Last updated: September 2026.
If you hire a car on holiday, the excess can catch most families out, but not in the way you might think. When you pick up a rental, the agreement almost always includes a Collision Damage Waiver, but it comes with an excess. That’s the chunk you’re liable for if the car is damaged or stolen, and it can run into the thousands.
The car rental company will offer to wipe it out for a daily fee, and it’s rarely cheap, which is where a standalone car hire excess policy comes in. This covers that same liability for a fraction of the price – so you pay the rental company first if anything happens, then claim the excess back from your policy. We buy an annual policy because we hire a few times a year, and it works out cheaper than paying for the desk waiver every time.
What is the best car hire excess insurance in the UK?
For most UK families, the best car hire excess insurance is a standalone policy with a vehicle-value limit that covers the car you’re actually hiring, plus cover for the parts of a hire car that rental firms often exclude, including tyres, windscreens and the undercarriage. There isn’t one winner for everyone, so here’s how the four policies we compare stack up, with a full side-by-side table further down:
- insurance4carhire by Swinton: best for larger or higher value cars, with cover for hire cars worth up to £120,000 new. It’s what we use now, and we’ll keep using it for one-off US trips, though its £6,500 total claim limit per policy year is lower than some rivals.
- Cover4Rentals: best for a higher claim limit, at £10,000 per claim on Silver and £12,000 on Gold, for cars up to £75,000 and seven seats.
- Reduce My Excess: best for standard family cars up to £65,000, with a family cover option for other drivers. We’re debating switching our Europe annual cover to it.
- Simply Excess: best for budget cover on smaller cars under £65,000.
The £65,000 car-value limit that caught us out
Here’s the part we learned recently: most standard excess policies only cover cars up to a certain value, and it’s the price the car cost when new, not what it’s worth second-hand. The usual ceiling is £65,000, and some cheaper policies cap as low as £50,000.
This actually caught us out on our Scotland Highlands road trip, when we took my parents with us. We needed something big enough for five of us, so we booked an automatic SUV and got a BMW X5. It’s a solid, sensible family car, but the X5 has a starting value of £72,000 brand new.
If your hire cars tend to sit under £75,000 or £65,000, Reduce My Excess and Cover4Rentals are worth a closer look, both are well-regarded providers with Which? Best Buy recognition and strong Trustpilot ratings. Reduce My Excess has given my readers an exclusive 10% off policies when you book through this link. But confirm the current limit on each policy wording before you buy, as they do change.
If, like us, you tend to hire larger, automatic SUVs, consider insurance4carhire by Swinton, as their cover runs up to £120,000 of the new vehicle value. It means we don’t have to second-guess whether the SUV we’ve booked slips over the upper limit. It’s not the cheapest option out there, but for the way we travel it removes that particular worry, and that’s worth the extra cost to us.
Before you buy, check these four things in the policy wording:
- Vehicle value limit. Look for the retail price when new, not the current value. If you hire larger SUVs, £65,000 can be tighter than it sounds.
- Age of the car. Most policies want the vehicle under 10 years old, though a few stretch to 20.
- Off-road and 4×4 use. A 4×4 is usually fine on normal roads, but drive it off a public highway and cover can fall away. Worth knowing if you’re heading anywhere with rough tracks.
- Car versus van. Vans and people carriers with lots of seats often need a separate policy, so check your SUV is treated as a car.
Best car hire excess insurance compared
| Provider | Best for | Max car value (retail when new) | Claim limit | Single trip or annual | Tyres, windscreen, underbody | Where it covers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| insurance4carhire by Swinton (what we use now, and for one-off US trips) | Larger or higher value SUVs where £65,000 is too tight | Up to £120,000, under 10 years, off-road excluded | £6,500 in total per policy year | Both, up to 60 days per rental | Yes, including windows, undercarriage and roof | UK, Europe, USA and Canada, or worldwide (separate policies) |
| Cover4Rentals (researched, not used) | Larger family SUVs that still sit under £75,000 | Up to £75,000, under 10 years, up to 7 seats, 4x4s covered for on-road use | £10,000 per claim (Silver), £12,000 (Gold) | Both | Yes | Europe, USA and Canada, or worldwide (separate policies) |
| Reduce My Excess (we’re considering it for our Europe annual policy, not bought yet) | Standard SUVs and cars, family cover for other drivers. 10% off with code RME10A8Y2612 | Up to £65,000, under 10 years, 4x4s for road use | £10,000 per claim | Both, annual policies allow 31 or 62 days per rental | Yes | UK and Europe, or worldwide including USA and Canada (CDW add-on available) |
| Simply Excess (researched, not used) | Budget cover for smaller cars, well under the value cap | Under £65,000, under 10 years | £10,000 per claim | Both | Yes | Europe policy reviewed by Which?, check the wording for other regions |
Vehicle limits, claim limits and areas covered come from provider policy pages, checked September 2026, and from Which?’s 2026 review of specialist policies, which checked prices in March 2026. Simply Excess details are from the Which? review only. Policy terms and vehicle-value limits change, so confirm the current wording before you buy.
