We provide more tailored information in these pages as there are sometimes additional factors to consider.
How We Use The Information You Give Us To Compare Policies
When you search for car hire insurance abroad we ask a number of questions designed to help us ascertain the type of policy you might need.
Where will you be renting your car?
This is important, as car hire firms in different countries tend to operate to different rules.
The standard packaged in car hire insurance in Europe includes the following:
- Collision Damage Waiver
- Theft Protection
- Third Party Insurance
Whilst it is possible to buy car hire without the first two elements it is unusual – especially if you use a European based car hire firm or broker. Just check your car rental documentation and refer back to the hiring firm if you are unsure or contact us here at MoneyMaxim.
If you tell us that you are looking for rental car insurance in Europe we will focus your search on policies which cover the excess you are responsible for, rather than the whole replacement cost of the car, as the cover provided by your rental company will cover most of the cost of a claim if your car is involved in a serious accident or is stolen.
If you select a Worldwide car hire insurance policy we then know that we need to ask you further questions, such as whether you need the Collision Damage Waiver Insurance we referred to above. More on this later.
Finally, if you choose to tell us you are renting a car in a specific country we can be more precise. This is worthwhile if one of the following circumstances apply:
- You are hiring a vehicle in a country that is outside the European Union, is at the further boundaries of Europe or borders the Mediterranean. This is because different insurers have different definitions of Europe. These vary from at one extreme EU / EEA countries only to at the other countries as far east as Russia, and countries bordering the Mediterranean such as Morocco or Israel.
- You are hiring in a country that might have been a deemed a war zone or subject to UN sanctions. Different insurers have different lists of countries where you are unhappy to cover rental vehicles – so by using a specific country search you can even find companies who will cover you for a hire car in Afghanistan!
- There are a few ‘exceptions’. We have one insurer who will not cover Iceland, Armenia, Jamaica or the Dominican Republic. If you selected the specific country we would exclude them from the results. If you were going there and tried to buy a Worldwide car hire insurance policy they would shout at you – so you would be protected from buying the wrong policy, but using the single country route would be quicker.
Should I choose an Annual Policy or a Daily one?
If you are likely to hire for less than 15 days over the next twelve months a daily car hire insurance policy will probably be best – however there are certain circumstances when its worthwhile checking different scenarios.
If, for example, you need car hire insurance in the UK for 14 days and want excess insurance in the USA for 3 days two single trip policies will probably be cheaper than an annual policy.
Our comparison service is pretty clever though – if you ask for a daily policy of 45 day we will show you annual car hire insurance policies at the top of the results chart.
This is because we offer annual policies covering trips up to 65 days – and these work out much cheaper than a 45 day single trip policy. In fact if your car rental period was 60 days you could save as much as £70 taking an annual policy rather than a 60 day single trip policy.
Why the country you normally reside in matters when you compare car hire insurance
We ask this question because different insurers have differing rules when it comes to accepting customers for car hire insurance.
Some will accept users from anywhere in the world, some just users from the UK. When you let us know which country you reside in we will exclude any policy you are not eligible to buy. Do specifically tell us which island you live on if you want car hire excess cover and are a Guernsey, Jersey or Isle of Man resident – as again some policies will cover you and some won’t
And will you be hiring a car in your own country?
This question is important because some car hire insurance companies have policies that will not cover you if you hire in your own country. The logic here is that they want to exclude those who are really, really regular hirers. Some people hire cars on a Monday to travel to work at the other end of the country, and on a Friday to get home.
They have worked out that this is cheaper than owning their own car, but to a car hire excess insurer they represent a much higher risk than the person who rents a car when they are off on holiday. Hence the reason they don’t allow their policies to be used in this way.
Taking a Worldwide policy? Then we will need to ask you more questions.
If you going beyond the boundaries of Europe there is far more difference in the cover you will be provided with when you get to the car rental desk.
We have explained the situation with European car hire excess insurance above, but what are the circumstances elsewhere in the world?
