Car Hire Excess Insurance FAQs

Car Hire Excess is the amount you are responsible to pay towards repair costs if the rental vehicle suffers any damage. The excess amount can vary between car hire providers and normally ranges between €500 and €2,000.

This policy operates on an Excess Reimbursement basis. Excess Reimbursement is designed to repay you the amount of any excess or repair costs you have to pay (up to the policy limit) under the terms of the rental agreement following damage to the rental vehicle.

Damage to the rental vehicle (including windows, tyres and wheels, headlights, the undercarriage and roof) caused by fire, vandalism, accident and theft and also loss of use of the rental vehicle is covered.

Yes, this policy also covers you for costs incurred up to a maximum of €500 per claim, subject to a maximum of €2,000 in any one period of insurance, for replacing a lost or stolen membership card/key for a rental vehicle, including replacement locks and locksmith charges.

No excess applies to this policy, the amount deducted from your card will be the amount returned to you up to the limit specified in the policy.

In order to qualify for cover the person named as the lead driver on the Car Hire Excess insurance must be the person shown as the lead named driver on the car rental agreement. You can include up to five additional drivers as long as they are also named as a driver on the rental agreement.You and all additional drivers must be aged between 21 and 84 years on the date of purchase of this insurance and must have a full valid driving licence or hold a full internationally recognised licence to drive the rental vehicle.You and all additional drivers must be permanent residents in the Republic of Ireland.

No, you must purchase the Car Hire Excess policy before you have signed the rental agreement.

We will reimburse you for the excess up to a maximum of €7,500 (or equivalent in local currency) for any single incident under a single rental agreement. You can claim more than once but in total we will only reimburse you up to a maximum of €7,500 (or equivalent in local currency) during any one period of insurance. If a payment has been made in local currency any limits specified in this policy will be applied based on the exchange rate that applied at the time of the purchase of Your Policy.If you have purchased a Worldwide policy we will cover you for losses incurred during a trip in or through the USA, Canada, the Caribbean or South and Central America, as a result of damage to the rental vehicle following a covered incident up to: US$ 100,000 (or the equivalent in local currency), the value of the rental vehicle or the value of claim, whichever is the lower.N.B. Where you were covered by any other insurance for the same excess, we will only pay our share of the claim. At any point during the period of insurance we will only cover one rental agreement, rental agreements may not overlap unless Family Cover has been selected and is applicable.

If you purchase the optional additional Supplemental Liability Insurance (SLI), your policy will provide cover against costs you become legally liable to pay in respect of bodily injury and damage to property as a result of an accident whilst using the rental vehicle during the period of insurance for a trip in or through the USA, Canada, the Caribbean, South or Central America. The cover provided by this policy shall apply only in excess of amounts recoverable under any other applicable insurance, and the maximum that will be paid in respect of all claims arising from any one accident shall be the difference between the amount recoverable under any other insurance and US $1,000,000 (or equivalent in local currency).N.B. Where the car hire company provides no cover, this limit is reduced to US $250,000.

Daily cover applies to each calendar day where you have the use of the rental vehicle for all or part thereof.

The declared period of insurance must match the duration stated on your rental agreement. We cannot incept cover once your rental has already started. The maximum duration for any one single rental is 180 continuous days. Daily cover applies to each calendar day where you have the use of the rental vehicle for all or part thereof.

A Single Policy will cover you for a ‘one off’ car rental agreement and is only valid for the rental dates specified on the policy schedule up to a maximum of 180 continuous days. An Annual Policy is valid for 12 months from the issue date and will cover you for unlimited car rental agreements so long as each individual car rental does not exceed 62 days.

Single Policy - 180 days any one continuous rental. Annual Policy - 62 days any one continuous rental, unlimited rentals.

This extends the cover provided by the policy to immediate family members named on the policy schedule, and enables them to rent vehicles independently without the lead named insured driver accompanying them. Immediate family members are defined as Mother, Father, Brother, Sister, Daughter, Son, Foster Child, Husband, Wife, Step-parent, Step-child, Step-sister, Step-brother, Parent-in-law, Son-in-law, Daughter-in-law, Sister-in-law, Brother-in-law or co habiting partner.

You can include up to five additional insured drivers free of charge, however each additional insured driver must be named as a driver on the rental agreement also.Unless Family Cover has been purchased and is applicable, additional drivers cannot hire a rental vehicle independently from the lead named insured driver but can drive the rental vehicle unaccompanied by the lead named insured driver.

European Policy covers Europe - The countries of the continent of Europe plus Morocco, Tunisia, Turkey and Israel but excluding any trip in, to, or through Russia and Belarus.

Anywhere in the World excluding any trip in, to, or through Afghanistan, Belarus, Cuba, Congo, Iran, Iraq, Ivory Coast, Liberia, North Korea, Myanmar, Russia, Sudan, South Sudan, Syria and Zimbabwe.

We do not cover rentals or trips in, to, or through Afghanistan, Belarus, Cuba, Congo, Iran, Iraq, Ivory Coast, Liberia, North Korea, Myanmar, Russia, Sudan, South Sudan, Syria and Zimbabwe.

In order to purchase this insurance you must be a permanent resident of the Republic of Ireland. If you are permanently resident in the Republic of Ireland and you purchase this insurance then yes, you will be covered to rent in your country of residence.

Each car rental company will have their own policy and procedures on deposits. A number of companies will either pre-authorise or debit a sum equal to the excess from your credit card, while others may merely take an imprint.

The policy does not cover rental of any of the following vehicles: vehicles over 10 years, vehicles valued at more than €70,000 (or equivalent in local currency), motor homes, campervans, trailers or caravans, vans, commercial vehicles or trucks, two or three wheeled vehicles, off-road vehicles, prestige or exotic vehicles, recreational vehicles, passenger vans or other vehicles with more than 7 seats or over 3.5 tonnes.

For details on what is not covered please see Your Policy Wording section “What Is Not Covered”.

You may cancel this insurance within 14 days of arranging cover or, if later, within 14 days of receiving Your Policy documentation. This is known as the cooling-off period. You will be entitled to a full refund of the premium paid as long as you have not made a trip or made a claim and do not intend to make a claim. If you have purchased a single trip policy, you will be entitled to a full refund of the premium paid as long as the vehicle pickup date on Your Policy has not passed, you have not made a trip or made a claim and do not intend to make a claim.You can cancel at any time after the 14-day cooling off period and we will allow a proportionate refund of the premium paid, as long as you have not made a trip or made a claim and do not intend to make a claim. If you have purchased a single trip policy, you can cancel at any time after the 14-day cooling off period and we will make a proportionate refund of the premium paid as long as the vehicle pickup date on Your Policy has not passed, you have not made a trip or made a claim and do not intend to make a claim.

Please refer to the Make a Claim page on our website or refer to the policy wording section How to make a claim.