Quote me Happy's 'policy excess' - legit?

blueyello

After being involved in a collision, it appears I have three payments to make.

The usual compulsory excess, the voluntary excess, and what my insurer calls a 'policy excess':

£150 voluntary excess
£80 compulsory excess
£230 policy excess

Has anyone encountered this 'policy excess' before?

The insurer is also charging me £250 to use a preferred garage for repairs. This is another thing that didn't come up from anyone's anecdotes about claiming after a collision.

pumpkin89

I'm not an insurance expert, but based on my own policy this is just an increase in the compulsory excess dependent on age, gender etc. So everyone would have to pay the compulsory excess, but depending on your demography your specific policy excess will vary compared with someone else's. It would all have been made clear at the time you took out the policy.

eddddy

The excesses should all be documented in your policy.

Quote Me Happy's help page also explains about the excesses:

Compulsory excess
This is a sum of money that you must pay in the event of a claim.

You can find out how much you would have to pay on your Policy Schedule.

Voluntary excess
You choose your voluntary excess when you buy your policy with us.

...

Young driver excess
If you're aged 21-24 years old, you're required to pay an additional £200 on top of any other excesses that apply to your policy.

Non-approved repairer excess
If you choose to have your car repaired by a non-approved repairer, you'll have to pay an additional £250 excess.

Link: https://help.quotemehappy.com/car-insurance/my-cover/whats-a-policy-excess/

But if your policy mentions different amounts/excesses, it's the ones in your policy that are likely to apply.

Zorillo

The policy excess is your compulsory excess plus the voluntary excess you agreed to when you took it out. So in this case you pay £230.

The additional £250 is if you choose to use a repairer other than their recommended one.

blueyello

Thanks all, I didn’t spot that the policy excess may simply be compulsory plus voluntary totalled.

Hoping that’s the case - this is my first claim so I was fearing the worst from a budget insurer.

In the case of the £250, I couldn’t see anyone else trying this on except Aviva and quote me happy, same parent company.

Hope this gets looked at if it’s not in line with the spirit of the law ‘freedom to choose repairer’

Quentin

You are notified about the excesses when given the opportunity to read their ts + cs before agreeing them.


The excess for using your own repairer has been in place with Aviva/QMH for years


(Maybe you can get the excess included in your repairer's invoice)


If you are blameless and a third party is involved, consider claiming off the third party insurer - you won't have any excesses to pay

blueyello

@Quentin indeed, I’m sure the charge was displayed upon agreement.

I do find that insurance policies can be labyrinthine for anyone who’s never claimed before, so I’m grateful for the help.