It is perfectly natural to assume that the insurance policy purchased alongside your hired car provides full financial coverage if anything goes wrong - this is not always the case! Your initial car hire insurance may include cover for personal theft and accidents, but it is likely that you are not covered if your rental car is subject to damage or stolen. Should the worst happen, without additional car hire excess insurance you will be faced with a large excess to pay towards repair costs - so it's better to spend a small amount of your pre-holiday budget than take a chunk out of your spending money.
Do I need a car hire excess insurance policy?
Your car hire excess insurance is an additional form of cover to your initial car hire fee, it is important that you purchase a car hire excess policy so you can avoid paying out for any excess should an accident occur. By doing so, we can swoop in and cover the costs for any loss, damage or theft to your vehicle.
With great prices starting from only £3.99 per day, you can purchase an excess waiver and we can provide continual cover for up to 60 days. If you travel frequently you can purchase our annual policy providing cover for an unlimited amount of trips of up to 60 days each.
What is covered under my policy?
Our car hire excess insurance policy provides cover for:
- Windscreen, tyres and the under body of your rented car. Covering all the parts of the car your rental company may not!
- Car rental key cover. Any lost keys will be covered by your policy and we'll make sure they're replaced including locksmith charges.
- Excess reimbursement limit.We'll cover any excess payments deducted by the rental company should an accident occur.
- Misfueling cover. It happens to the best of us... but not to worry, we'll provide cover for engine cleaning and towing services.
How do I book?
Our online booking system is easy and quick to use.
- 1 Simply fill in our car hire insurance form to the left of this page.
- 2 Choose your single trip or annual trip policy.
- 3 Complete your booking by making your payment.
Before finalising your payment you will be provided with a breakdown of your policy, but we always recommend our customers to read over their policy wording to make sure you fully understand the insurance cover for your car hire excess.
You can also call our UK based friendly call centre to make your booking.
Remember: Our excess policy does not act as a replacement for your hire car insurance. It is an addition to your regular insurance policy that you will buy alongside your rental agreement - it may even be included in the rental price so it is worth shopping around!
It is also important to ensure that the policy with your car rental company does not already include car hire excess insurance. Unfortunately, some companies aren't always clear about what is covered under their insurance and it can be very expensive - so it pays to be wise about the small print!
TopAnnual car hire excess waiver insurance
At Holiday Extras, we have a great solution for our regular travellers. If you travel with a hired car at least twice throughout the year then it makes sense to purchase an annual excess insurance policy. Through one simple payment of £38.99*, you don't need to worry about paying out for an unexpected excess - so you can save both time and money to be spent on enjoying your trips!
Making the most of your annual hire car excess insurance policy
The biggest advantage to purchasing an annual policy is for just 10p a day, we'll cover your excess for all of your trips this year. It is important to ensure that each trip does not exceed 60 days so that in the event of a loss, damage or theft, you are entitled to an excess waiver and we'll be ready to pick up the bill every time you travel.
UK, Europe and Worldwide cover
*The price of your annual policy can alter slightly depending on whether you plan to travel across Europe or Worldwide.
Based on one 22 year-old lead driver, an annual policy providing cover for multiple trips to Europe will cost as little as £38.99 per year. An annual-trip policy applicable Worldwide offers fully comprehensive cover for only £49.99 for 12 months.
Insurance for Car Hire Excess Definitions
All this talk about excess, policies and insurance can get confusing, so it is important to stay savvy with everything your policy includes and excludes. To do so can impact on how much you should be paying, or more importantly, how much you could be saving! With this in mind, we've provided some definitions to simplify the terms used in car hire excess insurance jargon.
Excess Reimbursement Insurance (ERI):
If your rental car suffers any damage, the insurance excess is the amount you are expected to pay towards the repair costs. The ERI means that you will be repaid for any of these excess costs under the terms of the rental agreement.
Please note: applies to UK and Europe cover only.
Loss Damage Waiver (LDW):
Providing essentially the same as above but available to our customers travelling to the USA; you will be reimbursed any payments of excess should the rented vehicle be damaged or stolen.
Collision Damage Waiver (CDW):
Sometimes confused with LDW but it actually offers slightly less coverage, so it is important to check if it is already included in your rental car price. It will provide cover for some damage to your vehicle but not necessarily in the case of fire or damage to the windscreen.
Lock out cover:
Should you be locked out of your vehicle, we'll make sure that the locksmith heading your way is covered by us.
Car Hire Excess Waiver Insurance
We want to make sure you fully understand your car hire excess insurance policy, so we hope these terms have helped. If there is anything else you are unsure about regarding your car hire excess waiver then you are more than welcome to contact us via our free and friendly UK based call centre.