What does car hire excess insurance cover?

Travelling abroad? You might be considering hiring a car for your holiday, which means you may be wondering what kind of insurance you will need - and car hire excess insurance may be necessary for your trip. But what exactly is car hire excess insurance, and what does it cover? 

Car hire excess insurance is a type of insurance that is additional to the motor insurance cover that is included as standard in your car rental agreement. This standard motor insurance will generally include a collision damage waiver (CDW) and third-party liability insurance, but will not cover you if the car is damaged or stolen - that’s where car hire excess insurance comes in. 

If your hire car is damaged or stolen, the car hire company will charge an excess that you will be liable to pay. You may be offered insurance by the rental company to cover the cost of that excess, or you can take out a car hire excess insurance policy with an insurance provider.  Car hire excess insurance typically reimburses you for the cost of the excess charged by the rental company in the event that the hire car is damaged or stolen.  

The cover provided by car hire excess insurance policies vary by provider but generally  include the following: 

Additional drivers (provided that they are named on the rental agreement). 

The excess payable for damage and theft of the vehicle up to a specified limit  - this includes damage to windows, tyres, undercarriage, roof and headlights which can be excluded by the car rental company’s own cover, even if you purchase additional waivers. 

• Loss of car keys. 

• Accidentally misfuelling the car. 

Remember, before leaving the car hire pick-up, always inspect the vehicle carefully and try to take photos of its condition. Otherwise, there could be a dispute about the vehicle’s condition, and it’s crucial to report back any problems they haven't listed to your car hire excess company to insure you will be fully covered on your car hire excess insurance. 

To determine whether you should take out car hire excess insurance, you should ask yourself two questions: 

• Can I afford to pay a potentially large bill in the event that something goes wrong? 

• Do I find the excess cover offered by car hire firms expensive? 

Car hire excess insurance can offer you peace of mind when you’re travelling abroad, as you have less reason to worry about where you park your car, being on unknown roads, or if poorly maintained roads will damage the car. 

As with all insurance policies, there are exclusions to cover on car hire excess insurance policies.

Examples include: 

• Losses from accidental damage to the interior or contents of the rental vehicle caused by wear and tear, or carriage of animals, will not be covered. 

• Minimum and maximum ages for drivers (21-85 inclusive). 

• Vehicles more than 10 years old, vehicles with more than nine seats, or camper vans. 

• Schemes such as easyCar Club where there is no rental agreement in place. 

Our partner, insurance4carhire offer a range of car hire excess insurance policies for UK residents that include: 

• Cover for up to seven additional drivers per rental - and there’s no need to add them to your insurance4carhire policy 

• Flexible cover length - determine the length of cover that suits you, from a single trip to annual car rental excess cover options. 

• Up to £6,500 per year for excess costs if your hire car is damaged or stolen. 

• Up to £500 per each claim for misfuelling and car key cover 

• Cover for scratches, including those caused by minor accidents, car park mishaps, or even unnoticed scrapes. 

Exclusions to cover include: 

• Policies purchased after the collection of your rental vehicle. 

• Car rentals where the policyholder doesn’t match the name of the lead driver on the rental agreement. 

The car hire excess insurance policy is provided and administered by our partner insurance4carhire. Everywhen act as an introducer for Insurance4carhire. 

You can find out more about the insurance4carhire car excess insurance policy, or get a quote for car hire excess insurance on the insurance4carhire website. 

Consistent with our policy when giving comment and advice on a non-specific basis, we cannot assume legal responsibility for the accuracy of any particular statement. In the case of specific problems we recommend that professional advice be sought. 

insurance4carhire is a trading name of Atlanta Insurance Intermediaries Limited. Authorised and Regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority under firm reference number