So What Is Car Hire Insurance?

Limitations

Drivers from the UK are advised to read the small print of their car hire insurance very carefully – since it does not usually provide the comprehensive cover which might have been arranged for the car at home.

In Europe and other parts of the world, for example, damage to certain parts of the vehicle may be excluded. These are typical damage to the undercarriage, roof, wheel, tyres and windows of the hire car. There may be other limitations as you scrutinise the insurance documents more carefully.

In North America, you may find that the cover is even more limited. Here, even the legal minimum of third party cover may be insufficient to meet some claims – especially where injuries are sustained. To make up the shortfall, you may need to buy additional Supplemental Liability Insurance (SLI).

Furthermore, the Collision Damage Waiver (CDW) you might be offered there, may be limited to damage caused only when you are in a collision with another vehicle and exclude accidental damage sustained in any other way. You may also need to buy separate Theft Protection (TP) cover.

Excess

What marks out car hire insurance from most other forms of motor insurance, however, is the size of the excess incorporated into the cover (in North America, the excess is likely to be referred to as the “deductible”.

Whether it is called excess or a deductible, the amount you may have to contribute in the event of any damage to your hire car may be as much as £1,500.

As cover against such a liability, your car rental company is almost certain to offer supplementary excess insurance. The cost of this protection, however, is certain to add considerably more to the daily rental rate of £4 that you may have been able to find. According to the Money Saving Expert, once again, excess insurance bought directly from the car rental company might add as much as a further £25 a day.

Standalone Car Hire Excess Insurance

An invariably much cheaper option is to buy an entirely independent, standalone excess insurance policy from a UK-based provider, such as ourselves here at Bettersafe.

Not only is it typically cheaper, but there are no exclusions relating to damage to the underside, roof, windows wheels or tyres of the hire car.

If you are going to be renting a car in North America, we have excess insurance packages specially designed for conditions there, including Supplementary Liability Insurance (SLI) of up to $1 million, theft protection and Collision Damage Waivers (CDWs) which cover all forms of accidental damage to the car you are renting.