An insurance excess, also referred to as an insurance deductible, refers to a co-payment made by the insured when claiming for a loss against an insurance policy. This is usually put in place by insurance companies to prevent small claims from being made unnecessarily. As an example, consider that your vehicle insurance carries a minimum excess of R1 000. If you ding the vehicle and you incur R800 worth of damage, you would probably have the ding repaired yourself rather than paying R1 000. This way, insurance companies can "streamline" insurance claims so that only larger claims are made and the people that process claims are not inundated by little claims. When shopping around for insurance, you will often find that most insurance companies offer a lower excess for a higher monthly premium or vice versa. The option you chose will be based on how you use your vehicle. If you are at higher risk by travelling a lot, you might choose a policy that offers a higher premium, but lower excess.