European Car Hire Excess Insurance

What is European Car Hire Excess Insurance?

Car Hire Excess Insurance covers the costs of your excess up to your cover limit if you need to make an insurance claim on a hired car. Whereas on a standard hire car insurance policy you might need to pay a specified amount towards your claim — which can sometimes be hundreds of pounds — insuring your excess means that you’ll be reimbursed for the excess you’ve paid.

When you choose European Car Hire Excess Insurance with insurance4carhire at Swinton, you’ll be covered for claims you make while driving a rental car in Europe, in countries like Germany, Spain, and France. You’ll also be covered in some non-mainland countries like Iceland.

While rental car providers might attempt to sell you car hire excess insurance directly from them, you could get it cheaper by buying your cover up to 364 days in advance with insurance4carhire at Swinton instead.

What’s covered by insurance4carhire at Swinton European Car Hire Excess Insurance?

• Excesses of up to £6,500 — The excess on damage and theft up to a maximum of £6,500 cover in total, per year.
• A wide age range — Cover for drivers aged between 21 and 84.
• Additional drivers — Cover for up to seven additional drivers, and there’s no need to add them to your rental policy as long as they’re named in your rental agreement.
• 60-day rental periods — Covers excesses on claims made during rental periods of up to 60 consecutive days.
• Misfuelling and car key cover — Each up to £500 per claim to a maximum total of £2,000 a year.
• Late pick-up charges — Cover for late pick-up charges caused by unexpected flight delays.
• Excess cover for your courtesy car — Covers excess charges on any vehicle that’s loaned to you while your rental car is being repaired, or when your own car is in the garage and you’re given a courtesy car.
• Fire, theft, and vandalism cover — Covers the excess of claims relating to fires, theft, and malicious damage.
• 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.
• Personal effects and baggage cover — Cover for claims made on personal effects and baggage stolen from your hire car.

What’s not covered?

• Car rentals where the car hire excess insurance policyholder is not the lead driver on the rental agreement.
• Policies purchased after the collection of your rental vehicle.
• Cars worth more than £120,000 or over 10 years old.
• Claims relating to off-road driving.
• Commercial vehicles, motorbikes, camper vans, mobile homes, vans, or any vehicle with more than nine seats. Visit our Van Hire Excess Insurance page for non-commercial van hire cover.
• Collision Damage Waiver (CDW) or Supplemental Liability Insurance (SLI). Most rental agreements in Europe already include these. However, we do offer CDW and SLI as an optional add-on to our Worldwide Car Hire Excess Insurance.

In which countries is my excess covered with an insurance4carhire at Swinton European Car Hire Excess Insurance policy?

insurance4carhire at Swinton Car Hire Excess Insurance provides cover for all European countries to the West of the Ural Mountains. Along with mainland European countries — like Germany, France, and Spain — this also includes:

• The United Kingdom
• The Channel Islands
• Isle of Man
• Republic of Ireland
• Iceland
• The Mediterranean islands
• Morocco
• Tunisia
• Turkey
• The Canary Islands
• Madeira
• The Azores

However, we cannot provide cover for:

• The Region of Crimea
• The Donetsk People’s Republic (DNR) region of Ukraine
• The Luhansk People’s Republic (LNR) region of Ukraine
  

We will not provide cover for claims arising from any areas to which the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) has advised against all but essential travel. 

Up to date advice can be found on the FCO’s website.

Single-trip vs Annual multi-trip policies

When you choose European Car Hire Excess Insurance with insurance4carhire at Swinton, there are two types of policy you can select from:

• Single-trip policies — Covers you for a single trip, for up to 60 days at a time. Ideal if you’re only renting a car once or twice in a year.
• Annual multi-trip policies — If you often travel and use rental cars, an annual multi-trip policy could be more cost-effective for you in the long run. It covers multiple individual trips for up to 60 days at a time in Europe, per year at a fixed cost.

What other types of Car Hire Excess Insurance are available from insurance4carhire at Swinton?

UK Car Hire Excess Insurance

Get reimbursed on excess charges of up to £6,500 on our annual multi-trip cover for trips in the UK, valid for 12 months. Includes misfuelling, car key, and flat battery cover.

Learn more about UK Car Hire Excess Insurance 

Worldwide Car Hire Excess Insurance

Going further abroad than Europe? Stay covered with our Worldwide Car Hire Excess Insurance, which repays your excess up to a total of £6,500 on trips to Asia, North America, and more.

In some countries like the USA and Canada, you may not get the same cover on your rental car policy that you would in the UK or in Europe. 

You can get greater peace of mind with a Collision Damage Waiver (CDW) and Supplemental Liability Insurance (SLI), available on our Worldwide Car Hire Excess Insurance Plus CDW & SLI policy.

Learn more about Worldwide Car Hire Excess Insurance

Van Hire Excess Insurance

Hiring a van instead of a car? Get daily cover for single trips in the UK and the Isle of Man with insuremyvanhire at Swinton’s Van Hire Excess Insurance.

Learn more about Van Hire Excess Insurance

Why choose insurance4carhire at Swinton to insure your car hire excess?

• A high level of cover — Cover excess up to the value of £6,500 in total per year.
• Multiple drivers — Cover up to seven additional drivers named on your rental agreement.
• Extensive rental periods — Stay covered for longer rental periods of up to 60 consecutive days.
• Cover for multiple scenarios — Includes cover for misfuelling, car keys, flat batteries, and even late pick-up charges you incur due to delayed flights.

Frequently asked questions about European Car Hire Excess Insurance