Home
Motor excess insurance

Motor excess insurance

Get motor excess insurance with our partner Questor Insurance

Quick and easy claim process with online submission and monitoring
Choose from £350, £750 and £1,000 of annual cover
Successful claims pay out the same day once agreed

What is motor excess insurance?

Motor excess insurance is a policy that’s separate from your car insurance policy and is designed to protect you from paying a large excess in the event of a claim.

The main features of motor excess insurance include:

Insures the excess on your Motor Insurance Policy.
Pays out when your claim amount on your motor insurance policy exceeds your policy excess.
An annual policy limit, meaning that you can submit multiple claims throughout the duration of the policy, if your vehicle is involved in multiple accidents. Your policy limit will be shown on the certificate of insurance.
So if your policy limit is £1,000 for example, you can make claims throughout the year until you reach the £1,000 limit. Once you reach the limit, you'll have to cover any further costs.

If you’re concerned about having to pay a high excess on your motor insurance policy, motor excess insurance could help.

How does motor excess insurance work?

When buying motor insurance, you’re typically liable for a fixed amount that you’ll need to pay out if you make a claim. This is known as an excess and usually comes in the form of a compulsory and voluntary excess.

So if, for example, your excess is £400 and there’s £1,000 worth of damage done to your vehicle, the insurer will keep £400 and will pay you £600. Any further costs to fix any damage would need to be covered by the driver or named driver on the policy.

If the claim is deemed to be someone else’s fault, this excess may be waived. This isn’t always the case, so it’s worth checking your policy’s terms and conditions.

What does motor excess insurance cover?

You'll usually be covered for the following:

Your motor excess insurance becomes active when you exceed the excess that you set on your motor insurance policy
You're covered up to the limit that's been set on your policy. This is usually £350, £750 or £1,000.
Claims relating to accidental damage, fire, theft or vandalism to your vehicle
Claims made by you or a named driver on your car insurance policy

What isn't covered?

Your claim won't usually be covered for any of the following reasons:

Using your car as a taxi, minicab or limousine or as part of a driving school
Any off-road events such as track days
Any incidents that happened before the policy was taken out
Any claims relating to damage to your windscreen or glass
Damage to your car during a service or repair
Intentional damage by you or a named driver

As an example, let's say you have a motor excess insurance policy in place with £350 cover. If your vehicle is involved in an accident and the claim on your standard motor insurance does not reach or exceed £350 you won't be able to claim the excess back under the motor excess insurance policy.

Compulsory excess vs voluntary excess

Compulsory and voluntary excess aren't the same thing. There are differences between the 2 types of excess.

Compulsory excess is a fixed amount you must pay towards the cost of an insurance claim. Things like your vehicle type, driving history and your age can all impact your excess. Young drivers typically have a high compulsory excess as insurers see them as high-risk.

Voluntary excess is slightly different, as you get to choose the amount as the policyholder when you take out your insurance policy. Increasing your voluntary excess can be a good way of lowering the initial cost of your insurance. However, this increases the amount you’ll be liable to pay if you were to be involved in an accident.

Drivers will have to pay both of these in the event of a claim.

Who can get motor excess insurance?

To be eligible for motor excess insurance you must:

Hold a valid full UK driving licence or a full internationally recognised licence
Be a permanent resident of the United Kingdom, the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man
Be between the age of 24 and 84
Have a valid motor insurance policy in place at the time of the loss for which an excess is deducted.

Motor excess can only be used to cover certain types of vehicles:

A car that’s used for private purposes, designed to carry passengers and their belongings. It shouldn’t be able to carry more than seven passengers.
A motor vehicle that’s used for commercial purposes, not Exceeding an uploaded weight of 3.5 tonnes. The vehicle can’t be used as a taxi, minicab, limousine or driving school, or any hire and reward purpose.
A motorcycle that’s powered by an engine.

What our motor insurance expert says

"Most of us don't give a lot of thought to the amount of voluntary excess we choose when buying car insurance. However, if you're in an accident and have to pay a large excess to your insurer, things could get end up getting quite expensive.

"Motor excess insurance is designed to cover the cost of the excess owed to your insurer, up to the value of £1,000, so you can concentrate on getting your car back on the road."

Louise Thomas Motor Insurance Expert

How do I make a claim?

To make a claim on your motor excess insurance, the claim on your standard motor insurance must:

Be settled by your Insurer and the excess deducted before a payment can be made under Questor’s excess insurance.
Be greater than the excess to obtain a reimbursement under the excess policy.

You'll need to provide evidence that your motor insurance claim has been approved and that the excess has been deducted from your claim. This can be done by providing a letter from your insurer.

You’ll need your certificate number and claim scheme code. These are shown on the certificate you receive as part of your motor excess insurance.

Questor’s sister company Orchard Administration will handle your claim on behalf of the Questor. Orchard have an online claim portal which makes it simple to submit and monitor your claim. Successful claims pay out the same day once agreed.

Get a motor excess insurance quote

Get a quote

Car insurance guides

Tailgating linked to 1 in 8 collisions

When someone's driving too close, it's annoying and even intimidating. We look at the rules that clamp down on tailgaters and what you can do to stop them.

Radar Detectors

We look at speed camera and radar detectors and talk through the laws around their use in the UK.

The 5 most common motoring offences

We look at the most common motoring offences in 2025

Countries that drive on the left

Which countries drive on the left? And why do they do it? We offer some advice if you haven’t driven on the left hand side of the road before and what to expect.

Speeding fines surge by 14% as AI cameras catch thousands of drivers

We look at the new AI speed cameras that can see inside vehicles, catching motorists who are speeding, not wearing a seatbelt and using their mobile phone.

Digital driving licences are coming - here’s what you need to know

Big changes are coming to how we carry our driving licences in the UK. A digital version is on the way. Here’s what that means for you.

See all car insurance guides

Page last reviewed: 09 November 2023

Reviewed by: Louise Thomas

Private Motor Excess Insurance is arranged and administered by Questor Insurance. Questor Insurance is a trading brand of Riverside Underwriting Limited, who are authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Registered office; Bryant House, Bryant Road, Strood, Rochester, Kent, ME2 3EW. Registered in England no: 06201617.

Confused.com, 2nd Floor, Greyfriars House, Greyfriars Road, Cardiff CF10 3AL is a trading name of Inspop.com Limited which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (Firm reference no. 310635).