The maximum amount you pay yourself if the car is damaged, even though it is insured.
The excess is the part of any damage you pay yourself before the insurance takes over. Hire a car with a £900 excess, put a dent in it that costs £400 to repair, and you pay the £400. If the repair costs £3,000, you pay £900 and the insurer covers the rest.
It is the single biggest source of unpleasant surprises in car hire, because it almost never appears in the headline price you compare on. The cheapest rates usually carry an excess between €800 and €1,500, and the company blocks that amount on your credit card for the whole rental.
Even if you buy excess reduction at the desk, check what it leaves out. The usual exclusions are glass, tyres, the underside and the roof — exactly the parts that get damaged on narrow roads, in tight car parks and on the tracks down to the coves. A windscreen can run to several hundred euros and not be covered.
Our cars include SCDW Premium insurance with zero excess in the rate: if something is damaged, you pay nothing. We do not block money on your card either, and the cover includes glass, tyres, underside and roof — the gap most policies leave open.
Zero-excess insurance, no deposit, unlimited kilometres and free cancellation up to 72h before.
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