Single-trip Car Hire Excess Insurance from £12.79.
Price shown is for EU & UK cover for trips up to 3 days, additional days can be added as required (charges apply).
Based on reviews of all products
What is a car hire ‘excess’?
The excess on a rental vehicle is simply known as the 'excess' or 'deductible' amount. It's a fixed single price that you would have to pay to the rental company in the event that you need to make a claim. Your car rental company will have the core car insurance in place on your hire car, but excess fees will be your responsibility.
For example, if you hire a car and it's damaged or stolen, you'll be responsible for paying a certain amount towards repairing or replacing it. There is a limit to how much car hire excess you'll need to pay, and the rest of the claim will be covered by the hire company's insurance.
Let's say that a car hire agreement asks for an excess of £1,000, you have an accident and the price to repair the damage is £3,000. You'd need to pay the £1,000 excess fee and your rental firm would pay the remaining £2,000.
What is Car Hire Excess Insurance?
In the event that you have an accident, or you need to pay towards the damage on your rental car, having Car Hire Excess Insurance in place means that you'll be able to claim back the excess cost.
While you'll initially have to pay towards the claim, the excess insurance means that you'll be reimbursed up to your maximum cover amount, which you'd not get back otherwise.
Car Hire Excess Insurance is designed to protect you from pricey excess charges should you run into the unexpected. Our Car Hire Excess Insurance also provides cover for hired cars from car clubs and rental companies.
How it works
You hire a car and get Car Hire Excess Insurance. You agree to pay a £1,000 excess fee if it is stolen or damaged.
The car gets damaged, and the cost to repair it is £3,000. You pay the £1,000 excess fee you agree to, and the car hire company pays the remaining £2,000.
Because you have Car Hire Excess Insurance in place, you can claim back your £1,000.
Please note this is just an example scenario, excess charges and repair fees will vary depending on the hire company and the situation.
What types of Car Hire Excess Insurance are there?
UK & EU Car Hire Excess Insurance
Unlimited multi-trip annual cover for UK car hire or EU car hire, under one simple policy.
Annual UK & EU Car Hire Excess insurance from £46.99 a year.
Worldwide Car Hire Excess Insurance
Excess cover for single & multi-trip policies, for any country in the world, with only a few exceptions.
Annual Worldwide Car Hire Excess Insurance from £59.99 a year
Van Hire Excess Insurance
Excess cover for when you hire a van, with flexible rental periods of up to 60 consecutive days.
Van Hire Excess Insurance from £10.99 per day, non-commercial single trips.
insurance4carhire's Excess Insurance options in more detail
All our insurance4carhire Excess Insurance policies are self-service, which gives you the freedom to access, manage and claim whenever you need to, via the insurance4carhire account area. Need assistance? Get in touch with us via Live Chat.
Whether you're hiring a car in the UK for a staycation or work trip, or maybe hiring a car in Europe for a road trip, don't take chances on expensive excess costs. Our Car Hire Excess Insurance can reimburse your excess costs of up to £6,500 and provide cover for up to seven additional drivers named on a rental agreement.
What are the cover options? For UK car hire, choose from our single trip cover for up to 60 days, or our annual multi-trip cover that's valid for 12 months. And for your European road trip plans, choose from our single trip or annual multi-trip cover, which can be taken out up to 365 days in advance.
Our UK & EU cover includes misfuelling, car key and flat battery cover, each up to £500 per claim and to a maximum of £2,000 per policy period.
While we cover you for both UK & EU cover in one simple policy, you can read about the UK or the EU elements of the cover separately in more detail:
Worldwide Car Hire Excess Insurance
Protect your finances wherever you’re planning to rent a car with our Worldwide Car Hire Excess Insurance. Whether you’re going on a single trip or need annual cover, you can claim back your excess from the insurer up to a total of £6,500.
We’ll also provide cover for up to seven additional drivers named on the rental agreement.
Some rentals won’t always offer you Collision Damage Waiver (CDW) and Supplemental Liability Insurance (SLI), but with our Worldwide
Car Hire Excess Insurance plus CDW and SLI policy, you’ll get:
- Excess insurance
- Collision Damage Waiver insurance – This provides cover following serious damage to the rental vehicle for up: to US $100,000; the value of the rental vehicle; or the value of the claim (whichever is lesser).
- Supplemental Liability Insurance – This covers you for up to $500 ,000, or up to $250,000 in the US if state law deems this policy to provide primary liability coverage, if you become legally liable to pay claims made by a third party resulting from accident or injury.
Learn more about Worldwide Car Hire Excess Insurance
Van Hire Excess Insurance
Damage on a rental van can be expensive to repair. We’ll see that the excess you have paid is reimbursed up to a maximum of £6,500 with Van Hire Excess Insurance. It’s available as daily cover for single trips and only for UK and Isle of Man customers.
Learn more about Van Hire Excess Insurance
Why consider insurance4carhire at Swinton when taking out car hire excess cover?
Here are just a few of the benefits of choosing us for your car excess insurance:- Excess insurance – If you’re renting a car, we’ll claim back excess costs of up to £6,500 if your hire car is damaged or stolen.
- Cover rentals for up to 60 consecutive days – We’ll cover you for up to 60 continuous days.
- Cover for drivers aged 21 to 84 inclusive – All insured drivers between 21 and 84 years old are eligible for excess insurance.
