- Driving abroad can be difficult enough without adding insurance to the mix
- Purchasing excess coverage from a car rental company can be extremely expensive
- Which? advises drivers to look elsewhere for the best deals
Motorists heading abroad this summer are being urged to avoid the excess waivers sold at the counter by car rental companies, which can cost 12 times more than buying cover alone.
Car rental insurance normally has a deductible: the compensation the driver pays if there is damage to the vehicle.
Customers are generally required to pre-authorize the excess amount for the rental period on a credit card. This amount will be debited by the rental company if the vehicle is damaged.
The car rental deductible insurance covers the cost of this deductible, which in Europe normally amounts from €5 €500 to €2,000 (£441 to £1,764), or more, according to consumer champion Which?.
Drivers take note: purchasing excess coverage from a car rental company is convenient, but expensive
This insurance is almost always offered by car rental companies when the vehicle is rented, but purchasing coverage this way can be prohibitively expensive.
Which? said drivers can be charged up to £199 for a policy that is less useful than one that costs just £16.
There are two forms of insurance that cover car rental deductibles: Super Collision Damage Waiver (SCDW), sold by healthcare rental companies; and excess insurance (ERI), sold by insurers and car rental brokers.
Which? compared the coverage sold by six major car rental companies in Malaga, Spain, and compared it to the ERI deals sold elsewhere.
Drivers who booked a car for a week had to pay an average of £177 for the cover they bought from a car rental company, but only £38 from a broker and £23 from an insurer.
Which? also said SCDW policies were inferior, failing to address common issues such as stolen keys or putting the wrong fuel in a vehicle.
Drivers should therefore make sure they read the fine print and shop around – and don’t feel pressured into automatically taking out the car rental deductible cover sold by car rental companies.
Car rental costs are falling
The costs of renting a car have fallen: by more than 40 percent in one year.
School holiday costs have soared over the past two years, with the price of renting a compact family car in favorite summer destinations in 2022 costing an average of €652 for just one week.
However, prices at the same twelve locations have been adjusted to £380 per week this summer, which is just £70 higher than 2019, according to data shared by iCarhireinsurance.com.