Africa and Australasian Car Hire Insurance Requirements
Almost identical to Europe – where excess insurance is what you will need. One or two car hire firms in Australia sometime have an excess on third party accidents – and you might want to cover these with a Supplementary Liability Insurance Policy – but that is fairly rare. Just check your car hire documentation and call us if you are unsure.
Asia Excess Insurance Requirements
But the same as Africa and Australasia, but in some countries including the ‘Stans (Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan etc), Vietnam and Cambodia you sometimes find that a third party excess might apply. Refer to your rental paperwork. These can be covered using a Worldwide Excess, CDW and Supplementary Liability Insurance policy.
American Car Rental Insurance Requirements
In America (that’s all parts of North and South America and the Caribbean) car hire can be booked in one of three ways
1. Booking Directly with an American Website or Car Hire Office
If you hire your car directly with an American company – either by booking directly on a American website or by walking into a Car Hire Office in the country you are visiting you will probably be offered only very basic third party. In fact in some states you might not even be offered this automatically.
This is because people who live in these countries tend to be able to transfer their normal domestic car insurance policy onto their hire car – so don’t need to purchase additional cover.
However as a non American you can now make the choice – either to buy this cover through the rental desk (which can be expensive) or by buying a Collision Damage Waiver (CDW) Insurance and Supplementary Liability Insurance (SLI) Policy through Moneymaxim. Some users worry that these policies might not be accepted – but that is not, in our experience, an issue. American car hire firms are quite used to users having made their own insurance arrangements – although they will want a copy of the documentation, so it’s a good idea to take a copy with you.
2. Booking through a UK or European Website
If you book through a UK or European website – such as moneymaxim.co.uk or hertz.co.uk it will (almost always) be assumed that you will require Collision Damage Waiver, Theft Protection and Third Party Car Hire Insurance. So in these cases you would not need the CDW and may only need an SLI policy to top up your liability cover to $1 million if you wish. An SLI policy through MoneyMaxim will also cover any excess you are responsible for and would also cover the tyres, wheels, underbody and roof of the car, which tend to be excluded from the CDW included with the car.
3. Fly Drive Packages
Such as those sold by Virgin, TUI, Thomas Cook are sold on the same basis as if you were booking directly with an American website – so the same choices are open to you.
Please – whenever booking a Supplementary Liability Insurance policy make sure you fully understand exactly what is being offered by your rental company – and then check, if you have any doubt whatsoever, directly with the insurer you have chosen that the policy you are thinking of buying will cover your situation. You need to be fully confident when you arrive in the US especially as the insurers office in the UK will be closed by then (due to the time difference).
Car Hire Excess Insurance Questions Answered
Geographical related Questions Answered
Car Rental Keys Questions Answered
Purchase related Questions Answered
In Summary
We aim to help you find the best insurance company to meet the needs of your party when you hire a car. However, it is true to say that sometimes circumstances differ to a extent that more guidance is required. That’s where our industry leading customer service team come into their own.
If you are still confused or just want to run your personal situation past an expert please don’t hesitate to contact us through our live chat facility or give us a call – you will be well on your way to finding your holiday car hire insurance in minutes!
Details of promoted discounts and savings on Car Hire Excess Policies
We offer discounts from a number of partners on our site. We do not promote individual percentage savings, as this might lead a user to choose their policy on the discount rather than the features, benefits and ultimate cost of the policy, which is the best way to choose cover.
*The ‘Over 30%’ discount relates to daily worldwide excess insurance policies from carhireexcess.com. An 11 day policy is currently offered through MoneyMaxim at £29.59 compared to £43.89 directly from the insurer. Many other policies from the company and other insurers are also discounted.
**Hertz charge £255.98 for one weeks Super Cover (Excess Waiver) to cover a Compact Elite Car such as a Fiat 500X in Rome Fiumicino, Italy. Policies through MoneyMaxim are available from £13.56 for the same period.
***Subject to you operating the car within the rental firms agreement and meeting the terms and conditions of your car hire excess insurance policy.
Page Editor: Mark Bower – Car Hire Insurance Expert
All prices correct as at 22nd July 2024.
This content was last reviewed on 01/10/2024
