Car Hire Insurance Abroad: What You Need To Know

Cars are rented in countries all over the world for all kinds of different holidays, business trips or family visits. Whilst the reason for hiring a car may vary, all too often travellers face the same problem of being hit with outrageously expensive fines or repair costs if any damage is caused to their temporary vehicle.

To avoid this on your next trip, be sure to take out a policy of car hire excess insurance, which will protect you against any extra costs the rental company won’t let slide.

Why You Need Car Hire Excess Insurance

Imagine this: your vehicle has been damaged or stolen and you now need to inform the firm from which you rented the car. Nobody wants a situation like this to disrupt their holiday or trip abroad. Unfortunately, they will only cover the cost of some of the damage and will also be very likely to charge you an extra fee on top of what you will already be liable to pay. The cost to you will, of course, depend on the extent of the damage and the policy of the company – but it’s rarely a quick or cheap fix!

This is where a car hire excess insurance policy comes in. Itwill limit the impact an incident like this has on your wallet and on your experience abroad.

Which Policy Should I Take Out?

A Collision Damage Waiver (CDW) or Loss Damage Waiver (LDW) will only protect some parts of the vehicle against any damage caused by an incident. As such, you’re looking for a policy which will guard against the excess costs involved in damage to the roof, windscreen, windows or tyres, whether you’re in China, Spain or Brazil.

You can choose from car hire excess insurance policiesthat are valid for a single trip abroad or ones that will cover you for a full year. Depending on how many trips you plan to make over the next few months, you can pick the deal that is best for you.

Top Travel Tip

Before organising your insurance, it is a very sensible idea to investigate how the road regulations in the country you’re visiting work. Are there any laws that are different from those in the UK that you should know? Having that inside knowledge about the rules of the road will only help to limit the chances of an incident.

Planning on renting a car the next time you travel abroad? It would be a very good idea to take out a car hire excess insurance policywell in advance of your trip. This will help limit the chances of frustratingly high excess costs being charged by the company who owns the vehicle in the event of an incident out on the roads of a foreign country… and give you peace of mind to boot!

Author Plate

Sam Walker is a specialist insurance expert at LowerHire, a company that offers low-cost single trip and annual multi-trip car hire excess insurance policies. Travellers can rest easy knowing they will be fully protected against any hidden hire car costs and look forward to a stress-free rental experience.