HIDDEN FEE
Car hire excess
Insurance excessDamage excessDeductible
The excess is the sum you must pay towards damage or theft of a hire car before the rental company’s basic insurance covers the rest. It is typically pre-authorised on your card at pick-up as a hold. A low headline rental rate often comes with a high excess — which is what the desk’s waiver upsell targets.
Where it applies
How to avoid or shrink it
- Buy standalone excess-reimbursement insurance before you travel — usually far cheaper than the desk’s waiver.
- Photograph the car and existing damage at pick-up and drop-off to avoid disputed charges.
- Understand that the excess is a hold on your card, not a charge, unless there is damage.
THE HONEST CAVEAT
The excess itself is normal and fair — it is the price of the desk’s last-minute waiver that is usually the poor deal, not the existence of an excess.
Count it in your true total
Run a specific booking through the calculator and this fee is counted — sourced, dated and confidence-graded alongside everything else the headline price leaves out.
Back to the full fee glossary, or browse the Hidden-Fee Index.