Home Insurance Excess vs Deductible
They're the same thing. "Excess" is British English for what U.S. policies call the deductible.
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Since this is just a wording difference, the non-renewal letter you got has nothing to do with it. What it does affect is the fresh quote you're about to shop for. A new insurer will ask you to pick a deductible, often $500, $1,000, $2,500 or $5,000, and separately may set a higher percentage deductible for wind, hail or hurricane damage, sometimes 1% to 5% of your dwelling coverage. Raising that number usually lowers what you pay, which matters now if the switch itself is pushing your premium up.
Pick the deductible before you pick the policy
A higher deductible can bring the new premium down, and a percentage wind or hurricane deductible can run into real money. Compare quotes with the same numbers so you know what you'd owe if something happened.
How do you choose the right deductible
Start with what you could pay out of pocket without scrambling. If $2,500 would strain things but $1,000 wouldn't, that's your ceiling, not the number that saves the most on paper. The lower premium from a $5,000 deductible doesn't help if you can't cover a $5,000 repair when a tree comes down on the garage.
If your state or insurer sets a percentage deductible for wind, hail or hurricane damage, find out what that percentage comes to in actual dollars before you sign anything. A percentage of your dwelling coverage can add up to a lot more than the flat deductible you're picturing. That amount comes out of your pocket before the insurer pays anything toward a roof or siding claim, and it applies separately from whatever flat deductible you chose for fire or theft. Your quote should list both numbers. If it only shows a percentage, ask what that works out to in dollars for your dwelling coverage amount.
Think about how often you'd actually file a claim at each level. A $500 deductible means filing for smaller damage makes sense, but filing more often is part of why insurers raise rates or decline to renew at the next cycle. A higher deductible keeps small repairs off your claims history, which can work in your favor down the line. Lower premium and fewer small claims, against a bigger bill if something happens, that's the real trade-off, not just which number looks smaller on the page.
If you're switching insurers after a non-renewal, keep the deductible the same across every quote you compare. A quote with a $2,500 deductible will always look cheaper than one with $500. Unless the number matches, you're not comparing the policies. You're comparing the deductibles.
What happens when you actually file a claim
The deductible isn't something you pay upfront or send in separately. When a covered loss happens, the insurer figures the cost of the damage and subtracts your deductible from the payout. You cover the deductible by paying your share of the contractor's bill, not by writing the insurer a separate check first.
A percentage wind or hurricane deductible works the same way, it just takes more math to find the number. Take your dwelling coverage amount and multiply by the percentage your policy sets, often somewhere between 1% and 5%. Whatever that comes to is what you owe before the insurer pays anything on that claim. A fire or theft claim in the same year would go against your regular flat deductible instead, since the two apply to different kinds of damage and your declarations page spells out which is which.
Small claims are where the math gets personal. If the repair cost comes in under your deductible, the insurer pays nothing and you've used up a claim on your record for no payout at all. That's worth knowing before you call to report something minor. Some homeowners pay out of pocket for repairs under their deductible and save the claim filing for damage that clearly exceeds it, since every filed claim, paid or not, can show up when an insurer reviews your history at renewal.
If the house you're insuring now is older or has an aging roof, the kind of thing that triggered your last non-renewal, a new insurer may already be pricing that risk into the premium or the deductible options offered. Ask directly whether the quote includes a separate roof or wind deductible tied to the roof's age or condition. That detail doesn't always show up on the first page of a quote, and it matters more to you right now than it would to someone who's never been dropped.
Before you buy, check the dollar amount
Open your declarations page and find the deductible, flat and percentage both. If a quote only shows a percentage, ask what it comes to in dollars for your dwelling coverage before you compare it to anything else.
