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18 Sept 2024

Best car hire excess insurance 2024

The car hire insurance rated top by Which? is 10 times cheaper than Avis, Budget and Europcar’s mediocre cover. We’ve reviewed dozens of car hire excess insurance policies, so you don’t have to

Guy HobbsPrincipal researcher & writer

In this article

Never buy car hire insurance from your car rental provider.

Time and again, our research finds the cover offered by car hire companies is riddled with holes, and costs up to £183 more per week than specialist insurance bought online.

Our latest research has again found that online specialists offer the best cover, at the best price

We’ve analysed the policies of all the major providers, including brokers such as Booking.com, Holiday Extras and Zest Car Rental, to tell you which hire excess insurance policy is best.

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What does car hire excess insurance cover?

When you hire a car in Europe, you don't have to buy any additional insurance – basic insurance is always included in the rental. But that insurance is subject to an ‘excess’, so if the car is damaged you'll need to pay a contribution of up to £2,500 towards repair costs, regardless of who's at fault.

The cost of car hire repairs has increased in recent years. Data from Zest Car Rental shows that holidaymakers could be charged hundreds of euros for even minor issues. For example, car hire companies typically charge around €250 for a scratched door, €300 for a puncture, and as much as €750 for a replacement windscreen.

You could reduce your excess to zero with the car hire provider, but that’s expensive. Instead we recommend an Excess Reimbursement Insurance (ERI) policy, which allows you to claim the excess back from your insurance provider. You can buy a daily or annual policy.

Best car hire excess insurance from specialist insurers - and the worst


best buy Cover4rentals GOLD	80%	£16	£38	£10,000	£65,000	Yes	£1,000	£750	£1,000	£500	Yes	Yes
best buy Worldwide Insure DELUXE	80%	£24	£55	£50,000	£50,000	Yes	£500	£500	£500	£300	Yes	Yes
best buy CHEW Insurance	79%	£27	£37	£10,000	£60,000	Yes	£1,000	£500	£1,000	£500	Yes	Yes
best buy Reduce my excess	78%	£20	£45	£10,000	£65,000	Yes	£500	£500	£1,000	£300	Yes	Yes
Questor Insurance	77%	£28	£45	£10,000	£100,000	Yes	£1,000	£750	£1,000	£500	Yes	Yes
icarhireinsurance	76%	£33	£42	£6,000	£100,000	T, W, U, M, R	£1,000	£750[a]	£1,000	[a]	[a]	Yes
Insurefor	72%	£25	£59	£10,000	£50,000	T, W, U, R	£500	£500	£500	£300	Yes	Yes

USING THE TABLE [a] Available as an optional extra [b] Company did not confirm value. Misfuelling Costs associated with using wrong fuel. Key cover Costs associated with lost/stolen keys. Towing Costs for tow truck following an accident or mechanical breakdown. Curtailment Provides a benefit if hire agreement cut short. Drop off charges Cost of returning car to rental office if customer is unable to. Policy score An assessment of quality, comparing 17 categories from each policy to create an overall score. Price Based on provider's standard European cover for a 45-year-old single man. All prices checked in May 2024 and subject to change.

What is the best way to cover rental car excess?

You have three options when it comes to buying car hire insurance to cover excess. We recommend options one and two.

Buy from an insurance company. This is called Excess Reimbursement Insurance (ERI) and it's what we recommend. It's cheaper and more comprehensive – and you can buy it online before your trip. If the car gets damaged, you'll have to pay the excess to the rental company, but you can then claim it back.
Buy from a car hire broker when you book your rental car. Brokers also sell their own ERI policies underwritten by an insurance company. Most offer poor cover, but there are two that score well.
Buy from the company renting you the car. This is called a Damage Waiver, or Super Collision Damage Waiver (SCDW), and can be purchased when you book the car, or at the rental desk. It reduces the excess (often down to zero) in the event of damage but it is overpriced and offers comparatively poor cover.

Is the car hire insurance that car hire brokers and comparison sites sell any good?

Most people book their hire cars via a broker such as Expedia or Holiday Extras. When you select a car, you’ll often be offered a price with ‘no extra insurance’ or with ‘full protection insurance’. If you select the full insurance, you’re buying an ERI policy just like the ones sold direct by the insurance companies. They cost around £38 on average.

We analysed the policies sold by six of the biggest brokers and found that they vary in quality. Booking/Rentalcars’ policy received the best policy score, but it’s not the best broker to rent a car with.

If you're renting a car with Which? Recommended Provider, Zest Car Rental, you’ll find that basic ERI is included, but if you spend a bit extra on its top-up insurance, you’ll have one of the most comprehensive policies around.

The only reason not to take the Zest top-up insurance is if you plan to hire more than one car a year – an annual policy from Cover4rentals (Gold) or Worldwide insure (Deluxe) is cheaper (and better rated) in this case.

