Have you ever gone to pick up a hire car, only to find that the company is demanding a huge extra insurance premium to provide comprehensive insurance cover?

Many car rental companies offer cars with what they describe as 'full insurance cover'. Most UK motorists assume that this means comprehensive cover. It doesn't. It only means that the car is covered for third party risks. This means that in most cases you will still be liable for the excess that the car hire company claim they would have to pay their insurance provider to repair or replace the car.

You are then offered Collision Damage Waiver (CDW) and it can vary from one hundred pounds to thousands of pounds even if it the accident wasn't your fault. This would usually just cover accidental damage to the vehicle however. Tyre damage is usually a different matter; and this can be common on many rough roads in holiday resorts! You can of course buy insurance to cover this, as well as theft; and since hire cars almost inevitably carry the hire company's prominently displayed badge, and many thieves look upon tourists as fair game, this is a real possibility.

Inevitably this extra insurance is very expensive; the car hire companies make huge profits out of it with UK motorists paying out large sums for insurance protection that they thought was already included in their contract!

What if I don't buy it?

If you look at online reviews of foreign car hire companies you will see far too many cases of people being charged for damages that they believe simply didn't happen whilst they had the car. Was that tiny scratch on the bumper there when they picked up the car? And does it really warrant a respray? And surely the lock to the passenger door was not damaged when the car was dropped off?

What makes things worse is that if you don't buy the insurance the car hire company will pre-charge a large sum to your credit card to cover possible repairs. They will assure you that this will be returned if the car is returned in undamaged condition, and after they have had a reasonable time to check it. However if they claim that the car was indeed damaged during your hire period, how can you disprove this when you have already flown home, and the car has already been rented out to several other people?

What can you I about it?

When you pick a car up you should examine it minutely, preferably using a camera to record even the slightest damage to it, or scratches on the paintwork. After you have returned it you must insist on having the car thoroughly inspected before you leave it, and that you are provided with a written agreement that it has come back in the same condition as when you received it.

What if there is a huge queue of people picking up cars though, and they claim they are too busy? Will you wait for ages until they agree to inspect it?

Is there no choice but to pay for overpriced insurance then?

That is an option that millions of hirers are pressurised into doing. Alternatively you could buy car hire excess insurance.

You can save both money and annoyance by buying reasonably priced car excess insurance here in the UK. This will cover the cost of any excess charges you may incur. Policies range from just a single day's cover to a full year, for cover in Britain, European or Worldwide.

Don't pay over the odds for expensive isurance extras abroad, or risk huge charges for theft or damages that may - or may not(!) have happened during you rental period. Get a quote now.

What happens after I have taken out the policy?

Now you have taken out car hire excess insurance you can enjoy using your car rental fully, with the peace of mind that your car is fully covered and no further costs will be incurred in the unfortunate event of damage, an accident or the car being stolen.