Insuring a short-term rental car in the UK.

March 14, 2011 9:16 AM

Is there supplemental/per trip car insurance for rental cars(UK edition)?

I'm renting a car in the UK for approximately 17 days.
I'd like to have some form of insurance while over there, however:

My credit card will only cover 14 days of rental.
My car insurance covers only domestic rental (and does not offer a rider).

What I'm looking for is basically travel insurance for rentals, where I pay $75-100 and am covered for a month or length of trip.

I've looked at the other questions along these lines, and they seem to deal with domestic rentals or people without insurance all together, neither of which apply here, but feel free to point out one I've missed

posted by madajb to travel & transportation around United Kingdom (6 answers total)

When renting a vehicle in the UK, the price includes insurance. You will have an excess of a few hundred pounds (e.g. if you damage the car you have to pay the first £300, the insurance covers the rest), however the rental place will usually let you pay an extra fee to reduce the excess to a smaller amount or nothing.
posted by EndsOfInvention at 9:29 AM on March 14, 2011

But - the additional insurance feed to take the excess to £0 is extortionate. It comes out at about £10 per day. It's normally called something like Super Collision Damage Waiver.

There are UK companies that, for a smaller fee, will provide the same service - i.e. covering excess for a premium. A useful guide here, with some companies to call like Holiday Autos and CarHireExcess.
posted by MuffinMan at 9:44 AM on March 14, 2011 [1 favorite]

So, the CDW, etc listed on the rental reservation page is even more of a scam than it is in the U.S.?
I didn't think that was even possible.
posted by madajb at 10:36 AM on March 14, 2011

"Collision Damage Waiver (CDW) is optional
Customer is liable for the full amount of the Avis vehicle if Collision Damage Waiver (CDW) is not taken. If CDW is purchased, the renter's liability is reduced to UKL 650 for car group A and B, UKL 800.00 for all car groups C, E, G, I and UKL 950.00 for all other car groups.."

This seems to say insurance is definitely _not_ included.
posted by madajb at 11:12 AM on March 14, 2011

No, third-party insurance is included (which is the legal minimum for driving in the UK). The CDW only covers damage to the rental vehicle.
posted by EndsOfInvention at 11:55 AM on March 14, 2011

As noted, third-party insurance will be included with the rental; the level of excess for damage to your vehicle will depend on the rental company. From memory it's been about £500 when I've rented cars in the past (Enterprise and Sixt), and it's cost about a tenner a day to reduce that to zero.
posted by Jakob at 4:19 AM on March 15, 2011