---
title: "Excess vs Deductible in Travel Insurance"
description: "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."
url: "https://travelshifu.com/guides/excess-vs-deductible/"
category: "Glossary"
author: "Priya Nair"
date_published: "2026-07-21"
date_modified: "2026-07-21"
source: "TravelShifu"
---

# Excess vs Deductible in Travel Insurance

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.

> Honest disclosure: TravelShifu may earn a commission if you book flights, insurance or claim help through partner links on related pages — at no extra cost to you. Glossary entries are desk-researched definitions for July 2026, not legal or financial advice.

## 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](/guides/denied-boarding-compensation-explained) or [EU261](/guides/what-is-eu261) cash — those are statutory or carrier payments, not insurance. How to parse wording: [how to read a travel insurance policy](/guides/how-to-read-travel-insurance-policy).

Cover stack: [travel insurance cover levels](/guides/travel-insurance-cover-levels-explained). CFAR reimbursements may still net after other rules — [what is CFAR](/guides/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](/guides/look-back-period-explained).

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

## Which terms sit next to excess and deductible?

Pair excess/deductible with look-back period and CFAR so you understand both what is excluded and what you still pay when cover responds.

See [look-back period](/guides/look-back-period-explained), [CFAR](/guides/what-is-cfar) and [how to read a travel insurance policy](/guides/how-to-read-travel-insurance-policy).

- [Look-back period](/guides/look-back-period-explained) — pre-existing condition window
- [CFAR](/guides/what-is-cfar) — cancel-for-any-reason upgrade
- [Cover levels](/guides/travel-insurance-cover-levels-explained) — medical vs cancellation stacks

## How do you choose the right excess on a travel policy?

Match the excess to your claim style: a GBP 0–50 excess suits travellers likely to claim small amounts, while a GBP 100–250 excess cuts premiums meaningfully if you would only ever claim for serious medical or cancellation losses.

The excess is the part of each claim you pay yourself, and it applies per claim — sometimes per person, per incident, per policy section. A GBP 75 excess on a GBP 90 stolen-headphones claim returns GBP 15; the same excess on a USD 40,000 medical evacuation is irrelevant. Understanding that asymmetry is the whole decision: excesses punish small claims and barely touch catastrophic ones.

Price the trade-off explicitly. Raising the excess from zero to GBP 100 typically trims 10–20% off the premium, which pays for itself if you claim less than once every few trips. Frequent travellers on annual multi-trip policies often accept higher excesses and self-insure the small losses; once-a-year holidaymakers with expensive prepaid packages usually prefer low or zero excess for peace of mind.

Watch for hidden stacking: some budget policies apply the excess per policy section, so a single incident touching medical, baggage and delay sections could cost three excesses. Zero-excess upgrades are sold at checkout for a few pounds and are often excellent value on family policies. Our [how to read a travel insurance policy](/guides/how-to-read-travel-insurance-policy) guide shows where these clauses hide, and [best travel insurance](/guides/best-travel-insurance) compares providers’ excess structures.

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Last modified: 2026-07-21