Car Hire Excess Insurance

Rental car excess insurance available from as little as £1.99 a day compared to £10 or more with a car rental agency. 

At Start Rescue, we believe that our breakdown cover provides peace of mind when driving your vehicle in the UK and Europe.

But if you hire a car when you’re away on holiday or business, you also need that peace of mind through car hire excess insurance.

For such car hire insurance, we’ve partnered with Bettersafe, providers of a great value car hire excess insurance policy offering.

Doesn't my car hire car insurance cover my excess?

When you rent a vehicle in most countries the hire cost will include some form of insurance.

However, for car hire companies to keep their costs down that insurance will usually come with a hefty excess against it. - This amount is often far higher than the cost of renting the car in the first place, sometimes as high as £2,000!

There is normally an option to upgrade your insurance policy from the basic cover offered, to a car hire insurance policy which also covers the excess.

Which car hire excess insurance option should I choose – Through the rental company or through a third-party provider?

Opting for rental car excess insurance via the car hire company is almost always significantly more expensive than purchasing an excess insurance policy through a third party. 

What is car hire excess insurance and what is excess waiver insurance for hire cars?

When you hire a car the rental agency will often try to sell you car excess insurance also known as excess waiver insurance.

But what is car hire excess insurance?

This additional car hire insurance cover can protect you from the excess costs that you are required to pay if your hire car is damaged or stolen.

Do I need rental car excess insurance?

Although not a legal requirement, adding excess insurance to car hire policies can save you money in the event of an accident.

Does car hire excess insurance cover theft?

Aside from saving you money in the event of an accident, excess insurance will also protect you against theft.

What are the disadvantages of car hire excess insurance through the rental company?

The car insurance excess charge applied by the hire company can run up to over £10 a day!

What’s more, you could be open to large costs if a dispute were to happen, which is why we think purchasing car hire excess insurance in advance from an independent provider makes a lot of sense for many vehicle hirers.

What are the benefits of purchasing your car excess insurance separately from your hire car?

Some of the benefits of purchasing your car excess insurance separately from your hire car are:

• Low cost car hire insurance to cover your excess from as little as £1.99 a day versus £10 or more with a car rental agency
• Up to £6,000, any one claim and in aggregate, for an excess claim
• Damage to car, theft, lost keys, miss-fuelling, road rage, lockout, reparation, car-jacking all covered
• Worldwide car excess insurance cover including UK rentals
• Up to $100,000 collision damage waiver and $1,000,000 supplemental liability insurance
• Cover for up to 8 drivers
• Peace of mind

Is car hire excess insurance worth it?

Wondering ‘is it worth buying car hire excess insurance?’

Here we will explain exactly how car hire excess insurance works, and demonstrate how having this type of car hire insurance in place could save you money...

How does car hire excess insurance work?

As an example, your excess with the car rental company is £500 and, due to damage to the hire car, you need to make a claim.

With car hire excess insurance you will pay the rental company £500 and they pay the remaining cost of the claim.

Without excess insurance for car hire

To put into context how car hire excess insurance works, if you were to have an accident or cause damage when driving a hire car, it could end up being a costly expense that you weren’t bargaining on.

For example, you have an accident that causes £900 in repair costs. Your excess with the car rental company is £500 so you will have to pay the company £500 and they will pay the remaining £400.

Without car excess insurance you are liable for this cost and are unable to claim any money back.

As a result you will end up £500 worse off.

With excess insurance for car hire

The accident you have whilst driving your hire car causes £900 in repair costs.

Your excess with the car rental company is £500 so you will have to pay the company £500 and they will pay the remaining £400.

With rental car excess insurance in place, you'd then claim back the £500 you paid through your car hire excess insurance policy.

Whether that be one you have arranged directly through the car hire company or one you have arranged with a third-party car hire excess insurance provider.

So, as opposed to costing you £500, the overall charge for the accident is only what you have paid for your car excess insurance policy (which will be a lot less than £500!)

What is Collision Damage Waiver (CDW)?

Collision Damage Waiver is additional protection that limits how much a car hire company will charge for repairs.

With CDW you usually agree to an excess fee, meaning you’ll cover the cost of any repairs up to this amount.

CDW normally only applies to the car’s bodywork. In other words, if you are wondering ‘does car hire excess insurance cover scratches?’ The answer is yes, provided CDW is included, up to the agreed amount.

What parts of the car are covered by CDW?

Having a suitable car hire excess insurance policy in place will help to ensure that you are covered for the costs of damage to other parts of the car including:

• windows and mirrors
• wheels and tyres
• undercarriage
• engine
• the car’s interior

Many car hire excess insurance policies incorporate a Loss Damage Waiver (LDW) within the CDW cover of the excess insurance policy, ensuring you are covered for loss or damage.

Car Hire in the USA and Canada

When hiring a car in the USA or Canada Collision Damage Waiver (CDW), Loss Damage Waiver (LDW) and Supplemental Liability Insurance (SLI) may not be included as standard.

However, CDW and LDW are required, so you’ll need to take out a policy before you travel.

Supplemental Liability Insurance

Supplemental Liability Insurance is not mandatory but it is worth having in place as it covers the cost of any damage caused by your car, to another.

Most car rental agreements in U.S.A., Canada, The Caribbean, South and Central America only offer limited or no third party liability insurance; SLI helps to meet potentially large claims from third parties.

Car hire excess insurance policies from Bettersafe include Collision Damage Waiver), Loss Damage Waiver (LDW) and Supplemental Liability Insurance (SLI)

What types of excess insurances are there?

Bettersafe offers the following car excess insurance policies:

• Europe and UK car hire excess insurance, 
• Worldwide excluding CDW and SLI
• Worldwide including CDW and SLI

In addition, you can buy a car excess insurance policy which covers you for a single trip, or annual car hire excess insurance.

Annual car hire excess insurance is ideal if you are intending to hire a car on a number of trips overseas during the year.

So if you’re looking to rent a vehicle soon, then don’t forget your car hire excess insurance!

Once you click through to get a quote for single trip excess insurance or an annual car hire excess insurance policy,  you’ll be taken to another you’ll be taken to another page where Bettersafe will guide you through the process.

However, if you have any queries regarding car rental excess insurance, then please don’t hesitate to contact Bettersafe.

Wondering how you can save money on a rental car? Read our complete guide on saving money on rental car cost.