Hire Car Insurance

USATraveller

In a recent interview Martin Lewis said that rather than get over priced car insurance from the hire car company, you are able to get insurance independently at a much cheaper price.
(on the express website - I can't add the link as I am new to the forum)
I can't find any advice on this website other than information on hire car EXCESS insurance. Any pointers?
I am going to the USA if that makes a difference.
Thanks

stevie11

I haven't read the article you mention but am aware of pre purchasing an insurance policy whether single trip or annual policy.

My advice if you are renting a vehicle for a trip to the USA is to book an all Inc rental from a UK based agent or portal, usually all the required insurances are included and I it works out better value than purchasing locally when in US.

I personally take out an annual excess policy from the UK which costs about £40 and covers multiple rentals and includes items such as lost keys, damage to tyres, windscreen or undercarriage etc.

EveryWhere

One usually only needs Car Hire CDW Excess cover as the basic CDW(with an excess) is usually included in most if not all car rental.

Booking as a UK resident for USA car rental usually includes CDW and SLI(minimum required. So perhaps US$20,000 of third party liability cover as opposed to US$1,000,000 with a standalone policy) with no excess. Though the purchase of car hire excess insurance may cover things such as the windscreen damage, key loss, tyres etc.

You can be faced with rentals with no CDW included, but that might be in places like the Caribbean. In that case a policy with both CDW and SLI would be of use.
I use such a policy, as I can travel at short notice and don't want to have to peruse every detail of a hire car contract before going ahead.

So up to you to decide on the level of cover you want.

There are perhaps only three companies that supply policies with CDW, CDW Excess and SLI all rolled into one;
https://www.bettersafe.com/Products/Car-Hire-Excess-Insurance-Protection
https://www.insurance4carhire.com/usa-canada-car-hire-excess-insurance
https://www.carhireexcess.co.uk