How we compared car hire excess insurance
We’ve hired cars across the UK, Europe and North America, so our comparison focuses on the details that have mattered to us on family road trips: the maximum car value, how much you can claim, tyre, windscreen and undercarriage cover, additional drivers and where each policy applies. We currently use insurance4carhire, and we’ll keep it for one-off US trips. We’re debating switching our annual Europe cover to Reduce My Excess, which we haven’t bought yet, and which gives readers an exclusive 10% off through our link. Cover4Rentals and Simply Excess are policies we’ve researched but not bought. Everything here comes from provider policy pages and Which?’s 2026 review. Prices and terms change, so always check the current wording before you buy.
CDW vs car hire excess insurance: what’s the difference?
Collision Damage Waiver (CDW) is the basic cover that comes with most rentals in Europe. It limits what you owe if the car is damaged, but you still pay an excess, which Which? puts at anywhere from £200 to £2,500.
At the desk, rental companies sell a separate product that reduces that excess, sometimes to zero. It goes by names such as Super CDW, Super Cover or Excess Protection. Standalone car hire excess insurance does a different job: you pay the excess if something happens, then claim it back from your insurer. That’s why a standalone policy sits on top of the rental’s basic cover instead of replacing it.
There’s one exception to watch for. Which? reports that Sixt charges extra for basic CDW in the UK and Europe, and if you hire without it you could be liable for the full value of the car, with no excess for a standalone policy to reimburse. If you hire with Sixt, add their basic CDW. In the USA and Canada, CDW is often not included in the rental price, so look for a policy that covers it. Cover4Rentals includes CDW automatically on its USA and Canada policy, and Reduce My Excess offers it as an add-on to its worldwide cover.
How does standalone car hire excess insurance work?
- Hire the car with the rental company’s basic cover in place.
- Buy your excess policy before you collect the car. Most policies, including insurance4carhire, aren’t valid if you buy after collection.
- If the car is damaged, the rental company charges you up to the excess or other covered charge.
- Pay it, then claim the money back from your insurer, subject to the policy terms.
- Keep the rental agreement, damage report, receipts and photos, as the insurer will want evidence.
One catch: because standalone cover reimburses you afterwards, the rental company can still ask for a deposit or card pre-authorisation at the desk. Check your credit card limit before you travel.
Annual vs single-trip car hire excess insurance
Single-trip cover is for one rental or trip, while annual cover covers multiple rentals over 12 months, up to a maximum length per rental. That limit varies: insurance4carhire allows up to 60 days per rental, and Reduce My Excess offers 31 or 62 days on its annual policies. We buy annual because we hire a few times a year, and we’re debating moving our annual Europe cover to Reduce My Excess, with single-trip cover from insurance4carhire for the US. If you expect more than one rental, get an annual quote as well as a single-trip one. Which? recommends looking at an annual policy from Cover4Rentals or Simply Excess if you hire more than one car a year. The break-even point depends on your trips, so compare the actual quotes.
What families should check before buying car hire excess insurance
- A vehicle value cap that comfortably covers the cars we actually hire.
- A high enough excess reimbursement limit, ideally £5,000 or more, so we’re covered even on a chunky excess.
- Cover for the bits rental firms love to charge for: tyres, wheels, windscreen and glass, roof and undercarriage.
- Misfuelling and lost key cover, which sound minor until you fill an SUV with the wrong fuel abroad.
- Additional or family drivers included, so more than one of us can drive without paying extra.
- Where the policy applies. Check it covers your destination, particularly the USA and Canada.
- Deposit and credit card limits, because standalone cover reimburses you afterwards and the rental desk can still block a deposit on your card.
- Annual multi-trip cover if you hire more than once or twice a year, which can beat buying single-trip policies each time, as long as the maximum rental length suits your trips.
Whichever you choose, buy it before you collect the car, then decline the rental company’s optional excess-reduction cover at the desk, usually sold as Super CDW, Super Cover or Excess Protection. Keep the basic CDW that comes with the rental, as your own policy reimburses the excess instead of replacing that cover. You’ll pay any damage charge to the rental company first, then claim it back, usually for a fraction of what the desk charges for its own product. And if you’re travelling with younger kids, our guide to the best travel car seats is worth checking out!
This cover sits alongside, not instead of, your usual family travel insurance, which doesn’t typically cover the rental excess itself.
Allie, Jack & R x
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Car hire excess insurance: frequently asked questions
