Car rental insurance?

lalababa wrote: »

I've never rented a car so bear with me. What insurance is on a rental car? If a damage waiver is included in the rental what does that mean? (is that just not insurance?) If there is an excess of 1500 what does that mean? How/whom from do you get car rental insurance that covers damage and excesses so that you are fully covered ie so you pay nothing in case of accident/damage ? ps and how much does it cost?

The rental fee will usually include all insurances BUT as you say there will be an excess which is the amount you will have to pay if car is damaged, i.e. the first 1500, and then the rental insurance will cover the rest. They take this as a hold on your credit card.

To reduce this excess to zero you can either a) pay the optional daily fee to the rental company at the time of hire or b) get yourself a standalone car hire excess policy which covers you.

The advantage of a) is that you can pretty much hand the car back without worry whereas with b) you have to pay and then claim it back.

Usually b) works out cheaper even for a single rental of a week or so. Mine was €49 for the year for Europe.

Don't forget to inspect the car very thoroughly on pickup for any damage. Certain European countries are notorious for trying to rip you off.