Tool · Updated September 29, 2026
The break-even point between deductible and premium
Enter the deductible and the annual premium from two quotes you already have. The tool works out the premium difference, the extra amount you would pay per claim and how many claim-free years it takes for the higher deductible to pay for itself. No premium or rate is calculated here: only your four figures go into the calculation.
This tool does your own arithmetic, in your browser. It does not calculate a premium and it transmits nothing: no figure you enter here ever reaches us. The result is an estimate based on your numbers, not a quote. Learn more.
The four amounts below are the ones from your quotes. The tool only subtracts and divides your own figures: it calculates no premium and no rate, assumes none and names no insurer.
What the tool measures. You have two quotes that differ only by their deductible. Choosing the higher deductible means agreeing to pay more out of your own pocket on each claim, in exchange for the premium that comes with it. The tool calculates how many claim-free years it takes for the difference between the two premiums to make up for that extra amount.
No premium is calculated here. Both premiums come from your quotes. The tool produces no premium, no rate and no price estimate: it compares two amounts you have already received.
Compare equivalent quotes. The calculation only makes sense if both quotes cover the same vehicle, the same drivers and the same coverages, with only the deductible changing. Your policy specifies which coverages and which situations each deductible applies to.
The result updates as you type.
The break-even point of your two quotes
Calculated only from the four amounts you entered.
Nothing to calculate yet. Enter the deductible and the annual premium from both of your quotes.
An amount is missing. The calculation needs all four figures: the deductible and the annual premium of each quote. A $0 deductible is entered as 0.
Both quotes have the same deductible. The premium difference shown above therefore does not come from the deductible. It comes from something else, such as the coverages chosen, the coverage amounts or the insurer, which this tool cannot isolate.
Based on your numbers, the higher deductible never pays for itself. Its premium is not lower than the other quote's: you would pay more on each claim without saving anything from one year to the next. Check that both quotes cover the same vehicle, the same drivers and the same coverages.
How to read this figure. After 1 full year without a claim, the premium savings you have built up ($0) match or exceed the extra amount you would pay on a single claim ($0). If a claim happens before that point, the higher deductible will have cost you more, in total, than the other one.
Which situation each choice suits. The $0 deductible suits you better if you could pay that amount out of pocket without difficulty on the day of a claim, and if you rarely claim: it costs you $0 less per year. The $0 deductible suits you better if an unexpected expense of $0 would be hard to absorb: you then pay $0 more per year to limit what each claim costs you to $0.
Simplified calculation. The calculation assumes that both premiums stay the same from one year to the next, and counts one deductible per claim. In practice, a premium can change at renewal, and a single year can include more than one claim.
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Sources and method
- No constant enters this calculation: all four amounts come from your quotes. The tool uses no rate, no average premium and no insurer's rate table.
- Premium difference per year = the difference between the two annual premiums you entered.
- Extra amount per claim = higher deductible − lower deductible.
- Claim-free years for the higher deductible to pay for itself = extra amount per claim ÷ the yearly premium saving that comes with the higher deductible.
This result is arithmetic done only with the amounts you entered yourself. It is not a quote, not a premium, not a rate and not insurance advice, and it is not a recommendation of one deductible over another. Only an insurer, or a damage insurance agent or broker, can give you a quote and explain how the deductible applies to your policy. This site is not an insurer, a firm or a broker. Nothing you enter in this tool is transmitted, recorded or stored: the entire calculation runs in your browser.