Understanding Car Hire Terms & Conditions

It's important to understand the terms and conditions that apply when you hire a car - especially those regarding insurance and excess payments you may have to make in the event that something goes wrong.

Unfortunately, terms and conditions for rental cars vary considerably from country to country (and even between companies) - so we can't offer you a definitive guide here.

What we've done instead is to explain some of the most common terminology you will come across, to help you make sense of it all:

• Damage/Liability Insurance
• Collision Damage Waiver
• Theft Insurance/Waiver
• Breakdown Assistance/Insurance
• Personal Accident Insurance
• Fuel Policies
• Excess Mileage

Damage / Liability Insurance

In most countries, hired cars will be provided with third-party insurance that covers the driver's liability to other users.

In other words, if you cause an accident, all damage to other vehicles will be covered. This insurance usually has a maximum cover level - perhaps £1,000,000 - after which you could theoretically be liable for any remaining costs.

Collision Damage Waiver (CDW)

This covers the cost of damage to the hire vehicle and usually takes the form of an extra daily charge. Without CDW cover, you may be liable for the costs of any damage you cause to the vehicle. Paying the CDW charge usually means your liability will be restricted to a fixed amount (an excess).

Note that glass and tyres are usually excluded from the CDW - i.e. you are responsible anyway. CDW is sometimes known as Collision Damage Insurance.

Theft Insurance / Waiver

Theft insurance covers you in the case of the theft or attempted theft of your hire car. Without Theft Insurance, you may be liable for the whole value of the car (or a sizeable amount of it).

Theft Insurance usually carries an excess and is normally invalidated if you are unable to return the keys of the rental vehicle (as this probably means you didn't secure it property before it was stolen).

Breakdown Assistance / Insurance

Hire cars normally include breakdown insurance. You should be provided with details of this at the time of the rental. Note that if you do breakdown, you are obliged to use the hire company's breakdown service.

Except for changing a wheel (if you are comfortable with this) you should not attempt to repair rented cars yourself.

Personal Accident Insurance

It's worth remembering that if you are hurt or killed in an accident with in a hire car, you will not be covered by the rental company's standard insurance.

Personal Accident Insurance (PAI) is an option that is usually available to cover the risk to the driver of death of permanent disability resulting from an accident in a rented car.

Fuel Policies

Different rental companies operate different policies with regards to fuel

Often, vehicles will be provided with a full tank and you should return them that way.

However, occasionally companies operate variations on this policy - make sure you know how you should return the car before you set off, otherwise you could end up being charged extra for returning the car with insufficient fuel.

Excess Mileage

These days, most car hire companies operate unlimited mileage policies - you can drive as many miles as you want without paying extra.

However, there are some that have restrictions on the mileage you can do per day and charge you extra if you go over this. Check if you are planning to do a lot of miles!