Best car hire excess insurance from car hire brokers - and the worst


Booking.com/Rentalcars.com	83%	£47	£20,000	Yes	Full value	Full value	Full value	£0	Yes	No
Zest Car Rental Top Up Insurance	75%	£35	£10,000	Yes	£1,500	£500	£750	£300	Yes	Yes
Holiday Autos	58%	£48	£2,500	T, W, U, L, R	£250	£450	£250	£250	Yes	No
Holiday Extras	58%	£19	£7,500	T, W, U, L, R	£500	£500	£500	£300	Yes	No
Expedia	54%	£41	£3,500	Yes	£0	£200	£3,500	£0	Yes	No
Wisecars	52%	£42	£1,000	T, W, U, M, R	£0	[b]	£1,000	£0	Yes	No

USING THE TABLE [a] Available as an optional extra [b] Company did not confirm value. Misfuelling Costs associated with using wrong fuel. Key cover Costs associated with lost/stolen keys. Towing Costs for tow truck following an accident or mechanical breakdown. Curtailment Provides a benefit if hire agreement cut short. Drop off charges Cost of returning car to rental office if customer is unable to. Policy score An assessment of quality, comparing 17 categories from each policy to create an overall score. Price Based on provider's standard European cover. Based on rental for the smallest vehicle available for a 45-year-old single man in Spain, Malaga. All prices checked in May 2024 and subject to change.

What is Super Collision Damage Waiver (SCDW)?

Car hire companies sell Super Collision Damage Waiver (SCDW), allowing you to reduce your excess to a very small amount, often zero. This cover is called many different names, including Collision Damage Waiver (CDW), Excess Waiver, Super Cover and Excess Protection. But it’s expensive.

Our table shows quotes we obtained from a selection of major car hire companies. The SCDW covers a week’s rental in Spain. We got quotes for the best, most comprehensive policy available.

Our research shows that it's just not worth buying your insurance from the car hire provider. Not only is it much more expensive than a specialist third-party policy, but it also offers less comprehensive cover.

All of the top ERI providers cover you for damage to the windscreen, tyres and underbody of the car. Most also cover you if you're locked out, put the wrong fuel in the car, or are forced to cut short your hire. None of the car hire companies cover all of this.

SCDW – the car hire insurance sold by car hire companies


Europcar	55%	£190	Yes	£0	[a]	[b]	[b]	No	No
Enterprise	49%	£168	T[a], M, L, R	[a]	[a]	[b]	£0	No	No
Alamo	49%	£147	T[a], M, L,	[a]	[a]	[b]	£0	No	No
Goldcar	44%	£193	T[a], W, U, M[a], L[a], R	£0	[a]	£500	£0	No	No
Avis	41%	£165	T, W, M, L, R	£0	£0	[a]	[a]	No	No
Budget	41%	£199	T, W, M, L, R	£0	£0	[a]	[a]	No	No

USING THE TABLE [a] Available as an optional extra [b] Company did not confirm value. Misfuelling Costs associated with using wrong fuel. Key cover Costs associated with lost/stolen keys. Towing Costs for tow truck following an accident or mechanical breakdown. Curtailment Provides a benefit if hire agreement cut short. Drop off charges Cost of returning car to rental office if customer is unable to. Policy score An assessment of quality, comparing 17 categories from each policy to create an overall score. Based on provider's standard European cover. Price Based on a 45 year old driver, renting the smallest car available, with the most comprehensive SCDW, for one week from Malaga airport in July 2024. All prices checked in May 2024 and subject to change

Should I ever buy car hire insurance from the rental company?

Guy Hobbs, car hire expert, says: 'No. The insurance sold by car hire companies is overpriced and offers inferior cover.

Some people prefer to buy insurance from their rental company as doing so means they won't have to leave a large deposit or preauthorisation on their credit card. But you can get around this problem by hiring with Which? Recommended Provider Zest Car Rental, which clearly shows the level of deposit you need to pay, helping you to choose a provider with a more reasonable deposit policy.

If you do buy insurance from a third party, bear in mind that you'll have to pay for any damage up front, and then claim it back. But we think that's a small price to pay for better cover that leaves you hundreds of pounds better off.'

How to avoid the car hire insurance hard sell

You don’t have to buy insurance in Europe. Basic insurance is always included in the rental. But that doesn't stop some car hire companies from pressure selling their policies.

Some aim to frighten you into a purchase. They might even tell you that they won’t accept the specialist insurance that you bought online. You can see these unscrupulous tactics in our undercover video. But pressure selling is illegal.

To withstand the pressure from pushy agents we recommend that you buy your own excess reimbursement policy from one of the third-party insurance providers, then just say no at the rental desk. Explain that you don't want any extra cover and that you understand the need to pay up to the excess limit if you damage the car (safe in the knowledge that you can claim it back).

Some people like to print out their own ERI policy to show the rental company. But we found that this can open you up to the hard sell, as agents can (very convincingly) pick holes in your policy that don't really exist.

How we calculate policy scores

In May 2024 we calculated the policy scores by rating the 17 most important elements of the policy, including tyres, windscreen and underbody cover, towing charges, car jacking, personal accident cover and more, to create an overall score. Scores are based on the provider’s standard European policy.

One-week prices are based on a 45-year-old driver, hiring in Malaga, Spain in July. Prices are correct as of May 2024.