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    Your motor insurance has an excess of £500. What does this mean?

    DVSA-style practice question · Essential Documents

    The answer options

    • The first £500 of the claim must be paid by youCorrect
    • The first £500 of the claim will be paid by your insurance company
    • You will be refunded £500 if you do not claim in a year
    • Your vehicle is insured for up to £500

    Why that is the answer

    An insurance excess is the agreed amount you must pay towards any claim before the insurance company pays the remainder. If repairs cost £1,200, you pay the first £500 and the insurer covers the remaining £700. The excess is never paid by your insurer, nor is it a cash refund or the maximum value of your policy. DVSA guidance stresses knowing your policy details so you can manage costs if an accident happens.

    How this comes up in the real test

    Questions from essential documents appear throughout the 50-question multiple-choice section, and the wording changes between versions. Learn the rule rather than the sentence: the DVSA can ask the same point from the opposite direction, and a memorised answer falls over the moment the phrasing moves.

    The pass mark is 43 out of 50, so seven wrong answers is your entire margin. If a whole category is shaky, run the topic practice below until you are getting every question right for the right reason, then go back to full mocks under the clock.

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