Excess cover

HGV excess insurance and excess protection for lorry policies

For operators who would rather not fund every excess themselves. One form links you to brokers who know lorry policies.

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Accident, fire and theft excesses
Single lorries or fleets
Own goods or haulage

Lorry cab with front corner damage waiting in a repair workshop — A red lorry parked at the roadside. Own-damage claims on lorry policies usually start with an excess.

Quick answer

HGV excess insurance, often called excess protection or excess reimbursement, is a separate policy that refunds the excess a lorry operator pays when a claim is made on the main HGV motor policy. The excess on the lorry policy stays the same and is still paid at the time of the claim. Once the main insurer has settled, the excess policy pays that sum back, up to its own limits and subject to its terms.

HGV excess cover at a glance

An excess is the part of a claim the policyholder carries before the insurer pays the rest.
Lorry policies often stack several excesses: a compulsory one, any voluntary one, and extras for certain drivers or types of loss.
Excess protection reimburses after a valid claim; it does not reduce the excess on the motor policy.
Reimbursement products usually cap the refund per claim, the total across the year, the number of claims, or a mix of these.
For operators with many small knocks, how excesses are handled can matter as much as the premium.

What HGV excess insurance covers

Excess protection follows the main lorry policy. If that insurer accepts a claim and deducts an excess, the excess policy is there to refund it. If the main claim fails, the excess cover generally has nothing to pay against.

Accidental damage claimsRepairs to your own lorry after a collision where you were at fault or the other side cannot be traced.

Fire and theftWhere the motor policy applies a separate excess for a stolen or fire-damaged lorry, many products will refund it, sometimes with a lower limit.

Windscreen and glassA glass excess is often small, so some excess products leave it out or treat it under a separate limit.

Extra driver excessesAdditional amounts charged when a young or newly qualified driver was at the wheel may be refundable, depending on the product.

Third-party property damageSome fleet policies apply an excess to damage done to other people's property. Whether a reimbursement product refunds it varies.

Limits and capsA maximum per claim and a ceiling on claims each year are usual, so the limit chosen needs to match the excesses on the lorry policy.

Types of excess on an HGV policy

The excess on a lorry policy is rarely a single figure. Insurers build it from several parts, and each part behaves differently when it comes to protection.

Types of excess found on HGV motor policies, when they apply and what is worth checking
Type of excess	When it applies	Worth checking
Compulsory excess	Set by the insurer and applied to own-damage claims on the lorry	Whether it differs for accidental damage, fire and theft
Voluntary excess	Chosen by the operator on top of the compulsory amount, usually in return for a lower premium	Whether the excess product refunds the voluntary part too
Young or inexperienced driver excess	Added when the driver is under a set age or has held the licence category for a short time	How the policy defines a new driver and whether it applies to named drivers
Windscreen, fire and theft excesses	Separate amounts for glass claims, a stolen lorry or fire damage	Security conditions for theft claims and whether glass is covered by the excess product

Operators starting out often see the higher driver excesses on their first policy, which is one of the topics on new operator HGV insurance.

Excess protection for own goods and haulage lorries

Excess protection follows the motor policy, but some products limit the uses they accept, and a lorry declared for the wrong use on the motor policy can see the underlying claim refused. A reimbursement only follows a claim the main insurer pays.

Carrying your own goods

Builders, retailers and manufacturers running lorries for their own stock can add excess protection alongside an own goods HGV policy. The excess on that policy is what gets refunded.

Haulage for customers

Hauliers carrying other people's goods for payment may face higher excesses on the lorry and separate excesses on goods in transit (opens in a new tab) cover. Excess protection for the motor policy does not normally reach the goods in transit excess.

Does excess protection usually pay out in these situations?

YesOwn goods lorry, fault accident, claim acceptedThe excess deducted by the motor insurer is refunded up to the limit.
YesHaulage lorry, fault accident, claim acceptedUsually treated the same way, where the excess product accepts hire and reward use.
NoClaim declined by the main insurerWith no settled claim, there is usually no excess to reimburse.
NoExcess already recovered from the other driver's insurerWhere the other side pays it back, the reimbursement is normally not due, or has to be returned.

Paying first, refunded later

Excess protection works by reimbursement, so the business still pays the repairer or the insurer at the time of the claim. The refund follows once the claim is settled and the paperwork is in, which can take a few weeks. Operators watching cash flow may also want to discuss excess buy-back, where the main insurer reduces the excess itself for an extra premium, when they start an HGV excess quote (opens in a new tab).

What affects the price of HGV excess insurance

The cost of excess protection tracks the size of the excesses it refunds and how often they are likely to be claimed.

The lorry policy behind it

Higher excesses on the motor policy mean higher limits are needed, which costs more to protect.

How often claims happen

A clean record suggests fewer refunds, while a pattern of small claims points the other way.

