If you’re hiring a car, car rental excess insurance is a must-have. You’ll be protected against the hefty excess that insurance companies can charge and fully covered if the worst happens and your hire car gets damaged.
Deciding what policy you need shouldn’t be too complicated if you follow these tips.
Annual or single trip: what’s best for me?
Getting the best car hire excess insurance for your trip depends on three factors – the length of your stay, the country to which you’re travelling and how often you use a hire car.
If you hire a car for a few days or up to two weeks in Europe or the USA on an infrequent basis, you’ll be better off with a single trip policy that gives you cover from just a few pounds a day.
If you’re looking to hire a car for a longer period, or you take multiple trips for business or leisure, then an annual policy is likely to make sense. This is usually the most cost-effective way to cover yourself each time you hire a car. Even if you’re taking one long trip, an annual policy generally works out cheaper and offers different levels of cover.
If you’re renting vehicles in different regions, it can be a little more complicated, because policies tend to cover trips to either Europe or Worldwide. In general, you’ll need a higher level of cover for trips to the USA so it may be better to buy standalone policies depending on the length of your trip.
Another obvious benefit of an annual multi-trip policy is that you won’t need to take out a new policy every time you travel. Just run your comparison search on Excess Buddy to find the most suitable cover for your next car rental and you’re good to go.
What is car rental excess cover?
When you hire a car, your rental company will cover you for major damage or even writing off the vehicle. But the trick is to top up that insurance with a much better deal from an independent insurer so that you don’t end up paying a huge excess. Instead, you’ll claim it back from your insurance policy.
The excess on your car hire can run into thousands of pounds so taking out a low-cost car hire excess policy makes sense. Of course, your rental company will try and hard sell you a top-up policy at the desk, but don’t feel obliged to take it – you’ll usually find that their policy costs more and covers less than policies from independent insurers.
Don’t fall for the rental car insurance scam
Apart from the price, the major problem with buying a car hire excess policy from the rental company is the lack of cover. Their policy is unlikely to cover wheels, tyres, mirrors, the interior or the undercarriage of your rental car and they’re often the areas most vulnerable to damage.
If the rental company refuses to accept your independent policy, ask them to make that statement in writing and you’ll probably find they’ll soon back down. But you’ll routinely find that the rental company has ringfenced a sum of money on your credit card to cover any excess – another great reason to get your own low-cost policy sorted before you travel.
Getting the best deal on your car rental excess insurance
Just a few minutes on a specialist insurance comparison site such as Excess Buddy will help you to secure a policy that not only costs less but goes far beyond the cover offered by the rental firms.
Before you commit to a single trip or annual car hire excess policy, check the terms and conditions to make sure you’re getting the cover you need. At Excess Buddy we make the process as simple as possible, so why not start your search today for the best annual or single trip cover around.