Should I buy car hire excess insurance at the desk or online?
Buy car hire excess insurance online before you travel, not at the rental counter. A standalone annual policy costs around 45 for a full year, versus roughly 250 charged at the desk for a ten-day trip in Spain. The rental firm still blocks your deposit, so reclaim it afterwards.
How to do it
- Search for car hire excess insurance online before you flyLook up "car hire excess insurance" ahead of your trip. Arrange cover yourself rather than waiting until you reach the rental desk.
- Buy a standalone annual policyChoose an annual excess policy instead of the cover sold at the counter. For a ten-day trip in Spain it costs around 45 for the whole year, against roughly 250 at the desk.
- Decline the excess cover at the rental counterWhen you collect the car, turn down the desk's excess waiver since you are already covered by your own policy.
- Reclaim your deposit after the rentalThe rental firm still blocks a deposit on your card. Claim that amount back through your own policy once the hire is finished.
Questions that come up
If the rental firm still blocks my deposit, what does my own policy actually do?
It reimburses you rather than stopping the block. The rental company can still hold a deposit and charge you for damage, but you then reclaim those costs through your standalone excess policy afterwards, so you are not left out of pocket for the excess amount.
Is an annual policy worth it if I only hire a car once a year?
Even for a single ten-day trip the figures favour it: around 45 for a year against roughly 250 at the desk. Because it is annual, any further hires within the same twelve months are then covered at no extra cost.
Why is the cover at the rental desk so much more expensive?
The script does not explain the reason, only the price gap: about 250 sold at the counter for a ten-day Spain trip versus 45 for a full year bought online in advance. Arranging it yourself beforehand is what keeps the cost down.
Full transcript
Buy car hire excess cover online, not at the rental desk. Search car hire excess insurance, then buy an annual policy. Ten days in Spain: around two hundred fifty at the counter, forty-five for a whole year. The firm still blocks your deposit — reclaim it afterwards. Buy it before you fly, not at the counter.