Car hire excess insurance, explained
When you collect the car, they'll offer to "waive your excess" for €15–25 a day. The same protection, bought when you book, costs a fraction of that — and it is already priced on the page in front of you. We measure what it actually costs at the airports we track.
Why the gap is so big
The rental company's waiver is priced per day and sold at the counter, when you are tired, holding a queue, and not in a position to compare anything. Cover bought at checkout does the same job — it deals with the excess if the car is damaged or stolen — and it is priced where you can see it next to everything else.
The counter "excess waiver" / "super cover", added when you're tired and keen to get going.
DiscoverCars' Full Coverage at Faro, measured 18 Sept 2026 — about half the counter rate, and decided before you travel.
The amount held on the main driver's card, and what you are covering. It runs to €2,500 at some desks.
What actually differs
| Decline everything | Rental-desk waiver | Cover taken at checkout | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Typical cost (1 week, Faro) | €0 — but you carry ~€1,100 | ~€105–175 | €71.76 measured |
| Covers the excess if damaged/stolen | No | Yes | Yes (reimbursed) |
| Tyres, glass, underbody, roof | No | Often excluded | Usually included — check the wording |
| Bought under pressure at the desk | — | Yes | No — decided when you book |
| Priced per day | — | Yes | Yes — so it stops adding up on a long hire |
| Price visible before you travel | — | No | Yes — we show it beside the rental |
Search your dates and we show what the car costs, what the desk will hold on your card, and what covering that excess costs — beside each other, before you commit to anything.
Common questions
No. You can decline all cover and carry the excess yourself, take the cover offered when you book, or buy the rental desk's waiver when you collect the car. It is optional, and the desk cannot make it a condition of handing over the keys.
The amount you're liable for if the car is damaged or stolen — often €800–€2,500, blocked on your card at pickup. Excess insurance reimburses you for that if you have to pay it.
Tyres, glass, underbody and roof are exactly the parts the rental desk's own waiver most often excludes, and cover bought at checkout usually includes them. "Usually" is doing real work in that sentence — read what the policy lists before you rely on it.
Less often. Cover charged per day is cheap for a week and expensive for a month — at Faro, €71.76 for seven days against €214.86 for thirty. On a long rental it is worth comparing what cover costs rather than accepting the per-day price. Our search flags this on the trips where it applies.
Because that is the dearest version of the same thing, sold at the worst possible moment. €15–25 a day at the counter against about €10 a day booked ahead — and at the desk you cannot compare, cannot read the terms properly, and are usually holding up a queue while you decide.