How do I know if the damage cost is more than the excess?

An excess is an amount that may apply and that you may need to contribute towards the cost of a claim. Depending on your policy and the type of claim you make, different excesses may apply.

An excess usually applies for most claims unless there's someone else we can recover the costs from, like the driver of another car who caused the accident. In some cases you’ll be asked to pay the excess to the repairer or supplier. We can also deduct it from any payment we make to you.

To find out which excess type applies to your policy, please refer to your policy document or view your policy in your online account.

For more general information about excesses, see our Premium, Excess and Discounts Guide.

We cover anyone who drives your car, even if you haven't listed them on your policy.¹

However, your excess may be affected if a driver isn’t listed.

• An additional excess (known as an undisclosed driver excess) applies where a driver is 25 years of age or older and is not listed on your policy
• A higher additional excess (known as an undisclosed driver age excess) applies if the unlisted driver is under 25 years of age
• You won't have to pay either of these additional excesses if the driver is listed on your policy.

Special note for learner drivers:

You don't need to list learner drivers on your policy. Instead, we base any excess related to a claim when the vehicle was driven by a learner driver on the excess of the supervising driver. This excess may be higher if the supervising driver is not listed on your policy.

Things you should know

¹ Cover is subject to standard underwriting guidelines and policy terms.

For glass-damage-only claims (like windscreen damage), you don’t need to pay an excess if you:

• Have Comprehensive Plus
• Added no excess for glass damage to your policy
• Aren’t at fault, and you have the at-fault person’s details.

If you’re only claiming for glass damage, call our glass specialists on 1300 050 912.

We’ll talk to you about your options to pay your excess. It depends on the type of claim and how the claim will be settled.

We might ask you to pay your excess to the repairer or supplier that we've arranged to manage your claim. Or, we might deduct the excess from a settlement we pay you.

You can also pay your excess directly to us for your car insurance or your home insurance.

You can increase your excess anytime, but you can only reduce it when your policy is up for renewal.

Changing your excess at renewal

• For car, home and landlord policies:
  1. Log in to your account
  2. Look for the policy and select Review renewal
  3. Navigate to the section titles Your excess
  4. Select Change vehicle excess
  5. Select an excess amount
  6. Save and update your policy
• For all other policies, call 132 132.

Changing your excess at other times

• For car, home, landlord, caravan, trailer and motorcycle policies:
  1. Log in to your account
  2. Select View policy
  3. Select View all details
  4. Scroll down to excess area
  5. Edit your excess
  6. Enter the date you want the change to start
  7. Select Update excess
  8. Click Submit.
• For all other policies, call 132 132.

Sometimes damage ends up costing less than paying the excess. You can have your vehicle assessed before you decide if you want to go ahead with the claim.

We can help you find a repairer most convenient to you to assess the damage. If you don’t want to continue, you can always withdraw the claim without having to pay any excess.

You can start a claim by calling us on 131 123 anytime, 24/7.

Most claims for damage to your home we organise to send a preferred repairer to attend and inspect your property.

When a claim is accepted these repairers can organise the necessary tradespeople to attend and fix the damage.