CarHireExcess.com Reviews 

Easy to book,easy to claim when we needed to for a small scratch.

I've been hiring cars in Spain for over 20 years, but as I was using a car hire company I'd never used before, I took out excess cover. And I'm so glad I did! Basically got done over by the hire firm, claimed damage on the underneath of the front bumper, which was only visible if you laid on the floor. Yet the hire car rep seemed to spot it straight away whilst standing up! Charged me over £280 for a small scratch! Submitted my claim the day after we got back, submitted all the details online and got the money in my bank account less than 10 days later. Can highly recommend and will definitely be using them again.

great price, had a scratch and the claim process was simple and straightforward, professional, would use again

UPDATE: To get my refund progressed I had to do a chargeback with my credit card l after which I have now received a partial refund as CarHireExcess indicate that my cancellation came after 14days. It is true the credit card chargeabck request was made after 14 days however the original cancellation requests were made by a web form within 2 days and again via email a few days later as I received no response to the form submission. I have used the company before however on this occasion I purchased an annual policy on 8th May. In the end I didn’t end up progressing with car hire hence I requested a cancellation on the 10th May clearly within the 14 day cooling off period for full refund. The insurance was not used and after numerous contacts and emails requesting refund this has not happened after multiple requests, in the end I have had to do a chargeback via my credit card.

I have previsously been a policy holder with this company. Over the last few days I have been trying to contact them to discuss renewal of my policy. Their phones are never answered, despite reporting that "I am the next caller in the queue" (for over half an hour>>I don't think so....!) They also claim to offer a call back service - that never happens either, I am deeply unimpressed.

Can't tell you what customer service is like, as you cannot get through via phone or get a response to an email. The website is terrible and does not allow amendments to important information.

Amazing experience every time. Very easy to make a claim and speedy pay outs. Used them dozen of times will 100% use again.

Probably the first insurance company that made me want to write a positive review. Seamless experience from start to finish.
Had to make a claim for the first time, it went as smoothly as it could.

Well done Carhire excess! Thank you for a true policy that when needed, has a straight forward claims process and excellent speed in which the policy pays out on with a valid claim.

Very impressed with the claims process of CarHireExcess.com.

Unfortunately got a flat tyre with my hire car in Spain. The rental company said to call Roadside Assistance which I did and the mechanic removed the flat tyre and fitted the spare tyre from the car boot. The hire car then charged me €454 euros on car return. I submitted my claim to carhireexcess / Defend on Tuesday. My claim was approved on Tuesday and the full amount was in my account on Thursday. No quibbles. Obviously impressed with this service and shall continue using CarHireExcess.

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...