- Cover for residents in the UK and Isle of Man – We offer both single and annual multi-car cover for insured residents in the UK and Isle of Man.
- European cover – Our UK & EU policy offers annual unlimited multi-trip cover for rentals within Europe, as well as the UK, all in one single policy.
- Flexible worldwide cover – We provide cover for single or annual worldwide trips, with an Annual Worldwide Plus Collision Damage Waiver & Supplemental Liability Insurance option that provides CDW and SLI cover when not provided by the hire firm.
- Fire, theft, and vandalism cover – We’ll cover you for damage resulting from fire, vandalism, accidents, and theft.
- Tyres and windscreen cover – Provides reimbursement of the repair or replacement costs incurred under the rental agreement for damage to the windows, tyres, wheels, undercarriage, and roof of the rental vehicle.
- Misfuelling and key cover – We offer up to £500 for each, per claim, and up to £2,000 per policy period.
- Personal effects and baggage cover – This includes loss or damage to baggage and personal effects that result from theft or attempted theft. We’ll cover you for up to £150 per single item and up to a maximum of £300 for any one claim.
- Self-service – Access your policy documents, make changes, and claim via your insurance4carhire account, whenever suits you.
Just four simple steps to arrange a Car Hire Excess Insurance quote
Other types of excess insurance
Lifestyle Excess Insurance
Lifestyle Excess Insurance is an insurance policy that repays you for excess charges that you’ve paid following a claim under a:
For more information about this insurance, read all about our Lifestyle Excess Insurance here.
Motor Excess Insurance
Motor Excess Insurance, or excess waiver insurance, is essentially the same as Car Hire Excess Insurance, but for non-hire cars - therefore a car that you own. It's a policy that provides reimbursement for excess charges that you'd pay if you make a claim on your motor (car) insurance.
Taking out Motor Excess Insurance on top of a core car insurance policy means that you'll be reimbursed the cost of the excess incurred from a damage or loss claim.
Interested in purchasing Motor Excess
Insurance? Read all about Motor Excess Insurance here for more information.
When you take out motor
insurance, you may have to agree to a total excess amount which is how much you will need to pay towards any claims made on your insurance. The total excess cost is made up of a compulsory and voluntary figure rather than a single
excess amount.
What's the difference between compulsory and voluntary excess?
Compulsory Excess
The compulsory excess figure is the amount set by your insurer that you'll have to pay when you make your claim.
It's non-negotiable and can be set higher for new or younger drivers as insurers consider them to be more at risk of an accident. More expensive vehicles may also have a higher compulsory excess.
Voluntary Excess
The voluntary excess is the amount you agree to pay, on top of the compulsory excess, if you wish to make a claim.
Unlike compulsory excess, you can choose how much you want to pay towards your voluntary excess. Some may opt to set a higher voluntary excess as it can cause the overall price of the insurance premium to go down. However, most insurance providers will have a minimum and maximum voluntary excess limit.
Frequently asked questions about Car Hire Excess Insurance
Our Car Hire Excess Insurance is only available for UK and Isle of Man residents. If you’re an EU resident looking for Car Hire Excess Insurance, visit Insurance4CarHire EU for a quote.
The amount of your car hire excess will vary depending on a few factors. These include the rental company, the type of vehicle you’re hiring, and where you’ll be driving the vehicle.
If you’re worried about being able to pay towards a claim, having protection in place to reimburse your excess charges can be useful. Car Hire Excess Insurance with insurance4carhire at Swinton can help to put your mind at ease as we’ll reimburse excess costs of up to £6,500.
Travel insurance policies differ between providers and are designed to stand up against many of the risks that could take place while abroad. While it may offer cover for medical expenses, personal injury, and lost personal possessions, it might not cover hire car excess.
It’s always best to check with a travel insurance provider whether their policy covers car hire excess.
It’s always best to check with a travel insurance provider whether their policy covers car hire excess.
Usually, your car hire insurer will request that the excess is paid immediately at the start of a claim. They will then open an investigation to determine who was at fault for the damage.
Cases will vary, but you will most likely have to pay the excess for any damage – regardless of who was at fault. The excess may be waived if a third-party insurer takes liability for the damage, but this can be different across providers and by country.
A Collision Damage Waiver, also known as a Loss Damage Waiver (LDW), is a type of insurance that covers rental vehicles in the event of damage or theft. A CDW will often have its own excess charge.
While many rental companies will include CDW as part of their offering, it’s not always guaranteed. If you hire a car without CDW, you could be liable to pay for the full cost of the vehicle.
Taking out an insurance4carhire at Swinton Worldwide Car Hire Excess Insurance plus Collision Damage Waiver & Supplemental Liability Insurance policy will cover you for up to $100,000 – or the value of the rental vehicle, or the value of the claim (whichever is lesser) – for damage to your rental car.
Supplemental Liability Insurance is a form of insurance that protects the driver and passengers from third-party claims. For example, in the event of an accident, SLI will cover the driver against any third-party claims for injuries or damage.
Not all car rental companies will offer SLI. Our Worldwide Car Hire Excess Insurance plus CDW & SLI policy includes cover for both Supplemental Liability Insurance and Collision Damage Waiver.
Our Van Hire Excess Insurance provides cover for non-commercial van rentals in the UK and the Isle of Man. If an accident results in damage or loss, our reimbursement policy means that you can claim back your excess amount of up to £6,500 if you’ve had to pay towards a claim with your rental company.