Limit per claimThe maximum refund on any single claim, compared with the total excess on the lorry policy.
Claims and total limit each yearProducts that allow more claims, or a higher total refund, in a policy year are usually priced higher.
Number of vehiclesExcess cover for several lorries may be arranged per vehicle or across a fleet. Larger operations are covered on HGV fleet insurance.
Vehicle weight and typeSome excess products are built for vans and light commercials and may not accept heavier lorries.
DriversYoung or recently qualified drivers bring extra excesses, which affects what the protection has to cover.
Claims historyPast own-damage claims show how often excesses have actually been paid.

Cover that often sits alongside HGV excess insurance

Excess protection deals with one cost after a claim. These covers deal with the lorry, the goods and the time off the road.

HGV fleet insuranceFor operators running several lorries, where excess levels can be set across the whole fleet.About this cover New operator HGV insuranceFor businesses in their first years, where driver and claims excesses tend to be higher.About this cover HGV breakdown coverRecovery and roadside help, which sits outside the motor excess entirely.About this cover Goods in transitCover for the load, which carries an excess of its own.About this cover (opens in a new tab)Owner-driver HGV insuranceFor single-lorry operators, where an unexpected excess hits the business directly.About this cover Haulier insurancePackages for haulage firms, which can bring motor, goods and liability cover together.About this cover

Before you buy

Questions worth asking about HGV excess cover

Excess products can look alike until a claim is made. These points are worth settling with the broker before relying on one.

Does the product accept heavy goods vehicles?Some reimbursement products stop at a certain vehicle weight.
Which excesses are refunded?Compulsory, voluntary, driver, glass, fire and theft excesses can each be treated differently.
Is the limit per claim high enough?A limit below the combined excess on the lorry policy leaves part of it unpaid.
How many claims a year are allowed?A low cap can run out early for a busy operation.
Are fault and non-fault claims both covered?Non-fault claims where the excess cannot be recovered are handled differently by different products.
What paperwork is needed?Usually the main insurer's settlement letter showing the excess deducted.
How long does the refund take?Timescales matter to a business that has paid the excess out of working capital.
Would excess buy-back suit better?A lower excess on the main policy avoids paying out first, though it is priced into the premium.

How it works

How to get an HGV excess insurance quote

HGV Insure is an information site, not an insurer or a broker. We link you to MyMoneyComparison.com, a comparison service that can match operators wanting excess cover with specialist brokers.

1
The quote form
Get my HGV excess quote takes you to our partner, MyMoneyComparison.com.
2
Your lorries and the excesses
The form asks about the vehicle, its weight, how it is used, your operator licence and who drives. The broker then goes through the excesses on your current policy and your claims record.
3
Options from a broker
A specialist broker contacts you with options, subject to insurers' acceptance criteria. There is no obligation to buy.

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FAQs

HGV excess insurance FAQs

What is HGV excess insurance?

It is a separate policy that refunds the excess paid on a valid claim under a lorry motor policy. It is also known as excess protection or excess reimbursement.

What is the difference between a compulsory and a voluntary excess?

A compulsory excess is fixed by the insurer and applies whatever else is chosen. A voluntary excess is an extra amount the operator agrees to carry, normally to bring the premium down. Both are added together when a claim is paid.

Why is the excess higher for young or new drivers?

Insurers see less experienced HGV drivers as more likely to be involved in a claim, so many policies add an extra excess when someone under a set age, or who has held the licence category for a short time, was driving.

Does excess protection lower the excess on my lorry policy?

No. The motor policy excess stays as it is and is paid when the claim is made. Excess protection refunds it afterwards, up to its limit.

What is the difference between excess protection and excess buy-back?

Excess protection is a separate policy that refunds the excess after the claim is settled, so the business pays first and is reimbursed later. Excess buy-back is an add-on to the main lorry policy that reduces the excess itself, so less is paid at the time of the claim.

Is a windscreen claim covered?

It depends on the product. Glass excesses on lorry policies are often lower than the main excess, and some excess products exclude them or apply a separate limit.

Is excess protection worth it for a fleet with lots of small claims?

It can help with cash flow, but caps on the number of claims each year may be reached quickly. Fleet operators sometimes look at the excess structure on the main policy instead, which is covered on HGV fleet insurance.

Will it pay if the accident was not my fault?

Where the excess is recovered from the at-fault driver's insurer, the refund is usually not needed. Many products only refund a non-fault excess if it has not been recovered from the other side within a set period; a few pay first and ask for it back once it is recovered.

Does excess protection cover breakdowns?

No. Mechanical breakdown is not normally an insured loss under the motor policy, so there is no excess to refund. Recovery and roadside help come under HGV breakdown cover.

Does HGV Insure sell HGV excess insurance?

No. HGV Insure is an information site and an affiliate of MyMoneyComparison.com, which matches operators with specialist brokers. When you start a quote you continue to MyMoneyComparison.com, and we may be paid a small commission if you are matched with and speak to a broker.

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