There are also two types of excesses – compulsory and voluntary.

Compulsory Excess

A compulsory excess is one that someone has to pay, and has no choice in. It’s part of the policy and can’t be changed. A compulsory excess of £250 means you will always have to pay the first £250 of any repair bills or claim.A higher compulsory excess is often applied to the insurance of young drivers. This means they’ll have to pay, as an example, £300 or £500 or more in the event of making a claim.

The amount will decrease with age, with the more experienced driver typically paying a lower compulsory excess.Voluntary Excess A voluntary excess is one which the driver chooses to have attached to their policy. So someone can say to their insurer that they want one to apply to their policy in order to bring down the cost of their cover.

Someone can have a compulsory excess attached to their cover and can also use a voluntary excess on top. Their insurer could then reward them with lower car insurance premiums. Experiment and see! Try different levels of excess to see the differences in premium. For some people, managing a voluntary excess could save them money on their car insurance. Of course, it depends on their car’s value and how much they are prepared to pay out in the event of a claim.

Someone with considerable savings might want a voluntary excess of several hundred pounds, which with some insurers could significantly reduce the cost of their premium.You could choose to experiment with different excess levels with different insurers. A website like ours can help you compare car insurance, including the excesses, and give you an idea of what’s out there and how different policies react to different levels of voluntary excess. Over the period of a year you could save a substantial amount of money.