“Excess” and “deductible” mean the same thing in everyday use, but only one is correct in Irish insurance. The excess is the amount you pay before the insurer pays anything. The number sits in plain view on your policy schedule, and it is one of the few figures every policyholder should know off by heart.
What the excess actually is
The excess is the first slice of any claim you pay yourself. If your buildings excess is 500 euro and you make a 5,000 euro claim, the insurer pays 4,500 and you absorb 500. The excess is fixed in the policy schedule; it does not change between renewals unless you change it.
Most Irish home insurance policies carry separate excesses for buildings and contents, often with additional, higher excesses for specific perils such as subsidence and flood. Read the policy schedule, not the welcome letter, to find every excess.
Why “deductible” is the wrong word in Ireland
Deductible is American insurance terminology. Irish policies use “excess” and that is what the policy wording, the loss adjuster, and the courts will use too. The two words function identically; only the label differs.
You will encounter “deductible” if you are dealing with a US-based parent insurer’s documentation, an English-language Irish translation of a foreign policy, or marketing copy written for a global audience. In an Irish claim, every reference is to the excess.
Standard excess levels
Typical Irish home insurance excesses, as a guide:
- Buildings (general): 250 to 500 euro
- Contents (general): 100 to 250 euro
- Subsidence: 1,000 to 2,500 euro (often higher)
- Escape of water: 250 to 500 euro
- Accidental damage: 100 to 250 euro
- Theft: 100 to 250 euro
Voluntary excesses on top of the compulsory excess reduce the premium but increase the amount you pay on any claim. The maths is straightforward; whether the saving is worth it depends on your claims history and risk profile.
How the excess interacts with a claim
The excess is deducted from the gross settlement, not from the cost of the works. If the loss adjuster scopes the reinstatement at 8,000 euro and the excess is 500, the insurer pays 7,500. The contractor still needs 8,000; you cover the gap. This catches some policyholders out, particularly on smaller claims where the excess can be most of the settlement.
For a large claim, for example a fire or major water damage claim, the excess is a small slice of the total and rarely a deciding factor. For a smaller accidental damage claim, the excess can swallow most of the settlement and the question becomes whether to claim at all.
When to claim and when to absorb the loss
The rule of thumb: if the loss is less than twice the excess, claim at your discretion. If the claim risks a premium increase or a renewal refusal, the long-term cost of claiming may exceed the short-term recovery. We see policyholders absorb 800 euro losses to avoid the renewal-time consequences and others claim because they will recover the lifetime cost in one settlement.
Each case is specific to the policy, the insurer, and the claims history.
When to call a loss assessor
For claims well above the excess where the insurer’s offer looks low, ring us. The excess itself is not negotiable, but the gross settlement very often is.
The figure to know
Find your buildings excess and your contents excess on the policy schedule today. Write them down. They are the only two numbers you definitely need at hand if a loss happens overnight.
Written by the team at N.J. Carroll & Associates, insurance loss assessors and quantity surveyors, established 1988.
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