What are the different types of car excess?

By  AAMI

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.

What is an 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. It does not otherwise impact the cover under your policy or your ability to make a claim.

Need to make a claim?

Here’s a list of the main different types of car excess you may come across.

Standard excess

Standard excess applies to all claims unless your policy states no excess applies to your claim. This is standard across all AAMI policies, unless otherwise stated in your PDS.

Flexi-Premiums excess

Commonly known as ‘voluntary excess’, this allows you to pay a higher amount at the time of a claim, in exchange for cheaper premium costs throughout your period of insurance. If chosen, this excess applies in addition to any other excess that applies. Choosing a higher AAMI Flexi-Premiums excess reduces your premium. You can choose how much excess you want to pay 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.

Find out more about Flexi-Premiums

Age/inexperienced driver excess

Usually, if a driver is under 25 years old you will need to pay an age excess (this includes a learner driver). If the driver is 25 years or over and has had their licence for less than 2 consecutive years or is a learner driver, you will need to pay an inexperienced driver excess. The age or inexperienced 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, you could attract an even higher excess if they’re driving when an accident occurs.​

So that means that even if your sister is just visiting from interstate for a week and borrowing your car a couple of times, it may be better to add her to your policy. It’s easy to do through your AAMI log in or the AAMI App, and considering how much money it could save you, it’s worth the bit of effort. Need help updating your policy?

Driver history excess

This excess applies if a listed driver involved in the accident has had their licence cancelled, suspended, disqualified or restricted in the 3 years prior to the start of the period of insurance.

Understanding the different types of excess is important, because if you’re involved in an accident where you’re at fault, this will be your out of pocket expense. 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). Or see what you could save with a quick, online quote.

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Insurance is issued by AAI Limited ABN 48 005 297 807 AFSL 230859 (AAI) trading as AAMI. Read the relevant Product Disclosure Statement before buying this insurance. This advice has been prepared without taking into account your particular objectives, financial situations or needs, so you should consider whether it is appropriate for you before acting on it.