Understanding what insurance is included and what is excluded is often the most difficult aspect of hiring a car, so let’s make it simple. Your car hire usually comes with inclusive insurance to cover three areas:

LDW/CDW (Loss/Collision Damage Waiver) – to cover damage to the car.
TP (Theft Protection) – to cover the car, or part of the car, if it is stolen or damaged during an attempted theft.
Liability/SLI (Third Party Liability) – the minimum cover that’s mandatory in most countries

HOWEVER, on the Damage and Theft portions, the insurance is only reducing what you are personally liable for, and there is often an excess to pay in the event of having to make a claim. In Europe this can be a few hundred pounds. In other countries it can be as much as £1500.

The final point to make clear is that windows, tyres, the roof and the undercarriage of the car are usually excluded (i.e. not covered). These are the parts of the car most prone to damage and often not covered by the car hire company’s insurance.

There are a few options to reduce your excess to zero:

Super CDW:  A top up policy from the car rental company itself, usually payable when you arrive at the counter to collect the car. This can cost up to £15 per day and often excludes cover for damage to the windows, tyres, roof and the undercarriage of the car.

Damage Excess Waiver (DEW):  Holiday Autos, which is the biggest broker in the UK, charges £2.50 per day, at the time of writing, for its zero excess policy making it considerably cheaper than buying cover directly from the car hire companies. However, it does not cover damage to the windows, tyres, undercarriage and the roof of the car.

Excess Insurance:  There are a number of businesses which focus on just selling insurance to reduce the excess to zero. You can take a daily policy or, if you are travelling and hiring a car more frequently, an annual excess policy. www.carhireinsure.com offers both of these policies – only £4.75 for the daily policy and annual policies from £49. These will cover all named drivers on the car hire agreement plus any damage to the roof, windows, tyres and undercarriage of the car. Companies like carhireinsure.com (who have written the article you are now reading) are often a cheaper alternative and if you rent cars a few times a year then their annual policies prove very cost effective.

>> Next Page

<< Previous Page

 Print This Page