also called excess
The amount you pay out of pocket on a claim before the insurer starts paying.
A deductible is the amount you cover yourself on a claim before the insurer starts paying anything. It is different from a co-pay, which is a small fixed share you pay each visit; the deductible is the bigger threshold you clear first. A cheap-looking premium often hides a high deductible, so the bargain policy can sting when you actually need it.
You pick the cheapest travel health plan and later end up in a clinic abroad with a nasty infection. The bill comes, and you learn you have to pay a large chunk out of pocket before the insurer covers a cent, wiping out everything you saved on the low monthly price.
A low premium often hides a high deductible, so the cheap policy can cost more when you actually claim.
The difference is the whole point, so here is each one in a line.
These split into the slice of each bill you carry and the ways an insurer pays less or nothing.
A deductible or excess is a fixed amount you pay before cover starts, the same idea in US and British wording; a co-pay is a fixed charge each time; and co-insurance is a percentage you keep paying after that.
A claim excess is that fixed slice on an approved claim.
Premium loading is a higher price charged because you are higher risk, while claim repudiation is a refused claim and a voided policy is cover treated as never valid, usually because something was not disclosed.
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