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Theft Protection - What is it and what does it cover?

Car Hire Insurance - Cover your Excess - Obtain a Quotation Now!

Theft Protection is a product offered by Car Rental companies which protects car hirers from the risk of their hire car being stolen. It is separate and different to Collision Damage Waiver which waives damage to the hire car whilst you are hiring it. Often however they do exclude the first part of the replacement costs of a vehicle and this 'excess' or as its called in the US 'non-deductable' can be insured.

The options on excess insurance are either directly at the car hire desk - all car hire firms offer policies to reduce or remove the excess, but this is almost always very expensive, and can cost more than the car rental costs itself (a budget figure would be circa €15 a day for Collision Damage Waiver and Theft Protection excess cover), or via a third party 'stand alone' insurer such as those offered through the moneymaxim car hire insurance comparison service when more comprehensive cover costs from around £2 a day or under £40 for an annual policy (covering both the theft and collision elements).

The third party policies are more comprehensive as they also cover parts of the car that the car rental firm policies exclude, such as the wheels, roof, underbody, tyres and glass (normally both windscreen and mirrors). A burst tyre or chipped windscreen can result in a sizable bill

In the US and Canada residents are able to cover their rental car on their normal car policy, and on cars either booked directly with an American car rental website or directly with an American car hire desk insurance visitors from Europe would need to buy insurance seperately to cover the risk of the hire car being stolen. Again these policies offering full Collision Damage Waiver, Theft Protection and Supplimentary Liability Insurance are much cheaper through the moneymaxim car hire insurance comparison service than they would be bought directly from a car rental firm.

Please note that if you have reserved a car for use in the US and Canada through a UK website or broker you will probably find that Theft Protection will normally have been packaged in - but if you have any doubts please do call our team on on 0800 520 0699 or 01183 218197 and we will be happy to help.