide to make a claim
- The cost of the claim is £2,500
- Your policy has an excess of £500
- Your insurers will pay £2000 leaving you to pay £500
- Once paid, the £500 excess is claimed back under your Excess insurance policy (this process may only apply to fault claims)
What’s more, with this policy you can remain protected for third-party claims where the driver is untraceable and uninsured, choose whatever level of cover you want, get cover for motorhomes and motorcycles, and upgrade to a multi-vehicle insurance excess product covering up to five vehicles in the same household if you choose.
To learn more about how car insurance excess protection can give you peace of mind and the cover you need in case the unexpected happen, get in touch with us. A member of our dedicated team of specialists would be more than happy to help.
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Excess protection insurance FAQs
Is excess protection worth it?
Whether excess protection insurance is worth it for you, can only be answered by, you guessed it – You!
However, what we can advise is that by opting for excess protection cover, you can enjoy the reassurance that you won't have to come up with a substantial sum of money to cover the excess in the event of a claim. This allows you to benefit from a lower car insurance premium, while ensuring that you won't encounter significant expenses should an accident occur.
Taking this into consideration, we’d say that if you’re able to afford to give yourself that extra peace of mind in case an incident occurs, then excess protection cover is absolutely worth it!
Should I get excess protection on a hire car?
If an accident or incident occurs whilst you’re driving your hire car, you’d be expected to pay whatever the excess is on the insurance policy you have for the vehicle. If you would rather not pay this excess charge, then getting car hire excess insurance cover might be a worthwhile option for you.
By paying a smaller sum of money up front and in advance, you could avoid having to pay considerably more money to cover the cost of a claim. Despite that though, it is important that you find out as much about your car hire excess insurance policy before driving he vehicle, including what’s covered as standard and what you would expect to pay in excess in the event of a claim, because these factors might ultimately impact whether you think getting excess protection cover on a hire car is worth it or not.
What is voluntary excess?
If you’ve ever been shopping around for car insurance quotes, you’ll most likely have been offered the option to include voluntary excess on to your policy. It represents the sum of money you’re willing to contribute to cover the cost of a claim, and insurers offer this as an incentive, because adding voluntary excess to your policy could ultimately lower your car insurance premiums.
When exploring the option of adding voluntary excess to your policy, it’s worth assessing the impact of adjusting the voluntary excess and how it affects the price of the policy. You need to establish an voluntary excess amount you could afford, because even though committing to higher voluntary excess might bring down the cost of your policy, you would still need to fork out the voluntary excess amount you’ve chosen in the event of a claim.
To find out more about the ins and outs of voluntary excess, be sure to read our “What is Voluntary Excess?” guide.
What is compulsory excess?
Whilst with voluntary excess you’re able to adjust the amount you agree to contribute to a claim, compulsory excess is unmodifiable, and chosen by the insurance provider. It’s a fixed amount that you have no choice but to pay towards the cost of a car insurance claim.
Usually your insurer will make it clear to you how much compulsory excess you’d owe in the event of a claim, but we recommend that you look through your policy documentation and are aware of how much your compulsory excess would be, to avoid any unexpected and surprise expenses.
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