Last updated: September 20, 2026
When you collect a hire car, you may be offered an additional car rental excess waiver at the desk. Depending on the rental company, it might be called an excess waiver, excess reduction, Super Collision Damage Waiver (SCDW) or simply additional protection.
It can sound like something you need before you are allowed to drive away. But that is usually not the case. Your rental will normally already include the basic insurance required under the rental agreement. The extra product being offered is generally designed to reduce or remove the excess you could have to pay if the car is damaged or stolen.
So, do you need car hire excess insurance? You may well want protection against a large rental excess, but you have several ways of dealing with that risk — and buying additional cover from the rental company is only one of them.
What Is a Car Rental Excess Waiver?
Most hire cars come with insurance or a Collision Damage Waiver (CDW), but this does not usually mean that your liability is zero. The rental agreement will normally specify an excess — the amount for which you remain responsible if the vehicle is damaged or stolen.
That excess can be substantial. The rental company may therefore offer you an additional waiver or protection package which reduces the amount you would have to pay, sometimes to zero.
The attraction is obvious: you buy it at the desk and, subject to the rental company's terms and exclusions, reduce your financial exposure there and then.
The disadvantage is that rental desk protection can be expensive, particularly over a week or two, and the scope of cover varies considerably between rental companies.
A Rental Company's Waiver and Car Hire Excess Insurance Are Not the Same Thing
This is the most important distinction to understand.
A rental company excess waiver changes the amount you are liable to pay under the rental agreement. If the excess is reduced to zero, the rental company would not normally charge you that excess for damage covered by its waiver.
Standalone car hire excess insurance works differently. It is reimbursement insurance. You retain the excess under your rental agreement and the rental company may still require a deposit or place a pre-authorisation against your card. If you are subsequently charged for something covered by your excess policy, you pay the rental company and then claim that eligible cost back from the insurer.
That distinction sometimes causes confusion at rental desks. Having separate excess insurance does not change your contract with the rental company and does not normally remove its right to require a deposit.
What Should You Check Before Buying a Rental Desk Waiver?
Not all excess waivers provide the same protection, so it is worth checking exactly what you are being offered rather than relying on the name of the product.
In particular, check:
- How much excess remains after buying the waiver
- Whether tyres and wheels are covered
- Whether windscreens and other glass are covered
- Whether the roof and undercarriage are included
- Whether lost or damaged keys are covered
- Whether administration, towing or loss-of-use charges are excluded
- Whether there are circumstances in which the waiver becomes invalid
A product described as "full cover" or "zero excess" may still contain exclusions, so the rental terms remain important.
How Does Standalone Car Hire Excess Insurance Compare?
Independent car hire excess insurance is purchased separately from the rental company, usually before you collect the vehicle.
With SimplyExcess, eligible excess charges can be reimbursed up to £10,000. Our policies also include cover for damage to areas such as windows, tyres, wheels, headlights, the roof and undercarriage, subject to the policy terms.
There is also cover for a range of other eligible costs, including towing, administration charges, key loss, lockout and misfuelling.
The trade-off is straightforward: because it is reimbursement insurance, you may have to pay the rental company first and make a claim afterwards. For many travellers, that is preferable to paying for additional protection at the rental desk, but it is important to understand how the policy works before travelling.
Can You Decline the Rental Company's Extra Cover?
In many cases, yes. If your rental already includes the required basic insurance or CDW and you are comfortable accepting the excess under the rental agreement, you can generally decline the optional excess protection offered at the desk.
If you have bought separate car hire excess insurance, you do not normally need to show the policy to the rental company. Your agreement remains with the rental company and your excess insurance is a separate contract.
You should still expect the rental company to require a suitable payment card and, in many cases, reserve an amount against it to cover the rental excess.
Is Car Hire Excess Insurance Cheaper?
It can be considerably cheaper than buying additional protection at the rental desk, particularly if you are renting for several days or travel more than once a year. The important comparison, however, is not simply the headline price. Look at the excess covered, the areas of the vehicle included and any additional charges or exclusions.
SimplyExcess offers cover for individual trips as well as annual policies for people who rent cars regularly. Our European car hire excess insurance was also named a Which? Best Buy in its 2026 comparison, receiving a score of 85%.
You can compare our car hire excess insurance options here before deciding what works best for your trip.
So, Do You Really Need Car Hire Excess Insurance?
Not necessarily. You could choose to accept the excess and take the financial risk yourself, or you could pay the rental company to reduce or waive it.
Standalone car hire excess insurance provides a third option: keeping the rental company's excess in place while arranging separate cover to reimburse eligible charges if something goes wrong.
The right approach depends on the rental terms, the size of the excess and how you prefer to manage the risk. The important thing is to make that decision before you reach the rental desk, when you have time to compare the options properly.
Whichever option you choose, read the rental agreement carefully, check the vehicle before driving away and make sure you understand what you could be charged if something goes wrong.