What is an excess, how is it calculated and when do I pay it?
An excess is your contribution towards the cost of a claim and is a requisite policy condition. Effectively, the excess is the amount you self-insure. Your cover starts once insured loss or damage exceeds the excess. The excess will depend on the circumstances of the claim.
Some Additional Benefits and Optional Covers have their own excess, in addition to any other excess that may apply. When multiple excesses apply, you might have to pay more than one excess.
The amount and details of each applicable excess is shown on your Policy Schedule. Information on how and when an excess applies can also be found in the Product Disclosure Statement (PDS).
When you make a claim, and depending on the claim type, you can pay any appliable excesses in one of the following ways:
- All claim types – you pay directly to us.
- Repairs authorised - in some instances, and before repairs commence, you pay the appointed repairer or supplier.
- Cash settlement – the excess is deducted from the claim settlement amount.