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Which car hire excess insurance policy is best for car rental in France?

Car Hire Insurance in France is provided by a wide range of insurers - We explain how you can search for the best policy for your requirements and show how to compare them.

What Car Hire Excess Insurance do I need when I hire a car in France?

When you hire a car in France, car hire excess insurance can work together with the main insurances so that you are not faced with a large bill at the end of your holiday. They are reimbursement policies for the excess and for the cost of damage to the windows, mirrors, tyres, wheels, roof and underbody. These are areas which are usually excluded from cover provided by your car hire company.

So which particular features of policies might you want to consider when choosing a rental car excess insurance policy to best fit your car hire in France?

Special Conditions that apply to Car Hire Insurance In France

Please note that if you are considering booking a car in France directly through the Sixt website, prices often exclude Collision Damage Waiver altogether. If you are intending to hire this way, or have already reserved a Sixt car without CDW you should request a quote for both Excess Insurance and CDW when you use the MoneyMaxim car hire insurance comparison service.

Get an instant quote

Run a quotation through the MoneyMaxim car hire excess insurance comparison service, and this will enable you to easily compare different features from leading excess insurers in the UK.

Here, we guide you through the process of choosing the best car hire excess insurance for France to suit your needs.

What does car hire insurance cover?

When booking car hire in France you will usually find your package includes Collision Damage Waiver, Theft Protection and Third Party Liability Insurance. Collision Damage Waiver and Theft Protection are both normally subject to an excess, and this excess is what renters want to cover with a car hire excess protection policy. These policies also contain a number of additional benefits, which can be important (or less important!) to you depending on your individual circumstances.

If you are not a UK resident it is a good idea to check the insurances above are definitely included within your car hire. As they are often covered for the Collision Damage Waiver through separate policies or through their credit card, US and Canadian residents can, for example, find they do not have all the main insurances as part of the car hire contract.

Getting a Car Hire Excess Insurance Quotation

Country of Residence

Some policies are offered to residents of countries all over the world whereas others are restricted to those living in the UK. If you are unsure of your residency, choose a policy based on where you think you are resident, then check with that particular insurance company. Each company has different criteria when it comes to residency so it is always best to ask before you buy.

Are you renting in your country of residence?

For example, if you are resident in France and hiring in France, then you will need to say 'yes' to this question. Some policies are not available to those hiring in their home country. These policies will be removed from the results shown if you advise you are are a resident in France and are also hiring in the same country.,

How to review your results to find the best car hire insurance policy for you

Once you have input your details and have a table of results, there are a number of factors which you may want to compare to find the right policy for you. What is 'best' for you may not work for another hirer so take your time to consider all your options.

All policies shown on your quote will cover a standard rental car. All cover an excess of at least £5,000 which is usually more than enough to cover the car hire excess when hiring in France .

• Breakdown Cover - - Mechanical issues are usually the responsibility of the car hire company and under most rental contracts you should not allow anybody to repair the vehicle without the express permission of the car hire company. In the event of something going wrong with your hire car, your first call should be to the rental company. As such none of the policies offer an equivalent to the traditional AA/RAC/Green Flag breakdown services. However, there are a number of circumstances where the car hire company may hold you responsible for towing and recovery charges associated with a breakdown or accident, for example, a puncture, cracked windscreen or a flat battery. The policies provided through MoneyMaxim can cover you against these charges. Towing limits can vary so take a look at these.

• Personal Effects / Baggage Cover - This is normally a minor feature of car hire excess policies and they do tend to come with a very small excess for claims. If you have a decent travel insurance policy you will normally find you have much better coverage for your personal items through this. Also bear in mind that there are conditions which apply such as belongings not being left on show in the vehicle. Baggage cover may not be a deciding factor when choosing your excess insurance for France.

