{
  "slug": "car-insurance-deductible",
  "title": "Insurance Deductible Calculator",
  "heading": "Insurance Deductible Break-Even Calculator",
  "category": "financial",
  "url": "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/car-insurance-deductible",
  "summary": "Is the higher deductible worth the premium savings?",
  "description": "Raising a deductible only pays if you go long enough without a claim to bank the premium difference. This finds the break-even in years.",
  "formula": "Break-even years = Extra deductible ÷ annual premium savings.",
  "dateModified": "2026-09-30",
  "run_url": "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/api/public/calc?tool=car-insurance-deductible",
  "inputs": [
    {
      "id": "lowDed",
      "label": "Lower deductible",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 500,
      "unit": "$",
      "min": 0,
      "max": null
    },
    {
      "id": "lowPrem",
      "label": "Premium at the lower deductible",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 1680,
      "unit": "$/yr",
      "min": 0,
      "max": null
    },
    {
      "id": "highDed",
      "label": "Higher deductible",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 1500,
      "unit": "$",
      "min": 0,
      "max": null
    },
    {
      "id": "highPrem",
      "label": "Premium at the higher deductible",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 1380,
      "unit": "$/yr",
      "min": 0,
      "max": null
    },
    {
      "id": "claimFreq",
      "label": "Expected claims per decade",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 1,
      "unit": null,
      "min": 0,
      "max": 10
    }
  ],
  "outputs": [
    {
      "id": "breakEven",
      "label": "Claim-free years to break even",
      "format": "decimal",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": true
    },
    {
      "id": "savings",
      "label": "Annual premium savings",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    },
    {
      "id": "extra",
      "label": "Extra out of pocket per claim",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    },
    {
      "id": "tenYearSavings",
      "label": "Expected 10-year net savings",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    },
    {
      "id": "expectedCost",
      "label": "Expected annual net cost (negative = you win)",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    },
    {
      "id": "savingsPct",
      "label": "Premium reduction",
      "format": "percent",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    }
  ],
  "worked_example": {
    "inputs": [
      "Lower deductible: 500 $",
      "Premium at the lower deductible: 1680 $/yr",
      "Higher deductible: 1500 $",
      "Premium at the higher deductible: 1380 $/yr",
      "Expected claims per decade: 1"
    ],
    "outputs": [
      "Claim-free years to break even: 3.3",
      "Annual premium savings: $300.00",
      "Extra out of pocket per claim: $1,000.00",
      "Expected 10-year net savings: $2,000.00",
      "Expected annual net cost (negative = you win): -$200.00",
      "Premium reduction: 17.9%"
    ]
  },
  "how_to": {
    "title": "How to use this",
    "steps": [
      "Enter lower deductible ($).",
      "Enter premium at the lower deductible ($/yr).",
      "Enter higher deductible ($).",
      "Enter premium at the higher deductible ($/yr).",
      "Enter expected claims per decade.",
      "Read your claim-free years to break even on the right — it updates as you type.",
      "Hit Share to keep the scenario or send it to someone."
    ]
  },
  "scenarios": [
    {
      "name": "Conservative",
      "description": "Lower-end numbers — what if things land soft?",
      "values": {
        "lowDed": 300,
        "lowPrem": 1000,
        "highDed": 900,
        "highPrem": 820,
        "claimFreq": 0.6
      }
    },
    {
      "name": "Typical",
      "description": "Defaults — the most common real-world setup.",
      "values": {
        "lowDed": 500,
        "lowPrem": 1680,
        "highDed": 1500,
        "highPrem": 1380,
        "claimFreq": 1
      }
    },
    {
      "name": "Ambitious",
      "description": "Higher-end numbers — what if things really pop?",
      "values": {
        "lowDed": 800,
        "lowPrem": 2680,
        "highDed": 2400,
        "highPrem": 2200,
        "claimFreq": 1.6
      }
    }
  ],
  "limitations": [
    "Results are estimates before tax, fees, and inflation unless an input explicitly covers them.",
    "Rates are treated as fixed for the whole period — variable-rate products will drift from this projection.",
    "This is educational maths, not financial advice. Check anything contractual with the lender or your accountant."
  ],
  "faq": [
    {
      "q": "How does the insurance deductible break-even calculator work?",
      "a": "Raising a deductible only pays if you go long enough without a claim to bank the premium difference. This finds the break-even in years. The underlying maths is: Break-even years = Extra deductible ÷ annual premium savings."
    },
    {
      "q": "What do I need to enter?",
      "a": "5 values: lower deductible, premium at the lower deductible, higher deductible, premium at the higher deductible, and expected claims per decade. Each field starts with a sensible default, so you can change one number at a time and watch the result move."
    },
    {
      "q": "What does the claim-free years to break even result mean?",
      "a": "It is returned as a decimal number and updates live as you edit the inputs, so you can compare two or three versions of a scenario in a few seconds."
    },
    {
      "q": "Is this calculator free, and do I need an account?",
      "a": "Yes, it's free, and no account is required. Nothing you type is stored on our servers — the maths runs entirely in your browser."
    },
    {
      "q": "How accurate is the result?",
      "a": "It applies the standard formula exactly, so the arithmetic is precise. Results are estimates before tax, fees, and inflation unless an input explicitly covers them."
    },
    {
      "q": "Who is this tool for?",
      "a": "It's built for anyone comparing money scenarios before committing — budgeting a payment, sanity-checking a quote, or seeing what a change in rate or term actually costs."
    }
  ],
  "related": [
    "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/health-insurance-cost",
    "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/emergency-fund"
  ],
  "license": "CC-BY-4.0",
  "citation": "RevenueLab — Insurance Deductible Calculator (https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/car-insurance-deductible)"
}