Afternoon everyone

Heading off to Slovakia in June for a couple of weeks and will be hiring a car to trundle round various places while we're there. Most car hire places make a big thing about their price being inclusive of CDW...but then you read the small print and find that the excess is massive - often many hundreds of pounds, even into the thousands. And also, the standard insurance that comes with the car doesn't include tyres, windows, underside of the car, etc, etc so any damage to any of those and you'll again be facing a big bill.

 

I've read a number of articles now about companies that offer excess insurance for when you hire a car abroad; you pay before you go (seems to be ~£25-30 for 2 weeks) and if there is any damage to the car that you have to pay for locally (i.e. it gets taken out of the hefty deposit that you have to leave before you can drive away), then they'll refund that cost when you get home.

 

I'm just wondering if anyone has used this sort of thing? And if so, did you have to use it? Did it work out OK? A few names that seem to be among the more well known providers are: 

• www.insurance4carhire.com
• www.icarhireinsurance.com
• www.direct-carexcess.co.uk
• www.carhireexcess.co.uk

There have also been a couple of articles in newspapers (including this one in the Guardian) where they suggest it can be a good idea and considerably better value than the "extra" insurance offered by the care hire companies themselves.

Edited 23 February, 201610 yr by slicendice

Yep - I use it every trip away where I'm hiring a car - makes sense as it's massively cheaper.

 

I use the last one - Carhireexcess - and I think it costs me about £35 for a years-worth of cover in Europe.

Yep - I use it every trip away where I'm hiring a car - makes sense as it's massively cheaper.

 

I use the last one - Carhireexcess - and I think it costs me about £35 for a years-worth of cover in Europe.

 

Yes it seemed to be a cheaper way of getting covered.

 

Have you ever had to make a claim on it? 

Yes it seemed to be a cheaper way of getting covered.

 

Have you ever had to make a claim on it? 

 

Nope I have to admit I haven't from memory - thought I might one year as I noticed a ding on a car when I took it back that I haven't spotted when I collected it.  Took some photos and the like expecting to need to make one but the hire car co never came back to me about it.