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Are you worried about getting a chip in your windscreen, a flat type or a scratch on your rental vehicle? Fear not!

Car hire excess is a relatively cheap product that offers extensive cover when you are renting a vehicle. It not only covers the excess as the name would suggest, but also provides additional benefits such as cover for tyres, windscreen, undercarriage, keys and mirrors. Some European car hire excess insurance policies offer cover for as cheap as €2.99 per day with Worldwide cover starting from around €3.99. To ensure that you get the cheapest insurance possible, make sure you do some research. The most expensive option is usually the cover that is offered at the rental desk and the cheapest option can most often be found on comparison sites.


To ensure you are getting the cheapest deal on your car hire excess insurance, make sure that you only select the cover you require. For instance, if you are planning on renting a car in Europe, select the Europe-only option as the Worldwide cover is generally more expensive. Many companies offer extras such as Family Cover or Supplementary Liability insurance. Only add these on if you are sure that you will use them as it is best to keep the cover as cheap as you can.

Watch out for the text message and postage options on your car hire excess policy too. Some companies automatically add these on during the booking process and they can bump up your premium unnecessarily.

Automatic renewal is another service that you might need to opt out of on an annual car hire excess policy. While this can be very beneficial if you rent vehicles every year, it can also be a nuisance if you don’t need a policy for over a year or if you like to shop around each year to get the best deal.