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Collision Damage Waiver - What is it?

Collision Damage Waiver simply removes the responsibility for damage to a hire car whilst you are hiring it. Often there is an 'excess' which means you are still liable for the first few hundred pounds of damage even if you have taken Collision Damage Waiver.

Collision Damage Waiver is normally provided automatically within a car hire package booked with a UK firm, although if booking a car hire directly with a company or website that is based in the US, Canada, South America and some parts of Asia it may have to be bought seperately.

This is due to the fact that in these areas residents of those countries can normally transfer their normal car insurance policies to cover a rented car - an option not available to EU residents.

Collision Damage Waiver often excludes particular elements of vehicles - such as the wheels, roof, underbody, tyres and glass (normally both windscreen and mirrors). The car hire firms justify this on the basis that they believe that this damage is frequently caused by driver negligence, although from feedback from one of the car hire insurers on our panel the most frequent claim under their policies is for a chipped windscreen, with the average claim being £350.

Policies to cover the Collision Damage Waiver excess bought from car rental firms directly still exclude these elements.

Oddly these elements are also excluded from cover offered by the 'No Excess' Car Hire Firms.

Moneymaxim offer both full Collision Damage Waiver policies, and policies which cover any excess that may apply on a car already supplied with Collision Damage Waiver included through its car hire excess insurance comparison service. The policies all cover the whhels, glass, underbody and roof.

Cars booked through the Moneymaxim car hire service also include basic Collision Damange Waiver, although in the majority of cases an excess is still payable. We offer car hire in this way as buying Car hire and Car Hire Insurance seperatly is almost invariably cheaper than buyong a 'package'.

It is worthwhile remembering that Collision Damage Waiver does not cover the theft of a car - this is normally covered seperately through a theft protection waiver.