Car insurance with no excess or low excess in SA

Excess is your share of a claim. If you have a R5,000 excess and a R30,000 repair, you pay R5,000 and the insurer pays the remaining R25,000. If a claim costs less than your excess, it usually is not worth claiming at all.

Excess exists to keep premiums affordable and to discourage lots of small claims. The higher the excess you accept, the more risk you carry, and the lower your premium tends to be.

Knowing your excess in advance is important. It is the cash you must find at the worst possible moment, right after an accident, theft or write-off.

A compulsory excess is set by the insurer based on the risk and applies whether you like it or not. A voluntary excess is an additional amount you choose to take on in return for a lower premium.

You can often dial the voluntary excess up or down. A higher voluntary excess reduces your monthly cost but raises what you pay when you claim. A lower or zero voluntary excess does the opposite.

When comparing quotes, always check the total excess, compulsory plus voluntary, not just the premium. Two quotes with the same premium can have very different excesses.

Beyond the basic excess, many policies add specific excesses for certain situations. Common ones include a young or inexperienced driver excess, a windscreen excess, and higher excesses for theft or hijacking, particularly for high-risk cars or areas.

Some insurers also apply an additional excess if the driver was not the regular named driver, or for unusual circumstances set out in the wording. These can stack on top of the standard excess.

Read the schedule carefully so you know every excess that could apply. A policy with a low headline excess but several add-on excesses can be more expensive at claim time than it looks.

An excess waiver or excess buyback is an optional add-on that, for an extra premium, reduces or removes the excess you would otherwise pay on a claim. In effect, you pay a bit more each month so you pay less, or nothing, when you claim.

This can give peace of mind if you would struggle to find a large excess in an emergency. The catch is that you are paying for it every month, whether or not you claim, so over time it may cost more than simply saving the excess yourself.

Check exactly which excesses the waiver covers. Some waivers exclude specific excesses, such as the young-driver or hijacking excess, so you could still face a bill.

No-excess or low-excess cover suits people who could not easily find a few thousand rand after an incident, or who simply prefer predictable costs. The price is a higher monthly premium, paid whether you claim or not.

A sensible middle path for many drivers is a moderate excess they could realistically afford, which keeps the premium reasonable while avoiding a crippling bill at claim time. Run the numbers: compare the annual premium difference against the excess you would save.

This site is an independent information resource and not a broker. Always compare cover from licensed insurers on the FSCA register, and read the wording before you buy.

Disputes sometimes arise over how much excess was deducted, or whether an extra excess should have applied. Ask your insurer to explain in writing exactly which excesses were charged and why.

If you believe an excess was applied incorrectly or a claim was settled unfairly, you can raise it with the insurer's complaints process first.

If you remain unhappy, you can take the dispute free of charge to the National Financial Ombud, which absorbed the former Ombudsman for Short-Term Insurance (OSTI). The service is independent and you do not need a lawyer.