• Courtesy Car Cover - If your car goes in for repairs, you are often lent one by the garage to keep you on the road. If you tick this box you will be covered for the excess in this scenario as well. You do need to sign a formal agreement with the garage which documents your liability. Check your courtesy car agreement and the terms and conditions of any excess insurance policy before taking a garage car overseas.

• Car Club members - There are some car hire excess insurance policies which will also cover members of a Car Club. Car clubs are a facility that, once you join, allows you to borrow a car for a short time, picking it up and dropping it back to allocated parking spaces in major cities. If this is something which may be useful to you, then it may be worth comparing car club excess insurance policies.

• Multiple lead driver policies - All the excess insurance policies in your results will cover at least one additional driver on a car hire free of charge. However, if another member of the family, or someone living at the same address also rents cars these policies allowing more than one lead driver can come in very handy. These are only available as annual policies and can be filtered by ticking the box 'Show policies allowing more than one driver to rent cars independently of each other'. Please note that conditions do apply and more information can be found on our Multiple lead driver page.

• European or worldwide policy? - If you are just hiring in France you will only need a European policy. This policy would also cover you in other European countries should you have permission from your car hire company to travel across a border. A worldwide policy will be needed if travelling outside Europe. Check your chosen car hire excess insurance policy for their definition of 'Europe' because, believe it or not, they are not all the same!

• Annual or Short term policy? - A daily policy usually works out more cost effective if you are hiring for less than 15 days over 12 months, with annual policies probably working out cheaper if you go over this. If you run a short term policy for a trip of, for example, around 17 days in France then you are likely to see annual policies appearing at the top of your results. Annual policies allow you to take as many car hires as you like during the year as long as one car hire does not exceed the stated maximum number of days per trip.

More questions? - don't hesitate to call the MoneyMaxim team who will be delighted to assist you in your search - we have been helping customers find car hire excess insurance for more than 10 years now and will be happy to help you too.

This content was last reviewed on 14/11/2023

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Daily and Annual Policy Related Questions Answered

• What is an Annual Car Hire Excess Insurance Policy?
• What are the advantages of buying annual car hire excess insurance?
• What do you mean by annual policy? Can I use it throughout the year?
• What are the restrictions on the Annual Excess Policies?
• What does Daily Car Hire Excess Insurance mean?
• My car hire is for 31 days. Should I take a daily 31 day car hire excess insurance policy or an annual policy?
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Car Hire Excess Insurance Questions Answered

• What is Covered by Baggage and Personal Accident Cover?
• Excess Insurance covers the under-body, roof and tyres but does it cover me if I have an accident?
• What Cover does Car Hire Insurance provide for Carjacking and Road Rage?
• What Cover does Car Hire Insurance provide for Curtailment or Restitution?
• Do I still have to provide my credit card for the excess on my hire car when purchasing a policy from you?
• What is Excess Waiver Insurance?
• What Countries are designated European for Excess Insurance?
• How do I know what the excess limit is for my hire car?
• What Cover is Provided by Car Hire Excess Cancellation Insurance?
• Do I have to have Excess Cover?
• Does Car Hire Excess mean I wouldn't have to pay for anything?
• What is an Excess on a Car Hire and what are my responsibilities for it?
• How large does my excess insurance limit need to be?

Purchase related Questions Answered

• Can I buy car hire excess insurance when I am not in the UK?
• How far in advance can I buy car hire excess insurance?
• Can I purchase your Excess Policies if I am not a resident of the UK?
• Can I just buy an insurance policy, or do I need specific dates to be able to buy my insurance?
• Is the price displayed a daily or total cost?
• When is the best time to get Excess Insurance?

Geographical related Questions Answered

• What is European Car Hire Excess Insurance?
• Do Worldwide Excess Insurance Policies cover you everywhere in the world?

Car Rental Keys Questions Answered

• Key Replacement Insurance - What is it and and do I need it?
• What is Lock Out Cover? Do I need it?

Your Driver related Questions Answered

• Can I cover two or more lead drivers on one policy?