Research reveals car insurance excess "myth"

Recent research undertaken by the comparison website moneysupermarket.com reveals that the belief of paying higher voluntary excess on a car insurance policy in exchange for a lower insurance premium may in fact be something of a myth. Although the cost of cover does decrease with the higher voluntary excess agreed, the saving can be as little as £5 for an increase of £50 excess, which will leave the driver out of pocket should they need to make a claim. The comparison website took into account a number of existing car insurance policies currently on offer and found that on average there was just £59 difference in the car insurance rate for a driver with a £100 voluntary excess, and a driver with a £500 voluntary excess. Furthermore, the study also discovered that drivers would save as little as £5 by increasing their excess from £250 to £300. However the comparison website did reveal that those who don’t opt to have a voluntary excess on their car insurance policy do pay on average £499 for cover, therefore agreeing to a £100 excess could be cost effective in terms of cutting down the cost of insurance premiums as the annual average cost of cover for these drivers stands at £382. In conclusion, the study suggests that the savings made by bumping up voluntary excess can be minimal. With this in mind, insurance experts advise drivers to opt for a voluntary excess rate they can comfortably afford, in case of the event of an accident.