Types of rental car insurance

This post will discuss some of the common questions like What is "excess", "CDW", "LDW", "excess reduction", etc? And what is RentalCover.com?

The amount payable in the event of an accident is usually called your "excess", "liability", or “deductible”. Rental companies all offer multiple options to reduce your excess. In some countries such as the USA, Canada and Mexico, suppliers do not include any insurance in their basic price, so your excess is actually the full value of the car. In some countries such as Australia and NZ the rental companies are not permitted to pass on this level of risk to customers. In other countries such as UK and most of the EU it is uncommon to see cars without some level of reduced excess.

The product that reduces excess from the full value to a lower amount (usually €/£/$1000-2000) is usually called "CDW" ("Collision Damage Waiver"). Policies that reduce your liability from that level towards €/£/$0 are most commonly called Super CDW (also called "Excess Reduction" in Australia/NZ, Damage Liability Fee and many other names that serve the same purpose). CDW that includes theft coverage is called LDW ("Loss Damage Waiver") while Super CDW that includes theft is called Super LDW. In the US, however, it is just called a CDW.

At present, RentalCover.com offers alternatives to Super CDW/Super LDW and covers all types of damages to your rental vehicle caused by an accident.