The typical amount of excess on vehicle rental insurance might make you think twice about even hiring a car. Typical excess rates vary of course from one part of the world to another, but may commonly reach more than a thousand pounds and are rarely less than several hundred.

One of the problems you might face when presented with the information about the amount of excess as you are about to drive away from the car rental company, however, is that any offered excess insurance is also likely to add a considerable amount to your car hire bill – the daily rate for car excess insurance is itself typically high.

It might seem like a question of swings and roundabouts, therefore. Do you pay considerably more for your car hire – not just the cost of daily hire, but the premiums for the third party component of the required vehicle rental insurance, plus an additional premium for any excess insurance cover – or do you accept the risk that you pay be faced with a bill of a thousand pounds or more if the car is stolen, involved in a car crash or accidentally damaged.

Excess insurance providers

You might hop off these particular swings and roundabouts, however, by taking matters into your own hands and arranging separate, standalone excess insurance before you even start your journey.

Some insurance providers specialise in readily arranged one-stop vehicle rental insurance excess cover. From those that maintain a website, you may investigate the cost of such cover and even buy it online.

Typically, the excess cover offered by such independent providers may sometimes be cheaper than prices elsewhere, including the car rental company you are planning to use.

Not only that, but even more risks might be covered. In many vehicle rental insurance agreements, for example, there is not only the excess itself but also exclusions relating to damage to the windows, roof, underside and tyres of the car. Excess insurance from a specialist provider might commonly include cover for all of these items, thus protecting you from still further out of pocket expenses.

Moreover, a package from such a provider might typically give you a number of options with respect to your period of car hire and where in the world you might be renting it. For example, options might include cover for a short-term rental period of just 7 days or alternatives of much longer periods; you might wish to choose excess cover for driving a rental car in Europe or you might instead choose cover that gives you worldwide options.

Once arranged, you may also typically find that the excess protection on your vehicle rental insurance is good for the entire year, allowing you an unlimited number of car rentals during the course of that year.