Row.co.uk Blog

A Simple Walkthrough of Excess Insurance

Anyone who has ever bought an insurance policy is probably familiar with the concept of the excess on their cover - especially if they have ever had to make a claim. If you prang your car, or drop your brand new iPhone 11 down the toilet, or your boiler packs in, your excess is the first bit of your claim that you have to pay yourself.

The reason insurance companies write an excess into policies is mainly to discourage small claims which, if they were all added up, could very quickly make the business of being in insurance not very profitable at all. Insurance companies want to be there to protect you from the big stuff. If your car only needs a bit of minor body work or your iPhone is good as new with a replacement battery, you will have to pay for it yourself.

Unless, that is, you have excess insurance. Excess insurance might be thought of as insurance against your insurance. As its name suggests, it is there to cover you against the excess on standard policies. Yes it means paying twice to buy two types of cover. But the benefit is, you never have to pay out of your own pocket for claims of any size.

How excess insurance works.


The excess on a standard insurance policy comes in two forms, compulsory and voluntary. Compulsory excess is the amount your insurance company states you must pay yourself towards any claim. Voluntary excess is an additional amount you can agree to pay on any claim in return for making your premium cheaper. Voluntary excess is more common with higher value policies like car insurance, home contents insurance and home emergency cover.

Let’s say you take out a home emergency policy to protect you against things like boiler breakdowns, utilities supply failures and flooding caused by plumbing problems. Your policy might say it will pay out up to £2,500 at a time to cover the cost of calling out a qualified tradesman or engineer at short notice to fix the problem, including things like parts and labour expenses. 

The compulsory excess states that you must pay out the first £250 should you ever wish to make a claim. You also opt for a voluntary excess of £150 to bring down the price a bit, meaning that you would now have to pay out to £400 yourself in the event of any incident you wanted to make a claim for.

Now if you decided you didn’t actually fancy paying this £400, you could take out excess insurance to cover it. You would still have to pay out the £400 on your first claim, but then you could make a second claim against your excess policy to get the money back. 

Is excess insurance worth it? It depends how much the policy costs. If you are using it to cover a compulsory excess only, you might think that the extra outlay per month is a good investment, especially if you are concerned about being able to pay the excess outright. If you take out a voluntary excess, you should make sure that the price of any excess insurance is less than the saving you make on your main policy premium, otherwise you’d be better off without the voluntary excess.

*The information in this blog is designed to provide helpful information on the subjects discussed. Please seek a professional for expert advice as we can not be held responsible for any damages or negative consequences upon following this information.

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New Years Resolutions For Tech Heads

Row.co.uk Blog

New Years Resolutions For Tech Heads


It's a new year and that means a new start for many, and what's the most common way to kick start a new change? With New Year's resolutions. New Year’s resolutions for tech heads are not always an easy thing to think of, for example, who wants to commit to trying to be less of a tech head and limiting their gadget time? 

We've compiled some top New Year’s resolutions for tech heads in a bid to inspire and encourage those who need a little push in the right direction. 


1 - Back up your devices 

As a tech head it is probable that you have more than one device that you store important information on, whether that be emails, photographs or important documents. Save yourself the worry of losing all your treasured things by backing up your devices often. That way, if the worst were to happen you can simply retrieve your backed up data. 


2 - Clean your gadgets regularly 

Getting a new smartphone, tablet or smart watch is great, especially considering it is brand new with no scratches or dirt in sight. Keep your gadgets in tiptop condition by cleaning them regularly. Though a simple New Year’s resolution for a tech head, it can help keep your gadgets in the best condition possible; not to mention keeping the germs and finger marks at bay. 


3 - Limit your photos and enjoy the moment 

We're all guilty of it, trying to capture every moment with a photo or video and even uploading it to Facebook or Instagram for the world to see. However, often we miss the moment in the present by focusing on taking a photo of video. Why not try reducing the amount of photos and videos you take and enjoy the moment as it happens as much as you can.


4 - Delete old and unused accounts 

Many of us find ourselves inundated with emails, notifications and reminders from accounts we never use or even forgot we had, including old social media accounts and email address we don't use. As a New Year’s resolution for a tech head, consider deleting the old accounts you no longer use. After all, there is little point of keeping them and often they just bring unwanted notifications. 

As you can see, there are a number of different New Year’s resolutions for tech heads that are both useful and relatively easy to achieved. New Year's resolutions are likely to be kept if they are related to something you are passionate about, and therefore those who love gadgets and devices could benefit from one or more of those mentioned above. 


Visit our website for a quote today to ensure your smartphone or tablet is insured the affordable way.

*The information in this blog is designed to provide helpful information on the subjects discussed. Please seek a professional for expert advice as we can not be held responsible for any damages or negative consequences upon following this information.

Mobile Insurance Free Quote
Comments are closed