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Is independent car hire insurance suitable for fly-drive holidays?

We explain the ins and outs of fly drive companies and car hire insurance.

The Fly Drive holidays and free car packages when you book flights and accommodation in the US you see in many major tour operators brochures are often difficult to instantly compare as the car hire insurance packaged in to the deal can vary considerably

The following are some of the offers currently being promoted by the airlines and travel firms.

British Airways Fly Drive Deals to Florida

Fly drive holidays from the UK are normally in partnership with Avis and Budget.

The current package includes Collision Damage Waiver (CDW), Third Party Liability, Unlimited mileage, Customer facility fee, State Surcharge, Tyre and Battery Fee, Vehicle Licence fees, 24 hour customer support, standard roadside assistance.

Additional Optional Non Mandatory charges

Premium cover to reduce the excess on CDW and theft. Also offers an extension on the standard roadside assistance ()which would cover breakdown callots should the car suffer a mechanical fault (which the rental firm would be normally responsible for).

If your package includes the above and you are happy with the level of liability insurance being offered by Avis / Budget you should consider a car hire excess insurance policy which will cover the excess, and breakdown costs should you sustain damage to car or the wheels or glass and a call out is required.

Virgin Holidays Fly Drive to Orlando

The Hertz Go package is normally included within your rental

Loss Damage Waiver (LDW/CDW) with no excess, Liability insurance cover (LIS) for 3rd party cover up to USD$300K, Unlimited Mileage, Taxes & Fees and 4 Additional Drivers

Additional Optional Fees

Which can be added when booking - the Hertz Go Plus or Hertz Go Premier package which include extras such as GPS devices, Full to Empty Fuel options and additional underage drivers.

If your package includes the above and you are happy with the level of liability insurance being offered by Hetz ($300k) you can consider a car hire excess insurance policy which will cover additional risks such as lost keys, lock out, curtailment and more for just over £2 per day.

Other providers offer a wide variance of deals which can vary from packages with almost full cover to those with no insurance at all. As long as you have primary liability cover included (also called State Minimum Insurance) you can but a top up policy that will increase the liability cover limit from a few thousand dollars to $1m of cover.

Such policies can be found through the MoneyMaxim car hire insurance service and these can provide excess insurance, CDW cover or CDW and SLI.

Do check the car hire package you have signed up to though as deals are always changing.

If you are thinking about using CDW or SLI independent insurance our suggestion is to email the rental company you are taking the car from and ask for their confirmation that they are happy to accept your own Collision Damage Waiver and Supplementary Liability insurance policy. Most will do so.

You do not need to do this if you are just taking car hire excess insurance.

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