If you’re looking to hire a car the next time you go abroad, you might be surprised by the incredible complexity of the insurance packages most providers will offer. However, if you do want to hit the road and explore the local (or not so local) area, you’re going to need it; even though it generally doesn’t come bundled-in with your car rental package in places like the USA, they will insist you have some cover before you drive your car off the lot. This can increase the cost of renting a car dramatically, but what’s often worse is the raft of optional policies car hire companies throw at you, including CDW and other forms of daily car hire excess insurance. What do they do? How do you know which ones are worth the money, and which ones (if any) you can afford to do without?
Most of the additional insurance policies are what’s known as daily car hire excess insurance, or supplemental liability insurance, and aim to reduce the amount you’d pay out in excess should you be involved in an accident while you’re driving a rental care. The excess on a policy is defined as the amount you’re contractually obligated to pay out towards repair bills before the insurance company takes over – an excess of, say, £200 means that you’ll pay the first £200 of any repair bill, and the insurance provider will deal with the rest. Unfortunately for those of you planning to rent a car, the excess tends to be set much higher than on your insurance policy back home, and it’s not uncommon to see excesses in the region of £800-1000, or even more. Purchasing daily car hire excess insurance, normally in the form of what’s known as a collision damage waiver policy, will allow you to cut down this excess (although, unless it’s a more expensive ‘Super CDW’ policy, it’s unlikely it will be able to remove your excess completely). However, these additional policies are often in the region of a couple of pounds a day on top of your standard car hire price, and so could end up costing you a not insubstantial amount of money that could be better spent on the business of your holiday – namely enjoying yourself.
One alternative to paying the inflated over the counter prices is to buy online. Checking around the internet for bargains on your insurance is just as valid for car rental cover as it is for anything else, and could save you a good deal of money. While it’s possible to get annual cover (where you’ll be covered on all hire cars you rent for twelve months in return for one payment), you might find it cheaper to still order day by day cover for the amount of time you plan on renting a car for, especially if you don’t plan on travelling abroad or renting a car more than once in that period.
Whatever you choose, daily car hire excess insurance can help put your mind at rest regarding your rental car excess, and let you focus on having fun on your holiday, knowing that you won’t find yourself liable for a huge bill should the car you’re driving be involved in some kind of accident while it’s signed into your name.