July 17, 2024

Insurance and excess

What happens if the car incurs damage?

Which insurance policies do you need? What happens if the car incurs damage? And what happens with the excess? You can read it all on this page. This means you can be sure you have everything properly organised for a worry-free car rental. Don't feel like thinking about this? Then check out our Worry-Free selection. These cars comply with the most important requirements.

Insurance included as standard

The standard insurance covering damage and theft offers good cover in the event of damage to or theft of your hire car. Make sure you are aware of the excess.

Collision Damage Waiver (CDW)

In the event of damage, the Collision Damage Waiver, the CDW insurance policy, covers most of the costs. This includes situations where you cause the damage or the car is written off, for example. Please note: you will often have to pay an excess. In addition, damage to tyres, windows, mirrors, the underside, roof, interior and keys are never covered.

Third Party Insurance (TPI)

Material damage to another car or physical injury to persons who are not sitting in your hire car is covered by Third Party Insurance. The cover provided by this is sufficient within the EU. It may be insufficient outside the EU. Check this with your rental company, and take out extra cover at the rental location if necessary.

Theft Protection (TP)

The cost of a stolen car is largely covered by Theft Protection. This only applies to the car itself, i.e. not to any property in the car. This is covered by your travel insurance, assuming that you have it, of course. Please note: Theft Protection also has an excess.

Excess: should you take out extra cover for this or not?

Regardless of how well your hire car is insured, you will often still have to pay an excess. The amount involved varies between rental companies. However, it is often much higher than the excess that applies to your car insurance in the UK. As such, it is a good idea to take out extra cover for the excess.

If the hire car incurs damage or is stolen, you must pay an excess. In addition, you must pay a large deposit in advance with a valid credit card in your own name.

The excess is often high
The deposit is high
If the vehicle incurs damage, things can get very expensive

Most chosen (71%)

If you take out excess cover, you must still pay a deposit when collecting the car. If the car incurs damage, the rental company will charge this deposit to your credit card. We will then refund this amount.

Cheaper than local insurance policies
The full deposit is always returned to you
You have to pay a deposit at the rental location

What happens if you choose a car with zero excess? In most cases, you will pay nothing at all. Sometimes you must still pay a deposit at the rental location, although this will be smaller. In the event of damage, this will be covered by the rental company.

No deposit, or much smaller deposit
Everything arranged, no hassle
Higher rental cost

Why would I take out insurance and excess cover with you and not with the rental company?

This is possible, but it will often cost you a lot more. In addition, it's handy to know in advance exactly how much your hire car will cost you. If you arrange everything via EasyTerra, you will immediately see the total price. If you arrange some aspects at the rental location, you will face additional costs.

Do I need more insurance than the insurance included as standard?

In principle, the standard insurance policies that we arrange when you rent a car via EasyTerra offer sufficient cover. However, you can always choose to take out additional insurance policies such as Personal Accident Insurance (PAI) and Personal Effects Coverage (PEC). These cover the occupants and luggage in your car.

What is extended cover?

Damage to the glass, wheels, roof and underside of the car is never covered by an insurance policy. This means you must pay these yourself, even if you have a good insurance policy and excess cover. If you want to be 100% insured, you can take out supplemental insurance so that you need not pay for this damage. You will be given this option during the booking process.

Excess cover: how do I submit a claim if my hire car is damaged or stolen?

This is very simple. If the hire car incurs damage or is stolen, first contact us. To refund the excess, we require the following documents from you:

- Rental agreement
- Damage report from the car rental company
- Police report or a written statement from the police in the case of a one-sided accident
- Proof of payment and/or a copy of the credit card statement

The voucher you receive by e-mail after making a booking describes exactly what you must do in the event of damage or theft.

The local rental company says that I have to take out supplemental insurance with them. Is this true?

The staff at the rental company location can be very convincing. After all, they earn a great deal from the insurance policies they try to sell you. As such, don't allow them to sell you all sorts of additional insurance policies, as these are mostly totally unnecessary. However, it may be that you must take out excess cover or increase the Third Party Insurance cover, provided that you want this, of course.

What is EasyTerra?

There are so many car rental companies that it can be difficult to know where to start looking. That's why we launched EasyTerra – it's no coincidence that we have “easy” in our name; it's because we make things as easy as possible for you. We do so by comparing all providers based on your wishes. This means you can find the cheapest and best car for your holiday.