CarHireExcess.com Reviews 12,072

I've used this company a few times, but my most recent trip was first time I needed to make a claim. Any company can take premiums but whether actually pay outs another matter. My claim was only just over £100 but was dealt with no fuss and paid quickly. Will use again

I have been using this company for several years now and I highly recommend it. I have (unfortunately) had to make two claims and each was dealt with promptly and efficiently. For me, this is the acid test of how good a company is (not how easy is to sign up to).

An excellent company to deal with. A Wild Boar ran into our rental car while driving at night in Sardinia; little damage was done but obviously the rental company did proceed with a damage claim amounting to £339.82. On return home, I immediately raised a claim with Car Hire Excess, conscious that it would probably take several weeks for the rental company to provide all the necessary paperwork for me to make the payment and reclaim. Once all required paperwork was submitted to CarHireExcess.com, they made the full payment within 10 business days as promised. The underwriter appears to be "Defend Insurance". I highly recommend them.

Try calling them to amend your policy - I did and this is what happened:

1. Call goes through and complete silence (1 min)
I hung up and called again
2. Call goes through and gets picked up and then they put the phone down a couple of seconds later with no conversation.
So I called again
3. Call goes through and complete silence (waited 2 minutes) so I hung up and gave up.

Could it be a technical issue or just the one person working there on a coffee break?

Poor experience for an existing customer either way.

Updated 15/12/2025

Thank you for the response.

All relevant details are already included in the review, which was shared for feedback purposes rather than to request follow-up.

Well Domink it is now a month and I have heard nothing from the company.

I think it is now a virtual company with a "robot" in Slovakia handling enquires. My dispute is very simple a damaged tyre after car hire ( not seen on handover) and billed £150 but because I was overcharged extra insurance cover £150 was credited to me. The "robot" doesn't seem to be able reconcile this and refuses to pay as it thinks I have already been paid.

Excellent service, easy to deal with, would highly recommend

I have been taking out Car Hire Excess insurance with this company for at least the last 5 years and always been happy with the cost, but always wondered how good the experience would be if I needed to make a claim.
Having need to submit a claim this year, I need not have worried. Okay as you would expect there was documentation to gather, and this was more difficult as the accident happened abroad. However once I had all the relevant information, the submission of the claim was straight forward and the customer service was excellent when I had to speak twice to them for clarification of a couple points.
The claim was settled without dispute and within 5 days timescale they quoted me.
If like me you are worried about how good the Company would be if you needed to make a claim, don't be. Just take our the policy and have peace of mind when you are driving abroad and avoid the exorbitant cost of taking out Insurance with the Car Rental Company, who still make you jump through hoops to submit your claim as I understand it.

Great car hire excess insurance company. Easy to apply and claim. Very positive experience on claim!

Great customer service. Been using them for about ten years now and I have great peace of mind knowing they have my back. Would recommend over and over

Online claim portal is not working. Only Sales people are available on the phone who do not have access to claims (convenient!) have been told to send an email. Got the auto reply saying 15 days to reply to my email. The car hire company scammed me for a miniscule bumper scuff and it felt like I was now getting cheated by the insurance company too.

Update after sending all info on email - I have an automated reply now confirming documentation is received and that they are processing my claim. Fingers crossed...

Was just about to purchase and then saw this auto renewal rubbish:

To make sure you have continuous cover under your policy, we will aim to automatically renew (auto-renew) your policy when it runs out, unless you tell us not to. Each year we will notify you by email 6 weeks before the renewal date of your policy, and tell you about any changes to the premium or the policy terms and conditions. If you do not want us to auto-renew your policy, please call us at any stage after you have purchased the policy.

There is no way to purchase and not opt-out from autorenewal. Pretty sure this is illegal?

I had an issue with the email address being incorrect. Managed to speak to a customer service representative called April. Often in these situations it's hard to talk to somebody and they are often not helpful. April was fantastic. She solved my problem and gave me great advice all with a really nice attitude. I was unsure about the company before the call and finished it feeling very positive about the company. Thanks April.

I had taken a duplicate policy as was in Australia and needed to be sure I had a policy as I wasn’t sure the first one covered me in Australia. They refunded the duplicate. It take 2 calls to resolve but it’s resolved and I am a happy customer.

Brilliant service. Claimed for a damaged diamond cut alloy in South Africa. Came back to me within 2 days of claim for further information and called me to confirm claim amount. Monies transferred to my bank account within 5 days after this.

I would never give this company five stars after going through the claims process. It has been over two months of waiting, only to be told that my claim was denied and that I would have to take legal action to get any compensation.

I purchased rental car insurance because I couldn’t afford to cover unexpected accidents out of pocket. I was under the impression that claims would be processed within two weeks, but instead, I was left struggling financially for weeks just to cover a debt they refused to help with. Despite providing all requested information immediately, they dragged the process out and left me with no support.

This has been one of the most frustrating and disheartening experiences I’ve ever had with an insurance company. If you’re considering buying a policy with them, think twice—because when you actually need them, they may leave you with nothing.
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Edit
I've already I've already gone through the process you have given but you seem to think the best way to not make your company look bad is just to put a link pretending to be helpful when realistically it's months waiting and then you get nothing from the end of it I think this manipulation of the comment replies system is despicable for a company to do

A user-friendly online car insurance platform. When I rented a vehicle overseas and required gap/excess car hire insurance, Car Hire Excess stood out as the top choice, offering competitive rates and straightforward information. The online process for getting quotes and making purchases was seamless, and I received prompt confirmation of my coverage.

Easy to join and excellent price also easy to claim

CarHireExcess.com proved to be a reliable companion during my travels. After encountering unexpected charges for alleged damages by a car rental company in Italy, I was thankful to have their coverage, which reimbursed me without issues. Although there was some initial confusion regarding coverage in Mexico, their claims process, based on my experiences and feedback from others, is efficient. Friends and family have started considering their services for future trips, especially after hearing about smooth claims from countries like Albania. The straightforward setup process is a plus, even though I haven't used the coverage yet. Overall, a solid choice for car hire excess insurance abroad.

It has been two months since we submitted a claim, with zero communication or way of contacting anyone to make sure it was received. This is not customer service. All I’ve been told to do is NOT try and contact anyone bc allegedly my claim is being processed. Two months is way too long!

06/12: Claim has been settled. Thanks. Appreciate it may take time but should not purport to settle in 5 days if you make a claim online if this is not realistic.
04/12: Update: Provided the necessary information as requested by Natalie in carehireexcess. I still have not received any update on my claim and still out of pocket.
I made a claim on line. Company states that claims made online will be settled in 5 business days. No settlement after agreed SLA. Sent in a query circa 8 Business days. No response. Sent a follow up query circa 13 business days, No response. Claim and follow up queries being ignored.