Excess explained, including the ones you only find out about later
Almost everybody knows they have an excess. Far fewer know they have several, that some of them stack on the same claim, and that one of the easiest ways to cut a monthly premium is also the easiest way to be unable to claim at all. This is every excess on a South African car policy, and how to choose a number you could actually pay.
Pocket Nerd editorial · Checked 27 September 2026 · 6 min read
What an excess actually is
The first slice of any claim, and it is yours. The insurer pays what is left.
If your excess is R5 000 and the repair comes to R30 000, you pay R5 000 and the insurer pays R25 000. If the repair comes to R4 000, you pay all of it and there is no point claiming at all.
That second case is the one worth sitting with. A high excess does not just cost you more on a big claim. It quietly removes small claims from your cover altogether, and small claims are the ones most people actually have.
You probably have more than one
This is the part that catches people. A policy does not have an excess. It has a set of them, and which ones apply depends on what happened and who was driving.
Basic excess
The standard amount on every claim. Sometimes a flat rand figure, sometimes a percentage of the claim with a minimum. This is the one people know about.
Voluntary excess
An extra amount you agree to carry in exchange for a lower monthly premium. It is a genuine lever, and it is also where people talk themselves into a number they could not find in a hurry.
Young or inexperienced driver excess
Added when the driver at the time was under a certain age or has held a licence for less than a set period. It applies to whoever was driving, not to whoever owns the policy.
Unlisted or unnamed driver excess
Applies when the person driving was not named on the policy. Lending your car to a friend for an afternoon can quietly cost you thousands if something happens.
Theft and hijacking excess
Often higher than the accident excess, and sometimes a percentage rather than a flat amount. Frequently reduced or waived if an approved tracker is fitted and active.
Windscreen and glass excess
Usually lower than the standard excess, and often a percentage. Worth checking, because a windscreen claim is one of the few where the excess can be smaller than the repair.
They stack
The expensive misunderstanding. More than one excess can apply to a single claim, and they add together.
Picture a car with a basic excess and an unlisted driver excess on the policy. Your cousin borrows it, has an accident, and both apply. Add a voluntary excess you took on to bring the premium down, and three are now running at once on one claim.
Nothing about that is hidden. It is all on the schedule. But almost nobody adds them up in advance, and the moment you find out is usually the moment you can least afford it.
Worth asking, in writing
Ask your insurer to list every excess that could apply to a single claim, and the worst realistic combination of them. Not the basic one. All of them. A good insurer will give you that without hesitating, and the answer is the number you should actually be planning around.
Choosing a number you could actually pay
Raising your excess is one of the few genuine levers on a premium. It is also the easiest one to pull too hard.
Could you find it this week?
Not in three months, and not on a credit card you are already using. An excess you cannot produce quickly turns a covered event into an uncovered one, because you cannot start the claim.
How often do you actually claim?
If you have not claimed in years, carrying more excess for a lower monthly premium may well pay off. If you have had two knocks in two years, it will not.
Check the break-even
Work out what the higher excess saves you a year, then how many years of that saving one extra claim would wipe out. Sometimes the saving is small enough not to be worth the exposure.
Do not forget the small stuff
Push the excess past the cost of a typical bumper or windscreen job and you have quietly stopped being insured for the most common claims there are.
One more thing worth knowing: your excess also comes off a write-off payout, which is where it meets the other number that decides what you get. Retail, market or trade value covers that, with a calculator.
Questions people ask
- What is a car insurance excess in South Africa?
- It is the first part of any claim, and you pay it. If your excess is R5 000 and the repair is R30 000, you pay R5 000 and the insurer pays the rest. If the repair costs less than your excess, claiming achieves nothing.
- Can more than one excess apply to the same claim?
- Yes, and this is the most common surprise on a claim. A basic excess, a voluntary excess and a driver-related excess can all apply to one incident and add together. Ask your insurer in writing for the worst realistic combination on a single claim.
- Does a higher excess lower my premium?
- Usually yes, and it is one of the few real levers you have. The test is whether you could produce that amount within a week if you had to. An excess you cannot find in a hurry means you cannot start the claim at all.
- Do I pay the excess if the accident was not my fault?
- Generally you pay it upfront when you claim on your own policy. If your insurer recovers the money from the other party, the excess is usually refunded to you. Ask your insurer how they handle recoveries, because how long that takes varies.
Now go and check what you are paying
Knowing how the cover works is most of it. The rest is not overpaying for it. You choose which insurers get your details, and nobody else does.
Where this comes from
No published figures are used on this page. Excess structures are set per policy and per insurer, and any single number presented as a South African average is that company quoting its own book.
Your policy schedule lists every excess that applies to you. That document, and a written answer from your insurer, are the only authoritative source for your own cover.