Spud, good question and correct answer.
Some insurance policies require the insured (You) to pay the first part of any claim and this is termed the Excess. It is to deter frivolous claims. The excess may be either compulsory which effectively sets a lower limit for a claim, or voluntary which is an additional amount added to the compulsory excess. This means you can reduce your premium (payment) and carry that risk yourself.
If, for instance, your excess was 250 and your HA claim was 2000 then you would get 1750 from the insurer. If your claim was for, say, 300 they would pay you 50. However there could then be a higher charge the following year (they claw back that 50). OTOH if in a year you make no claim they may discount the premium the following year.
I do have one policy for keys, credit cards, money and documents that has neither excess nor discount (no claims bonus) and that has been superb value for me over the years.