Travel Insurance – travel policies with car hire excess insurance built in

We are occasionally asked by users of our Car Hire Excess Insurance comparison service whether it is possible to buy a combined Travel and Car Hire Excess insurance policy.

Whilst this was offered by a couple of insurers, recently the car hire excess insurance cover has been withdrawn as an inclusive benefit and now the insurers who are offering cover are tending to add it as an optional upgrade rather than an automatic inclusion.

This can sometimes (but not always) make this a rather expensive way of getting excess insurance.

For example, the insurer Staysure now offers Car Hire Excess Insurance as an upgrade when travellers buy either the Comprehensive or Signature version of their travel insurance policies.

This cover costs £24 on a weekly European policy - almost double the cost of a standalone car hire excess insurance policy from MoneyMaxim.

However, on an annual policy it costs just £25, which is cheaper than an annual European car hire excess insurance policy.

The cover also is rather thinner, with a maximum claim limit of £4000 (the policies on MoneyMaxim all have limits between £5,000 and £10,000) and elements such as lock out and misfuelling are not included.

Do understand that it is primarily a travel insurance policy with a car hire insurance additional benefit rather than a policy designed to meet all the risks covered in a standard car hire excess insurance policy.

It will, however, cover those of any age.Older drivers aged over 71 can only hire a car for a maximum of 35 days on an annual policy but there is no formal maximum age.

Another difference is that, whilst car hire excess insurance policies will cover additional drivers (those added to a car hire agreement at the desk) free of charge the Staysure policy would require all drivers, primary or additional to be insured under the travel insurance policy. This might work well for family groups, but possibly is less flexible for friends travelling together.

However it represents a good way to cover at least the headline risks connected to your car hire along with your other travel insurance requirements.

To get a quote simply click through to the Staysure website.

Alternatively simply purchase separate policies for Travel Insurance and Car Hire Excess Insurance.