Cheap hire car excess insurance
If you are hiring a car, chances are you'll be offered insurance - usually when you're at the desk and in the process of signing forms and waiting for keys. Many staff at hire car firms earn commission on selling extra insurance so you may often be in for a hard sell. But you do not need to take the insurance they are offering.
Do I need extra insurance?
It’s impossible to hire a car without insurance. When you walk into a car hire location or book online, the price you are quoted will include insurance - no car hire firm will hand over the keys without it.
The important point is that car hire companies will try to get you to buy their own additional insurance. If you don’t take out their policy, you normally have to leave a large deposit and any damage will be taken out of that deposit.
This is usually given as the insurance excess, which can be anything from £500 to £2000 or more. It’s not a surprise then that many people take this option, as they would rather pay a little extra for each day of hire and avoid the large deposit.
You are not obliged to take this ‘extra’ insurance from the car hire company. Depending on the company, they may suggest it is essential, or recommended, or even try to scare you with the prospect of big bills if there is any damage - but you are under no obligation to take it.
Instead you can organise your own for a lot less. Here's how much it should cost.
BigBlueCover
By far the cheapest excess insurance cover we've found, BigBlueCover covers you for up to £500 for replacing a lost or stolen key and £500 for putting the wrong type of fuel into your hire car.
How much does BigBlueCover insurance cost?
Daily car hire cover starts at just £1.90 a day which is remarkably cheap. Even worldwide cover is only £3.21 making this the best value we've seen.
| Policy |
Maximum cover
|
Maximum hire period |
Cost (Europe) |
Cost (worldwide) |
|
Daily Car Hire
|
£7500
|
180 days
|
£1.90 |
£3.21 a day |
|
Annual Car Hire
|
£7500
|
62 days
|
£42.50 a year |
£52.00 a year |
Direct Car Excess Insurance
A company that does what it says on the tin, direct car excess insurance includes damage to tyres, the windscreen and the undercarriage, theft of secured baggage and rental key replacement costs. Any driver aged 21 to 85 is covered with no change in price.
How much does Direct Car Excess Insurance cover cost?
Daily car hire cover starts at £2.90 a day for cover in Europe while if you want worldwide cover it is £3.99 a day. Both have a maximum cover of £10,000.
| Policy |
Maximum cover
|
Maximum hire period |
Cost (Europe) |
Cost (worldwide) |
|
Daily Car Hire
|
£6000
|
180 days
|
£2.90* a day |
£3.99* a day |
|
Annual Car Hire
|
£6000
|
31 days
|
£44.99* a year |
£54.99* a year |
Questor Insurance
Questor Insurance provides its own cover as well as partnering with Confused.com. The annual policy covers you for unlimited rentals, with an annual aggregate limit of £10,000. There is the option to increase the cover £75,000 with full collision damage waiver. Drivers must be between 21 and 84.
How much does Questor cover cost?
Daily car hire cover starts at £2.99 a day while if you want annual cover it starts at £44.99. You can upgrade to worldwide annual cover for £54.99.
| Policy |
Maximum cover
|
Maximum hire period |
Cost (Europe) |
Cost (worldwide) |
|
Daily Car Hire
|
£10000
|
180 days
|
£2.99* a day |
£3.99* a day |
|
Annual Car Hire
|
£10000
|
31 days
|
£44.99* a year |
£54.99* a year |
Insurance4carhire
Insurance4carhire offers excess insurance for car and van rentals for up to 60 consecutive days and covers drivers aged from 21 to 85. It offers various packages including joint cover and annual and daily policies.
How much does Insurance4carhire cover cost?
Daily car hire cover starts at £4.49 a day while if you want annual cover (for no more than 60 consecutive days) it starts at £44.99.
| Policy |
Maximum cover
|
Maximum hire period |
Cost (Europe) |
Cost (worldwide) |
|
Daily Car Hire
|
£6500
|
62 days
|
£4.49 a day |
£4.49 a day |
|
Annual Car Hire
|
£6500
|
60 days
|
£44.99 a year |
£59.99 a year |
insurefor.com
Usually specialising in travel insurance, insurefor.com also offers hire car excess insurance with excess reimbursement up to £10000. This covers keys, misfuelling and if you have your bags stolen.
How much does insurefor.com cover cost?
Daily car hire cover starts at around £5 a day for European cover while upping that to worldwide cover is still a reasonable £7.50 a day.
| Policy |
Maximum cover
|
Maximum hire period |
Cost (Europe) |
Cost (worldwide) |
|
Daily Car Hire
|
£10000
|
180 days
|
£5.16 a day |
£7.50 a day |
|
Annual Car Hire
|
£10000
|
62 days
|
£44.50 a year |
£54.00 a year |
Confused.com
It may be better known as a price comparison site, but Confused.com also offers car hire insurance in partnership with Questor Insurance. It covers drivers aged 21 to 84 and includes excess reimbursement, tyres, windscreen and underbody, towing, keys and misfuelling, baggage and personal accident.
How much does Confused.com cover cost?
Daily car hire cover starts at £5.98 a day for UK and Europe while if you want annual cover it starts at £41.99. Both have a maximum cover of £10,000.
| Policy |
Maximum cover
|
Maximum hire period |
Cost (Europe) |
Cost (worldwide) |
|
Daily Car Hire
|
£10000
|
180 days
|
£5.98 a day |
£7.97 a day |
|
Annual Car Hire
|
£10000
|
31 days
|
£41.99 a year |
£52.49 a year |
CarHireExcess.com
CarHireExcess has cover of up to £7500 and includes fire, theft and vandalism, tyres and windscreen, keys and undercarriage plus personal possessions cover. It covers drivers from 21 to 84 years. You can include up to five additional drivers as long as they are also named as a driver on the rental agreement.
How much does CarHireExcess cover cost?
Daily car hire cover starts at £7.99 a day for European cover but worldwide cover is actually cheaper at £5.99.
| Policy |
Maximum cover
|
Maximum hire period |
Cost (Europe) |
Cost (worldwide) |
|
Daily Car Hire
|
£7500
|
180 days
|
£7.99 a day |
£5.99 a day |
|
Annual Car Hire
|
£7500
|
62 days
|
£41.99 a year |
£52.99 a year |
Eversure
It may be better known for breakdown cover, but Eversure also offers various insurance products including car hire excess. Maximum cover is £5000, which is lower than many, while personal possessions are covered for £300. As with other cover, drivers must be aged between 21 and 84.
How much does Eversure cover cost?
Daily car hire cover starts at £9.96 a day for European cover, one of the more expensive here. If you want the same cover annually, the price is £42.80.
| Policy |
Maximum cover
|
Maximum hire period |
Cost (Europe) |
Cost (worldwide) |
|
Daily Car Hire
|
£5000
|
180 days
|
£9.96* a day |
£10.16* a day |
|
Annual Car Hire
|
£5000
|
31 days
|
£42.80* a year |
£47.02* a year |
ReduceMyExcess
ReduceMyExcess offers standard cover of up to £7000 per claim and covers cars up to nine seats and a purchase value of up to £65,000. Drivers must be aged between 21 to 84.
How much does ReduceMyExcess cover cost?
Daily car hire cover starts at £10.76 a day while if you want annual cover for Europe it's £45.39 a year.
| Policy |
Maximum cover
|
Maximum hire period |
Cost (Europe) |
Cost (worldwide) |
|
Daily Car Hire
|
£7000
|
31 days
|
£10.76 a day |
£12.04 a day |
|
Annual Car Hire
|
£7000
|
31 days
|
£45.39 a year |
£54.50 a year |
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