Excess vs deductible — the amount you pay towards a travel-insurance claim before the insurer pays, why UK policies say excess and US policies say deductible, and how it changes quote comparisons.

What is the difference between an excess and a deductible?

Excess and deductible are the same idea: the portion of a claim you pay yourself before the insurer pays the rest — UK and many international policies say “excess”; US policies usually say “deductible”.

A £100 excess on a medical claim means you pay the first £100 of eligible costs (or per claim / per section, depending on wording). Higher excesses usually mean lower premiums. Some policies offer “excess waiver” add-ons. Always check whether the excess applies per person, per claim, or per section (baggage vs medical). the certificate schedule.

Do not confuse policy excess with airline denied boarding compensation or EU261 cash — those are statutory or carrier payments, not insurance. How to parse wording: how to read a travel insurance policy.

Cover stack: travel insurance cover levels. CFAR reimbursements may still net after other rules — what is CFAR.

Some baggage sections use a lower excess than medical sections; a single trip can trigger different excesses on different claim types. Annual multi-trip policies may apply the excess per trip. If two people claim medical costs from one incident, check whether one excess or two applies — household policies disagree here more than travellers expect.

How should you compare quotes with different excesses?

Compare the premium plus the excess you would actually face on a realistic claim size — a cheap policy with a huge medical excess can cost more when you need care.

Example: Policy A costs £60 with a £250 medical excess; Policy B costs £85 with a £50 excess. On a £400 clinic bill, A leaves you £250 out of pocket plus any excluded items; B leaves £50. For large hospital bills the excess is a smaller share, but for minor claims it dominates. Pre-existing conditions may be excluded entirely regardless of excess — look-back period.

Zero-excess marketing sometimes hides co-pays elsewhere. Read the schedule, not the banner.