Renting a car is a great way to see the world when you’re on your holiday. Whether you’re cruising through the States, driving around Europe to soak up a bit of culture or just trying to make it as easy as possible to catch all of the theme parks in Orlando, it can make your holiday so much easier – after all, it’s often much less complicated than alien public transport systems, is faster and less tiring than walking and can save you a fortune compared to taxi fares. However, if you’re going to rent a car, you’re going to need to make sure you’re properly insured against damage or theft, or any little bump or scratch you receive could turn into the beginnings of a surprisingly expensive nightmare.
Car insurance for rental cars works in very much the same way as it does for non-rented vehicles, with the exception that the excess is generally much higher – often in the region of several hundred pounds or more. This means that, should you be involved in an accident of some description, you’re liable for much more of the repair bill than you would be otherwise; if, for example, your excess is £400, you’ll pay the first £400 of any repair bill before the insurance company pays even a penny towards it. While this might be useful if you write the car off completely, it still leaves you open to a great deal of expense for minor repair jobs.
The alternative to this is to buy optional cover, known as a Collision Damage Waiver, or CDW. The aim of a Collision Damage Waiver is to lower your excess, in order to prevent you from having to pay out quite so much in the event of an accident. This is generally quite a costly additional premium, but the more you pay, the lower your excess will generally become; a ‘Super CDW’ or ‘Super Collision Damage Waiver’ policy is likely to completely remove any possible excess, leaving the insurance provider to pay for the whole repair bill (should you not be found to have been driving negligently), but can prove very expensive.
An alternative to paying for your collision damage waiver at the rental counter is to pre-book it before you even get to your destination. There are a great many online companies and services that will allow you to do this, either on a day by day basis (where you take out cover for the specific length of time you plan on hiring the car) or as an annual policy. While the annual policy route may sound more expensive, it’s generally not priced at very much higher than other periods of cover, and so can be well worth it if you’re planning on renting more than one car abroad during the year. Either way, you can expect booking your collision damage waiver online to cost much less than getting it over the counter at the car rental outlet, giving you more money – and time – to spend enjoying yourself once you get to your destination.
Tags: Collision Damage Waiver