Rental desk extras can more than double the cost of car rental1, according to iCarhireinsurance.com's annual 12-country car hire costs study. Yet while more than two thirds (69%)² of car hirers believe those extras are overpriced, only three in ten (29%) never buy them when they pick up their car, a new Opinium survey of 1,000 UK car hirers finds.
The average global cost of a week’s car hire over peak summer was £3731 and the average weekly costs of extras at the rental desk were £208 for car hire excess protection cover, £34 for tyre and windscreen excess cover, £74 for a sat nav, £69 for an additional driver, and £70 for a child car seat, adding an additional £455. This takes the weekly total to £828, more than double the original hire cost.
The biggest single cost is car hire excess protection. Drivers are liable for the excess amount, i.e., the first part of a claim, if a hire car is damaged or stolen, even if it was not their fault. The average excess amount that a car hirer could be liable for is around £1,7001 but can be over £2,0001 and over £3,0001 in Australia.
Worryingly, fewer than four in ten (37%)2 car hirers say they buy excess protection cover, with 20%2 buying it from the rental company and 18%2 from an independent insurance company.
This means more than six in ten (63%)2 are risking paying the excess amount if the car is damaged or stolen. This is perhaps not surprising when more than six in ten (62%)2 believe excess protection cover sold at the rental desk is a “rip off”2.
Rental companies charge on average £2081 for excess protection, with an additional £341 for windscreen and tyre excess cover - totalling £242. However, a car hire excess reimbursement insurance policy, from a specialist provider like iCarhireinsurance.com costs from £33.153 for a week's European policy, covering damage, theft, and tyre and windscreen cover, with annual European policies from £41.993. This is a cost saving of over £200.
Ben Wooltorton at iCarhireinsurance.com said: “When booking your hire car make sure to check the price of any extras you might need. A lot of money can be saved by bringing your own child’s car seat, your own sat nav, and don’t add an extra driver to the rental policy unless you really need to. It’s also a good idea to purchase excess protection but consider buying it in advance from a standalone car hire excess reimbursement insurance provider like iCarhireinsurance.com.”
1 The annual study, now in its twelfth year, by leading car hire excess reimbursement insurance provider, iCarhireinsurance.com, analysed the cost of hiring a compact car (such as a VW Golf) and extras (such as excess protection, car seats, satnavs and extra drivers) for one summer week (25 July to 1 August 2026) across Australia, Croatia, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland, Turkey, the UK and the USA, comparing prices from six major rental companies: Avis, Budget, Enterprise, Europcar, Hertz and Sixt.
Four countries (Switzerland, France, Portugal and Italy) had excess costs over £2000 and in Australia it was £3061.
2 Opinium online survey with 1000 adults who have hired a car in the UK or abroad took place between 16 – 23 March 2026. 20% have bought from a rental company, 18% from an independent insurance company, and some have bought from both. The combined figure including those who have bought from both is 37%.
3 £33.15 based on a UK resident aged between 30-85 buying an 8-day single-trip car hire excess policy from iCarhireinsurance.com for use in Europe. £41.99 annual price is based on a UK resident aged between 30-85 purchasing an excess Europe annual policy excluding in-country (UK) cover.
