Do I need to buy a second excess insurance policy for an additional driver?

Car hire insurers will normally cover additional named drivers free of charge on policies.

It is usual for car hire companies to charge extra for additional drivers - but fortunately your excess insurance policy need not cost you more to cover them when they are behind the wheel.

All the insurers via the MoneyMaxim Car Hire Excess Insurance Comparison Service cover at least one additional named driver free of charge on their policies. Some cover up to 8 additional drivers on the same policy. These drivers do all need to be named as additional drivers on the car hire contract to be covered by the excess insurance.

An 'additional' driver can do most or even all of the driving but a 'lead' driver is the person who has taken responsibility for the hire car itself. Policies are available to cover more than one lead driver to rent cars independently but terms and conditions do apply.

Always check the terms and conditions of a policy in particular with regards to the age requirements, residency rules and number of additional drivers allowed on the policy. Please be aware that a very small number of companies may change the cost of the policy based on the details of any additional drivers.

When purchasing a car hire excess insurance policy not all companies will ask for the names of the additional drivers. Some companies will just cover the additional drivers as long as they are named on the car hire contract. Please ensure you have answered all questions fully. If you are asked for the number of drivers, you must list all those who have permission to drive the vehicle. You may be asked for details of the additional drivers for them to be covered.

Additional driver fees levied by car hire firms can vary quite considerably from company to company so, if you are intending to add a driver to your rental agreement, do compare a few companies.

If you use a service such as the MoneyMaxim Car Hire Comparison Service, you can check both the base prices and see the additional charges for 'extras' such as additional drivers. With MoneyMaxim you can also choose to compare the car hire deals that include a free additional driver using our filter.

If you have any queries do call a member of the MoneyMaxim car hire insurance team.

This content was last reviewed on 08/07/2024

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