Whilst CDW (collision damage waiver) and TW (theft waiver) are included as standard on all rentals, there is still an excess to pay in the event of a claim. This excess is the initial amount of any claim that you are liable for and ranges from £250-£2500 depending on the car hire company, locations, and type of car.
When you pick-up your hire car, the car hire company will require the excess deposit is held against the main driver’s credit card. When the car is returned, assuming there is no damage, the deposit will be released. In the event of damage, the car hire company will retain some or all of the deposit to fix the damage.
What options do I have?
You have 3 options when hiring a car specific to the insurance available and your appetite for risk.
- Accept the risk and pay the excess deposit, should the car be damaged, your deposit is at risk.
- Accept the car hire company direct excess waiver policy (typically EUR 20-25 per day), leave no deposit, and have zero risk. If that car is damage (within acceptable use policy)
- Accept an excess reimbursement policy (we offer an additional policy during the booking process, other single trip / annual policies are available) whereby you leave the deposit as scenario 1, however in the event of a claim you pay the deposit in the first instance and reclaim this from your excess reimbursement policy.
You can check your excess amount by viewing the terms and conditions of your booking.