What does the insurance term voluntary excess refer to?

Home insurance can be complicated enough without having to think about excess.  The term excess is not just used in home insurance, but is used in car insurance to.  It basically refers to the amount of money, which you have to pay out personally to your insurance company, should you have to claim on your policy.  Usually the insurance company will ask you to pay out your excess in advance, before they will continue with the claim.  The amount of excess varies from country to country and also varies because you can opt to pay a higher excess should you so wish.

Why would I want a higher excess?

If you volunteer to opt for a higher excess, then this will in turn bring down the amount you will be paying on your insurance policy. 

What is compulsory excess?

Compulsory excess is the minimum amount of money which your insurer will accept on your insurance policy.  If you were for instance talking about car insurance, then the amount of excess which would be deemed compulsory, would be determined by the drivers record, ie a younger driver would usually pay a much higher excess than an older driver. 

What does voluntary excess mean?

A voluntary excess is an amount which can be offered on top of your compulsory excess, ie.  if you have an excess of £100.00, then you can offer to pay an extra £200.00 on top of this, the amount you offer to pay, can be a major factor in the insurance premiums which you will pay out on a monthly basis.  

So in theory you should go for the highest amount of voluntary excess which you can get.

For more information on compulsory and voluntary excess check out the internet, for great deals on home insurance check out insurance64.co.uk.