Car hire excess insurance question

someanonbloke

Hi,

This is my first time hiring a car and taking out an excess policy with a different company, and just want to be sure I'm doing it all right.

I searched for the cheapest car hire through carrentals.co.uk and it came up with erentals as the best offer.

I then planned to purchase Excess insurance from another company.

However, I'm confused about CDW with erental.

It says on their site:

If you hire a car through eRentals.co.uk we waive, in most circumstances (see exclusions below) your liability to pay for any damage caused to the vehicle during the period of hire, subject only to the payment by you of a charge, referred to as an "excess" (unless you are advised that this is not applicable at the time of booking). Your liability for the damage will be limited to the cost of the excess. We call this contractual waiver "Collision Damage Waiver" or "CDW". CDW is subject to certain exclusions which include, without limit, when damage is caused to windows/windscreens, wheels and tyres, the underside or roof of the car or where the vehicle is driven off-road or on un-tarmacked roads, without due care and attention, negligently or where the driver is under the influence of alcohol or other drugs. Your liability to pay for the damage will therefore not be waived in these circumstances and you may be liable for the full cost.

So, looking for an excess insur. company, I went to the moneymaxim site:

"Collision Damage Waiver (CDW) covers you against the risk of damage to your car or its theft should it be stolen. Most car rental agreements include CDW, although if you are renting a car directly in the USA, Canada and a few other areas in the world you may find you are renting a car with no CDW cover.

Alternative names used are Loss Damage Waiver (LDW) or Theft Protection (TP).

Policies bought through car hire companies often include a sizable excess and a number of exclusions normally apply (meaning, for example, you can't claim for damage to the wheels, tyres, glass, underbody and roof of the vehicle).

Policies available through the moneymaxim panel have no excesses, and the above areas are not excluded."

So, my confusion is in the wording as erentals are saying that CDW is included (but not really), and then moneymaxim is saying that CDW is included, which is obviously what I want.

So, just to be clear, in the worst case scenario, a small stone cracks the windscreen during my trip, I wouldn't be covered by erental's CDW but would be by the moneymaxim policy.

Thanks.

rustyboy21

AFAIK, most car rentals include CDW in their prices, but there is an excess you have to pay, if had an accident/damage/etc.


You usually get the option at check in, to buy a further insurance, that waives the excess, I have done this before and when I drop the car off at the airport, I usually sling the keys in the box and hear nothing more. I see other people, who follow someone around the car looking at every knock/bang/speck of dust on it for damage. Some of the excess amount are eg 800e 1500e


Where are you going? I have just booked a car for Lanzarote in Dec with Autoreisen. They seem to have a good name and their CDW has no excess, all covered apart from tyres and rims, so it may be better shopping around, instead of booking through the big co's. They also don't take payment straight away, pay on collection at airport.

headpin

Where are you intending to hire? Many car hire companies in the US now have zero excess CDW/ Loss waiver and most also include glass, keys, underside, etc in that. So check what your rental company is offering before buying. If in Europe you will need it and a good limit on your credit card so that you can then stick two fingers up at the rogue renters.

someanonbloke

Will be driving in UK.

rustyboy21

If it is the UK, why not try Enterprise car hire. I use them, when my car is in for repair. They work out the cheapest by far for me, Look at their insurance policy first though, I use my own insurance for cover.