What you need to know about EXCESS

Excess is an insurance term, which is the amount you must pay when you make a claim. The choice of excess fee often affects the premium and the claim payment we can get from insurance companies. The higher the excess is, the lower the premium and claim payment are.

We often see excess in house, vehicle and medical insurance. It’s a common practice for insurance companies to charge "split" fees for claims. When you lodge a claim under house or vehicle insurance, given that it’s your fault, then you would need to pay excess before insurance companies start to process the claim. There are different tiers of excess you can select at the time of purchase, starting from $0 to thousands.

Excess in the medical insurance is slightly different from house and vehicle insurance. In the medical insurance, insurance companies only charge excess once per policy year. Whether or not excess is charged for certain benefits depends on the policy of different insurers.

Therefore, when considering to purchase an insurance, excess is a key factor you need to think about. Always remember to ask your insurance adviser about it.