1

If you are insured under a standard contract the excess is the amount you will pay for the repairs before the insaurance company pays anything. So if your excess is, e,g,, $10000 and the cost of repairs is anything up to that amount the insurance company pays nothing and you pay everything. If your claim is for an amount more than $10000, you pay the $10000 and the insuarnce company pays the rest. The excess can also be specified as a % of the claim amount instead of a as fixed amount (e.g. 10%).
If you take out full cover insurance you will pay more as a premium, but your excess will be zero. The insurance company will pay the full amount. (This is the insurance that you usually decline).
You do not pay a deposit on your credit card. Usually an amount, which may or may not be related to your excess amount, will be placed on hold. It will not be taken out of your account, but will be blocked and you will not be able to use it until it is unblocked. If you leave without paying an amount owed to the car hire company - be it for damages to the car, irrespective of whether you have been involved in an accident, or for the final filling up of fuel, or for traffic fines, or for any other reson - the hire company will be able to take that amount (up to the amount blocked) from the blocked funds on your credit card account. In practice they could also take an amount that you owe then from your credit card account even after the funds have been unblocked. The unblocking of the amount (the "deposit") may take a few weeks after the car has been returned to the hire company.
Be careful - check specifically to ensure that you are covered when driving on gravel (unsurfaced) roads - paticularly in Namibia. Also check whether you are covered in the case of a single-car accident - i.e no other car is involved - you just rolled the car when taking a corner at high speed. You may not be covered. Check also who may drive the car - only specified people over a certain age will be covered.
This is as I have always understood the vehicle insurance. I hope someone else either confirms what I have said, or corrects me.

2

"Excess" is what we call "deductible."

Hope that's helpful.

Mark

3

Wow! Was I confused. Thanks for all the clarification. That helps a lot. I'm thinking I need to rethink my plan.

4

your suppossed to be confused - that is how insurance companies make money
do you have travel insurance? it may cover your excess

5

Insurance in Namibia is quite tricky, as RudiK describes, as there is a high proportion of accidents involving bad driving. Many people, especially visitors, drive to fast for the road conditions or their ability.

Added to that, wild and domestic animals wandering onto roads and it is an insurance nightmare, hence the high costs.

Basically, paying to reduce your excess is a gamble - how much will the extra premiums cost you? And how much would repairs cost you? Do ya feel lucky?, Well, do ya?

If you feel you are a carfeul driver and are happy to cover the costs of repairs should the car be damaged, then no need to pay to reduce the excess. Money saved.

By the way, when you return the car MAKE SURE you get a SIGNED AGREEMENT, that it was returned full of fuel, and undamaged.

Car hire firms everywhere often try to deduct charges on credit cars to some spuroious damage such as stone chips, etc. Get proof that the car hire firm was happy with the car when you returned it.

Having said all that, your route could be on excellent straight, tar roads, where your mainly problem will be speeding. If you went via Sossussvlei, it would be gravel all the way. And, as said, I have seen a car roll on the road to Walvis Bay, when the driver took the only bend for about 100 miles, too fast. He was lucky, but the car was not. Another statistic and insurance claim.