What is a deductible in car insurance?

Picture:Illustration deductible in car insurance

If you have recently suffered a loss with your vehicle, it is possible that your car insurance will not reimburse all the damage suffered. The car deductible is precisely the amount that remains at your expense after compensation from your insurance company.

How is it calculated? What are the different types of franchises? Lyanne takes stock with you on the subject!

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What is the deductible in car insurance?

Deductible is the part of the compensation that is not reimbursed by your insurer after a loss. This amount remains at your expense. An insured person must systematically pay part of the damage as a result of a responsible claim, or in the event that the third party at fault has not been identified.

If a driver is the victim of an accident, the driver will be compensated in full for the damage suffered and will not have to pay any deductible thanks to the civil liability guarantee.

Insurance companies have taken this provision in order to make drivers responsible for their driving.

By obliging policyholders to cover part of the compensation, insurers are ensuring that drivers are more careful and vigilant in order to avoid any road accidents.

Depending on the insurance formula subscribed third-party insurance, intermediary or all-risk insurance and the insurer, the amount of the car deductible can go from single to double.

Be vigilant in choosing your insurance and compare all the offers on the market if you want to avoid financial constraints in the event of a responsible loss.

How is the deductible calculated in car insurance?

The deductible in car insurance is directly linked to the corresponding premium, insofar as its value influences the amount of contributions.

Note that it is possible to negotiate your deductible with your insurance company under certain conditions, which allows you to modify the overall cost of your car insurance.

The higher the amount of your deductible, the lower your premium and vice versa.

For each warranty subscribed and depending on the level of protection chosen, a deductible is applicable.

Thus, collision damage, fire, ice breakage, legal protection guarantees ... are most often accompanied by a deductible.

In any case, it must be provided for in advance in the car insurance contract and indicated in the special conditions.

Different car deductible calculations

Car deductibles are decisive in the calculation of the car insurance premium. There are usually three types of them :

• The absolute deductible: 

The insurance company pays an indemnity deducted from the deductible remaining at the expense of the insured ;

• The simple or relative deductible: 

If the amount of damage is less than the deductible mentioned on the contract, all costs are borne by the insured. On the other hand, in the opposite case, the insurance company takes the entire cost of repairs ;

• The mileage allowance: 

Is valid for the assistance guarantee. It indicates in kilometers the threshold at which the assistance comes into force. It is preferable to opt for the "0 kilometer" assistance, which takes care of an insured person even at his home ;

Good to know: regardless of the formula you take out to insure your car (even third-party insurance), you will have to pay a deductible.

The deductible in the event of natural disasters

The principle of franchise knows a special case when the loss is due to a natural disaster.

In this situation, the amount of the deductible is necessarily € 380, in all car insurance contracts.

A car insurance deductible for certain types of drivers

If a driver has a lot of claims, his insurer may apply a larger deductible to him.

This share of compensation to be paid is a way of holding drivers accountable and deterring them from causing a responsible loss by adopting dangerous driving.

The same applies to drivers with poorly insured car insurance and even more so to drivers who have had their previous car insurance terminated.

To pay less for their premium, young drivers can possibly increase their deductibles.

This will have the effect of compensating for the automatic increase to which they are exposed, due to their lack of driving experience, sanctioned by insurance companies for increasing the risk.

Finally, some contracts provide for an increased deductible when the loss occurs while the vehicle was being driven by a person not indicated in the contract. This is the “steering wheel loan” franchise.(*)