Car Hire Excess Insurance!

The car rental market practically anywhere in the world is fiercely competitive. This is great news for the consumer, of course, since it helps to drive down the costs of renting a car while at home or abroad. Although the headline rates for the hire of the vehicle can be very attractively priced, however, these present only part of the picture since a hefty lies in the cost of insurance. Just as with other forms of insurance, this will also include the cost of any excess, which must be borne by the hirer unless he or she also buys car hire excess insurance. (The exception is the USA, where no excess is charged).

Whenever you hire a car, you will be responsible for any damage caused to it, either by your own driving, accidents caused by others, or the theft of the vehicle. Just as with your own private motor insurance, you will need to indemnify yourself against the cost of such damage or theft with something akin to comprehensive insurance. Given the new or nearly new condition of the car you will be hiring, the replacement or repair value can be considerable and you will want to ensure that you are not landed with the bill for the loss or damage caused through any mishaps.

Therefore, the quoted rate for most car hire agreements in the UK, Europe and North America generally includes insurance cover offering a so-called Collision Damage Waiver (CDW) and against theft of the vehicle. This represents a significant proportion of the overall hire costs since it cover a large part of both the third party risks and any caused by your driving or use of the vehicle. What many people do not perhaps realise, however, is that in those countries where an excess applies to the hire car insurance agreement, it is considerably higher than it might be on your own home motor policy - an excess of £600, for example, is not unusual and can be as high as £1,000. Furthermore, quite a few areas of potential damage are not covered by the Collision Damage Waiver that comes as part of the car hire insurance. Examples will include exclusions of damage to the roof and underside of the vehicle, tyres and windows - all of which will be the responsibility of the hirer.

The rental companies, therefore, will offer as an optional extra to the rental agreement a car hire excess insurance further indemnifying the hirer against his or her financial responsibility for the excess and risks not covered by the Collision Damage Waiver or theft provisions of the principal insurance.


Whilst car hire excess insurance is a practically indispensable option - if potentially crippling additional risks are to be avoided - the problem with purchasing it directly from the car rental company is that it is simply very expensive.

A far more competitive rate, however, can be obtained from one of the companies specialising in standalone car hire excess insurance. Since it is the driver rather than the vehicle which is covered by this insurance, it remains entirely "portable" and can often be arranged on an annual basis, to cover multiple car rentals in the UK, Europe and North America.

Resource: Ezine Articles