An excess is the amount you pay towards the cost of your claim for each incident covered by your car insurance policy. The total excess depends on the circumstances of your claim. If you provide the at-fault driver’s details, your excess may be waived depending on your policy and circumstances.
- Standard excess: Applies to all claims unless your policy states otherwise.
- AAMI Flexi-Premiums Excess®: Voluntary excess lets you choose to pay a higher excess at claim time for a lower premium.
- Age/inexperienced driver excess: Additional excess applies for drivers under 25 years of age or with less than 2 years’ experience; higher if they were also not listed.
Ever wondered what car insurance excess is and how it affects you?
Let's find out.
Car insurance excess is the amount you pay towards the cost of your claim for each incident covered by your policy.
The money goes towards the cost of repairing or replacing your vehicle.
You confirm the amount you agree to pay before you take up or renew your policy.
So it's important to be familiar with the different types and whether they could apply to you.
At AAMI, there are six types of excess: standard excess, unlisted driver excess,
flexi-premium excess, age excess, inexperienced driver excess, and driver history excess.
First we have standard excess. A standard AAMI car insurance excess is the base amount you would pay for a claim covered by your policy.
Not every claim you make will require it.
For example, if you weren't at fault and you can provide the name and address of the at fault driver and the registration details of their vehicle, you probably won't have to pay an excess.
Second, some excesses are increased for unlisted drivers.
If you have AAMI Comprehensive Car Insurance, let us know when someone is driving your car regularly as an additional driver.
A higher age excess or inexperienced driver excess will apply to unlisted drivers.
A regular driver might be anyone who you expect to drive your car more than once during your policy period.
Learners don't need to be listed because you or another experienced additional driver will be in the car with them.
Though, the age or inexperienced driver excess will apply if they're driving at the time of an insured event.
Don't forget to let us know when they move on to their P-plates.
Third, we have have AAMI age excess.
An AAMI age excess will apply if you or another person under 25 has an accident while driving your vehicle and you make a claim.
Similar to the age excess, we have inexperienced driver excess.
If the driver is 25 years or over and has had their licence for less than two consecutive
years, or is a learner driver, you'll need to pay an inexperienced driver excess.
The age or inexperienced driver excess are in addition to the standard excess and any other excess that applies.
On top of that, if they're not listed on your policy, a higher inexperienced driver excess applies.
If you do have someone else using your vehicle, add them to your policy.
Next, we have flexi-premiums excess.
At AAMI, voluntary excess is called flexi-premiums excess.
This allows you to pay a higher amount in the event of a claim in
exchange for a cheaper premium.
That means you'll pay less overall if you don't have any accidents, but you'll pay more if
you do get into a scrape and an excess is payable.
You can choose how much
excess you want to pay
from our options when you're getting a quote or renewing your policy.
If you choose a higher excess, you'll usually pay a lower premium and vice versa.
The flexi-premiums excess is available for AAMI comprehensive car insurance, but not AAMI third-party insurance.
Lastly, we have driver history excess.
A driver history excess applies to people who have had their licence cancelled, suspended, disqualified, or restricted in the three years prior to the start of the current policy period.
We may not offer insurance to someone with this driving history.
Additional excesses only apply if the relevant driver was driving, using or in charge of the car
at the time of the incident.
They will always apply in addition to a standard and flexi-premium excess.
With all the different surprises life can throw at us, it's important to be ready.
AAMI comprehensive car insurance provides cover for accidental loss or damage to your car from incidents like flood, collision and impact, liability for accidental loss or damage to another person's car or property up to $20 million, malicious damage or vandalism, hire car after theft up to 21 days, two years new for old replacement, following write-off or theft, after claim expenses like emergency accommodation and more.
Conditions and exclusions apply, so check out the relevant product disclosure statement for more info.
You can save up to $50 when you buy a new car insurance policy online.
Head to our website to find out more.
The great thing about having car insurance is that if you’re involved in an accident, you may not need to pay the full upfront costs of repairs. Which is lucky - that can be quite expensive!
But before you get prepped for that post-accident shopping spree, keep in mind that if you’re at fault when you make a car insurance claim, you’ll often still need to pay an excess.
