Insurer pays your excess for you

A NEW insurance package in France has made it possible for motorists to claim back the full cost of damage repairs without having to make a contribution themselves.

The new scheme, which runs independently from the car insurance policy, pays the excess – called a franchise in French – that car insurers typically deduct from any amount claimed.

For example, if a car needs €1,000 of repairs and the insurance policy has a e300 excess, the motorist will get back €700 from their insurer and the remaining €300 from DSA Europe, the firm launching the service in France.

The initiative is the brainchild of two British businessmen, Peter Driscoll and Jeremy Snowball, who saw that “excess insurance” was proving popular in the UK and decided to launch a similar scheme here for France’s 38 million motorists.

Mr Driscoll said many motorists were unaware when taking out car insurance policies how much of the cost of repairs would not be reimbursed, prompting a nasty shock when it came to making a claim.

“When people buy an insurance policy they stick a tag in the front windscreen and forget about it,” he said.

“Most people don't read the small print in their policies. If you ask someone what their excess is they won’t have a clue.”

The DSA Europe service, which the company hopes to roll out to countries other than France, comes with an annual premium of between €35 and €50 depending on the amount of cover needed.

It can be taken out at any time, so does not necessarily have to coincide with the renewal of a car insurance policy. The service also means that, when it comes to renewal time, car owners can choose a motor insurance deal with a cheaper premium but higher excess, knowing they will not have to pay the excess in the event of a claim.

Mr Driscoll said no longer having to worry about paying the excess would encourage motorists to take full advantage of their car insurance cover.

“In the past if the garage said it would cost €301 to repair and I had a €300 excess I’m not going to make a claim because I will only get e1 back.

“This service has not existed before because from an insurance company’s viewpoint they do not want you to claim.

“The big insurers are not going to say ‘let’s do this’ because it would increase their claims frequency.”

He dismissed any suggestion that doing away with the excess might encourage people to make trivial or even fraudulent claims.

“I don't think we're going to have a spate of people going out and crashing their cars,” he added.

“We only pay up when the original insurer has verified the claim is genuine and has decided not to pay the excess.

“The insurance industry is very strict on what they will pay and they will do their own due diligence.”

DSA is now looking at extending the service to other types of insurance.