insurance guide
A Buyer's Guide to Car Hire Excess Insurance
Why do you need car hire excess insurance, and what are the most common features and exclusions? Read our car hire excess insurance guide to find out.
View insurance guide
Coronavirus help and support for our insurance customers
Claim back the excess charged by car hire companies if your hire car is damaged or stolen.
With insurance4carhire, you can buy your policy now and start your cover up to 364 days later – and if your flight is unexpectedly delayed, we can even cover late pick-up charges.
Need to share the driving? All policies allow cover for up to seven additional drivers, providing they’re named on the car rental agreement. Just make sure the lead name on the rental agreement matches the lead name on the car hire excess insurance policy. Sadly, the policy does not cover camper vans.
Our car excess insurance policy covers you for damage and theft of the vehicle up to £6,500 per year. The policy also includes damage to windows, tyres, undercarriage, roof and headlights which can be excluded by the car rental companies own cover. We won't however cover; losses caused by accidental damage to the interior or contents of the rental vehicle or courtesy car caused by wear and tear or carriage of animals.
If you’re a member of a Car Club, such as Zipcar or Car City Club, you can also benefit from excess protection to supplement your car club insurance. We can't currently cover schemes such as easyCar Club where there is no rental agreement in place. We’ll also provide excess cover for courtesy cars. So if your personal car is in the garage for repair, we'll cover the excess for the courtesy car your insurer provides. We can't currently cover schemes such as easyCar Club where there is no rental agreement in place.
| Single Trip | Annual Europe | Annual Worldwide | Annual Worldwide Plus CDW & SLI | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| £6,500 of excess protection | • | • | • | • |
| Damage to windows, tyres, roof and undercarriage | • | • | • | • |
| Key cover up to £2,000 | • | • | • | • |
| UK Car Club rentals | • | • | • | • |
| Courtesy cars | • | • | • | • |
| Supplementary Liability Insurance (SLI) up to $1 million | • | |||
| Collison Damage Waiver (CDW) up to $125,000 | • |
Claiming is easy, you'll be assisted by an expert claims handling service provided by AIG. All you need to do is:
1. Log in to your existing client area and access our online claims portal.
2. Submit your claim with the supporting information.
3. Payment will be sent to your chosen bank account.
If there’s an issue or you have a question, simply call the team for assistance on 0344 892 1770.
Show the rental company a copy of your insurance4carhire car hire excess insurance policy and they can contact the claims team on your behalf. That way the rental company can claim the money from the insurer and you won’t be left out of pocket.
Read more from Towergate Insurance:
insurance guide
Why do you need car hire excess insurance, and what are the most common features and exclusions? Read our car hire excess insurance guide to find out.
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Yes, our car hire insurance will continue to be valid in Europe for UK residents.
The International Driving Permit (IDP) is a document that validates your licence to be able to drive abroad. Please check local driving restrictions before you travel to see if you need this.
If we are unable to invite your policy for renewal, we will contact you directly before it is due to confirm this.
No, if you are driving a hired vehicle you do not require a Green Card. Green Cards are only required if you are driving your own vehicle.
If you’re hiring a car in this country and intend to drive the car to and in the European Economic Area, you will still need a Green Card. You will need to speak to the rental company to request one from their insurance provider.
The EEA includes EU countries and also Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway. It allows them to be part of the EU’s single market.
Switzerland is neither an EU nor EEA member but is part of the single market.
No. The UK’s reciprocal health agreements (E111 / EHIC) with the EU will come to an end on the 1/1/2021.
It is therefore vital when travelling within Europe you purchase adequate travel insurance, if you wish to be covered should you require medical treatment.
On our annual car hire excess insurance policies, you can hire a car as many times as you like in the 12 month period of your policy, providing you don’t exceed 60 continuous days per rental.
As long as you’re a resident of the UK or Isle of Man, you can purchase a policy with us.
Yes. Cover is provided up to £500 per claim and up to £2,000 per year.
Yes, these things happen – we can cover you up to £500 per claim and up to £2,000 per year.
Some U.N. sanctioned nations are not covered such as Afghanistan, Belarus, Cuba, Congo, Iran, Iraq, Ivory Coast, Liberia, North Korea, Myanmar, Sudan and Zimbabwe. A full list is available from the GOV.UK sanctions, embargoes and restrictions page.