Insured events like road accidents can cause significant and costly damage. When you have comprehensive car insurance, you’re covered for accidental loss or damage to your car and loss or damage your car causes to someone else’s car or property.
Not having to front the cost of repairs in these events is great peace of mind. However, you should note that, depending on the circumstances of your claim, you will need to contribute any excesses that apply.
What is a car insurance excess?
An excess is the amount you pay towards the cost of your claim for each incident covered by your policy. The total excess you are required to pay is determined by the circumstances of your claim. If you give us the name, address and vehicle registration number of the other driver, and they were at fault, we can waive your excess.
Here’s a list of the main different types of car excesses you may come across.
Standard excess
A standard excess applies to all claims unless your policy states that no excess applies to your claim. This is standard across all AAMI policies, unless otherwise stated in your PDS.
AAMI Flexi-Premiums excess
An AAMI Flexi-Premiums excess applies in addition to any other excess. You can choose from a range between $95 and $1550. Choosing a higher AAMI Flexi-Premiums excess reduces your premium. You can choose to increase your AAMI Flexi-Premium excess at any time, however, if you want to lower it, you will need to do so when you renew your policy.
Age excess
If a driver is under 25 years old, you will need to pay an age excess (this includes learner drivers under the age of 25). This excess is in addition to any other excess that applies. If they’re not listed on your policy, you could attract a higher age excess if they’re driving when an accident occurs. If you know someone is going to be driving your car regularly, they should be a listed driver on the policy.
So that means that even if your sister is just visiting from interstate for a week and borrowing your car a couple of times, you may want to add her to your policy. Adding a listed driver is easy to do through your AAMI log in or the AAMI App. Update your policy here.
Inexperienced driver excess
If the driver is 25 years or over and has had their licence for less than two consecutive years or is a learner driver, you will need to pay an inexperienced driver excess. Similar to the age excess, the inexperienced driver excess is in addition to any other excess that applied and may vary depending on whether they are a listed driver or not.
Driver history excess
This excess applies if a listed driver has had their licence cancelled, suspended, disqualified or restricted in the three years prior to the start of the period of insurance. This excess is due in the event of a claim, if they were driving of your car when the accident occurred.
Understanding the different excess types is important, because following an insured event, this will be the amount you pay towards the cost of your claim. For more information about the excess that applies to your AAMI Car Insurance policy, check out the details in your PDS, or call one of our friendly team members on 13 22 44, 8.00am – 10.00pm (AEST/AEDT). You can also see what we can cover you for with a quick, online quote.
When do you pay an excess on car insurance?
The standard excess and AAMI Flexi-Premiums excess apply after:
- vehicle theft or attempted theft,
- storm, hail, flood or fire damage,
- malicious acts or vandalism,
- damage to your parked vehicle by an unidentified driver,
- animal collisions,
- an accident caused by the driver of your vehicle,
You’ll also need to pay an excess if another driver was involved, and you weren’t able to get their contact info. For example, their name, phone number, and rego details.
The age/inexperienced driver and driver history excess apply after:
- animal collisions, and
- an accident caused by the driver of your vehicle.
You’ll also need to pay an excess if you can’t provide the contact info of an at fault driver in the event of an accident.
When does an excess not apply?
An excess will be waived if you can show that you or the other driver didn’t contribute to the accident. You’ll need to provide the at-fault driver’s name and address, their car registration number and any supporting evidence, like a police report or winess statement.
With our optional Windscreen and Window Glass Cover, you don’t need to pay an excess if only the glass sections of your car are damaged. This includes your sun roof.**
Unsure if you need to pay an excess? Don’t worry – we’ll tell you what excesses apply when you make a claim.
For more information on excesses, refer to the AAMI Comprehensive Car Insurance Additional Information Guide.
If you don't have car insurance yet, get a quote from AAMI!
*If you cannot supply the at-fault driver’s name, address and vehicle registration number, it means we will not be able to waive your excess. It does not otherwise impact the cover under your policy or your ability to make a claim.
**Optional cover benefits are subject to the terms, conditions, limits, and exclusions of the insurance policy. You can’t add optional covers after an incident, and have damage or loss covered for that same incident. Optional covers must be added to your policy before the incident you’re claiming for. Please refer to the PDS for more information.