The hiring of cars is common for people who like travelling around the world. For sure, you cannot bring along your car to every destination you go. The effort is not worth it, considering there are car rental services all over the world.
Even though hiring a car from car rental companies is convenient, their car hire excess insurance rates do not come cheap. Considering the high cost of excess insurance rates, you may be asking yourself, is it worth buying car hire excess insurance? To learn more about car hire excess insurance, click here.
CDW and excess insurance are options that protect you when you hire a car. This piece explains how car rental excess insurance compares to CDW, whether it is worth buying them and if you really need them. Let’s dive in.
Definition of Car Hire Excess Insurance
Car rental excess insurance is insurance coverage that protects a car hirer from the excess cost they might incur if the hired car is damaged or lost. An excess is the amount of money the car hirer is liable to pay if, unfortunately, the car gets into an accident, damaged or stolen while in their care.
You can buy car rental excess insurance from third party providers, which is the cheaper option or a car rental company.
How does Car Hire Excess Insurance Compare to CDW
CDW means collision damage waiver and it is an additional coverage for car hirers. What does CDW cover? Collision damage waiver reduces the liability of the car hirer and covers the cost of damage in the event the hired car gets into a collision during the rental period.
CDW covers the excess charges when the hired car gets damaged. Car rental excess insurance, on the other hand, covers damages that occur on the rental car in full. CDWs cover damages that occur to the car’s bodywork. Unlike car rental excess insurance, they do not cover personal belongings, tyres, wheels, lost keys, flat battery, or undercarriage.
CDW is not an insurance cover. It is part of the car hire contract; thus, it is under the control of the car rental company.
Is Car Hire Excess Insurance Worthwhile
Do I need excess protection car hire? Some of you may be asking yourself this question. Excess insurance is optional. This is something that most salespeople don’t tell their clients. However, it is worth noting that you will have to cough large sums of money if you get involved in an accident and the car gets damaged or even lost while under your care. Therefore, it is worth getting excess insurance coverage when renting a car.
Benefits of Car Rental Excess Insurance
You will have a stress-free trip when you buy car rental excess insurance. No one wants to get into an accident when driving a car, be it yours or hired. However, no matter how careful you are, there is always a likelihood of getting into a car accident or even getting the car damaged as you drive across unfamiliar terrains under unfamiliar driving rules.
When you have car rental excess, you will not need to constantly worry about taking trips to the countryside where roads are rough or the trip coming to an abrupt end due to car problems.
Annual Car Hire Excess Insurance
It would be best to get annual car rental excess insurance when renting a car for a year. Annual car hire excess insurance saves you the time and effort of visiting the rental desk to pay your car rental excess insurance. However, it is worth noting that some annual excess policies have restrictions. Some of the typical restrictions to annual car hire excess insurance policies are based on the driver’s age, length of hire, type of vehicle, car usage, size o excess or use within a particular country.