Direct Travel Insurance has launched a new policy: Direct Car Excess, which means travellers hiring a car in the UK or abroad can save money by taking out this policy in advance, rather than by buying their car rental company’s more costly policy when they may be under pressure at the rental desk and in a hurry to start driving.

When you hire a car, you are required to insure it as if it was your own. Your car rental agreement normally covers CDW (collision damage waiver), theft and third party liability. If any damage occurs during the rental period, the hirer will have to pay a portion of the costs – the excess.  This ‘excess’ insurance is often expensive: hirers may have to pay an excess of as much as £2,000 towards the damages.

According to a 2010 report, the average price charged by car hire rental desks for top up insurance to deal with this excess was £9.99* a day, while Direct Car Excess insures against the excess for premiums as low as £1.99 a day in Europe, £5.99 a day in the Americas and the Caribbean (excluding Cuba) and £2.99 a day in the rest of the world excluding the Americas and the Caribbean.

Commenting on the new Direct Car Excess Policy, Hallie Harenski of Direct Travel Insurance says, ‘In many situations, customers can feel under pressure to take out excess insurance when they pick up a hire car, when they will often not have the time to review the quality or cost of the cover.  As a result they can find themselves paying expensive premiums for cover which may not meet their needs.

Key Benefits of Direct Car Excess

The new policies cover the excess a hirer would have to pay, as well as providing cover for damage to tyres, windscreens and the undercarriage.
*  Available for car hire in the UK or abroad
*  Up to £4,000 cover for excess on theft and damage claims
*  The policies also provide baggage cover, car rental key cover and Personal Accident.
*  Policies are the same price whatever your age (insured drivers must be UK residents, with a full driving licence,  aged 21-85)
*  Additional drivers are covered at no extra cost
*  For travellers frequently hiring cars in the UK or abroad, an annual Direct Car Excess Policy is available for a cost of £39 for Europe, or *  £49 for the rest of the world excluding the Americas and the Caribbean.

In addition, a Collision Damage Waiver product for Worldwide including the Americas and the Caribbean (excluding Cuba), not only covers the hirer’s excess, but also insures them for up to $100,000 for damage to the rental car and $1,000,000 for Third Party Liability.