How Much Cheaper Are Independent Car Hire Excess Policies Than Buying At The Desk?

The quick answer is that independent policies are much cheaper than those at the desk. An independent car hire excess policy purchased through MoneyMaxim can cost from as little as £2 per day. Car hire insurance purchased at the desk can cost between around £5 and £25 per day.

Is there more included in a desk-bought car hire insurance policy?

Not necessarily.

All the independent car hire excess insurance policies via MoneyMaxim will reimburse you up to the policy limit for the excess, for tyres and wheels, glass elements of the car and for lost keys.

In contrast....

Many car rental firms offer a variety of insurance packages that you can purchase to top up the cover that automatically comes with your car hire. Sometimes the insurance you are offered will just remove the excess on your collision damage waiver.

• Take a Sixt car hire package for a VW Polo booked in Malaga for July for example. A no excess package comes in at an additional £14.46 per day. For their Tyre and Windscreen Protection it costs £9.48 per day and lost keys are covered through their Roadside Protection which will set you back a further £8.48 per day. It can all very quickly add up!

• Hertz Supercover does not include cover for the glass parts of your rental vehicle. Supercover costs around EUR20 per day for a VW Polo. To cover the glass you would need to add Glass and Tyre Insurance for an additional EUR2 per day.

• Enterprise offer Excess Protection for an economy sized car booked in Malaga in July this year at £15.93 per day. Roadside Protection which covers tyres and lost keys is £6.29 per day.

Why may you want to opt for additional insurance through the car rental company?

There are certain circumstances where you can only hire a car with additional insurance or by opting for a specific car rental package. This could be because you are a younger or more senior driver, or if you do not have a credit card and therefore need to book your car rental using a debit card.

Some people prefer to avoid the paperwork of a claim - with a desk-bought policy you are less likely to spend time at the desk when you return your keys. Others would rather not have the hold put on their credit card for the excess amount. This can be a particular issue if you only have one credit card and also need it for your hotel and other holiday spending.

And, of course, if you would rather not face an over-eager salesman at the car rental desk, then opting for the car rental firm's additional insurance can help to avoid that conversation.

Save money with car hire excess insurance

Choosing an independent car hire excess insurance policy can certainly save you money on your car hire and, in a time when car hire prices are rising rapidly, you may want to save every penny you can!

The policies we feature on our comparison service are reimbursement policies. They are designed to cover you and not the vehicle. If you had to pay the car hire company for a scratch on the car or a chip in the windscreen when you return the car then, provided you are within the terms and conditions of the policy, you would be able to reclaim the money that you have paid out

It is simple to run a quote through our car hire excess insurance comparison service and through this you can also see customer reviews which include many who were delighted with how easy it was to claim and how quickly they were reimbursed.