Among the costs associated with a vehicle, one of the most important is insurance. The service we choose in this area should guarantee safe and peaceful driving, knowing that we have the coverage we want included in our insurance.
Among all the available options, one is deductible insurance. This option has special conditions that make it unique compared to other services. However, it's important to understand all of them to understand what makes deductible insurance so different from the others.
Types of car insurance
In Spain there are 3 main types of car insurance:
- Basic insurance: This includes the minimum coverage required by law. It primarily offers civil liability coverage.
- Third-party insurance: This includes various coverages related to damage to third parties, as well as additional services that can be purchased. In this case, we're talking about "extended third-party insurance."
- Comprehensive insurance: This includes both third-party and own coverage.
Comprehensive insurance includes deductible insurance, which is the opposite of non-deductible insurance.
What is an insurance deductible?
An insurance deductible is the amount agreed upon with the insurer, for which the driver is responsible for the cost of repairs to his or her own vehicle.
If, for example, the insurance deductible is €800 and the repair of a collision for which the driver is responsible costs €2,000, the initial amount must be paid, and the insurer will cover the remainder, i.e., the remaining €1,600.
It's also important to keep in mind that when we talk about insurance with a deductible, we're not always talking about a complementary option to comprehensive insurance.
Insurers assess each client's experience and claims history before offering different services. Based on this, there are some cases in which comprehensive insurance is not included by default, but it is available as an option if a negotiable deductible is allowed.
Therefore, in this case, it becomes an alternative option to comprehensive insurance without a deductible, with which the driver has all the coverage of this service, assuming the negotiated responsibility for the deductible.
How does deductible insurance work?
Although the theory seems fairly simple, in practice it's important to understand how an insurance deductible works. To do this, we can use the Astara Move service, which includes this option.
With Astara Move, you can choose a subscription service, allowing you to enjoy a vehicle for a specific period of time.
For our customers' convenience, we include insurance, maintenance, taxes, and roadside assistance.
The specific insurance option is a €500 deductible. This means you'll be able to enjoy comprehensive insurance, and if you don't cause any damage to the vehicle, you won't have to worry about additional costs.
But if you do cause a blow or impact that requires repair, your liability is limited to the €500 deductible. The remaining expenses are fully covered by the insurance company, so you won't have to worry about anything else.
Additional coverage in insurance with a deductible
One of the biggest flaws some insurers make is focusing on excess insurance, highlighting only the financial limitation that any repair can offer.
It's true that it's a notable benefit. Thanks to it, you can enjoy comprehensive insurance without having to pay more than the deductible.
Now, in reality, these insurance policies offer very interesting additional coverage that makes these services even more attractive.
Depending on the insurer, a deductible insurance policy may also include coverage such as the following:
- Extended travel assistance.
- Puncture repair.
- Advice on changing vehicles.
- Etc.
And to all this, you have to add the coverages of comprehensive insurance. Keep in mind that the deductible applies only to damage to the car itself, not to damage to third parties.
These cases are included in the comprehensive insurance coverage, so you won't have to bear any costs even if you are responsible for causing the damage.
Is insurance with or without a deductible better?
It's no surprise that the variety of car insurance options is growing, given that each driver actually looks for different coverage.
Even within insurance with a deductible, we find so many variables that at Astara we have also expanded the possibilities in relation to this service.
For example, when subscribing to a vehicle through Astara Move, you currently have three comprehensive insurance options:
- Comprehensive insurance with a €500 deductible.
- PRO comprehensive insurance with a €250 deductible.
- Premium comprehensive insurance with no deductible.
Comprehensive insurance without a deductible does not include any costs for the driver, so if damage is caused to the vehicle itself, the insurance company will cover it if reported.
At first, it may seem like comprehensive insurance with no deductible is the best option, but the truth is that there is a price difference between this option and the one that includes a deductible.
Furthermore, it is important to remember one of the key points of deductible insurance: if no damage is caused to the vehicle, this service does not have to be used and, therefore, there are no additional costs.
Therefore, we'll enjoy driving with the coverage we want, without having to assume a higher cost for contracting it, nor for repairs that require us to pay that initial amount.