Guide
Supercar hire insurance and excess, explained
Updated 7 min read Performance & Prestige
On a car from our own fleet the insurance is included in the monthly figure and the vehicle goes out on our policy. "Fully insured" does not mean no liability: you carry an excess, which is your maximum contribution to a repair on a covered claim. Across the catalogue that excess is £1,500 to £35,000, and £2,000 to £10,000 on fleet cars.
What does "fully insured" actually mean on a hire car?
It means the vehicle is covered under a self-drive-hire motor policy for the named drivers, for the dates of the hire, and that the cover is already in the rate. There is nothing extra to buy to make the car legal to drive.
It does not mean you walk away from every outcome. Two things sit between you and "no liability at all": the excess, which is a figure, and the exclusions, which are events the policy does not cover at any figure.
On a car in our own fleet the policy is ours. On a partner-sourced car it is the supplying partner's, and the terms are confirmed with you in writing before anything is agreed.
What is the excess, and how much is it?
The excess is the most you pay towards putting the car right on a claim the policy covers. Above it, the insurer pays. Below it, you do.
Across the catalogue the excess runs from £1,500 to £35,000. On the cars in our own fleet it runs from £2,000 to £10,000. The figure is published on every car's page before there is any form, because a deposit and an excess discovered late are the fastest way to lose somebody's trust in this business.
The excess is not the deposit. The deposit is a refundable hold arranged before delivery; the excess is only ever reached if something is actually damaged. On most cars the two figures happen to match.
Why does a kerbed wheel usually cost you the full repair?
Because most cosmetic damage costs less to put right than the excess, and anything below the excess is paid in full by you. That is how a deductible works on every motor policy, hire or not.
A kerbed wheel is the standard example. The lowest excess on any car in this catalogue is £1,500, so a wheel refurbishment almost never reaches the point where the insurer contributes anything at all. The insurance is genuinely there for the outcomes that would otherwise be ruinous; it is not there for a scuffed rim.
Exactly how wheels, tyres, glass and underbody damage are treated is confirmed in writing for your specific hire rather than generalised here — it is the detail that varies most between policies.
What is never covered?
Some things sit outside any self-drive-hire policy. These are worth reading before the hire rather than after it.
- Anybody driving who is not named on the hire in advance.
- Circuit, competitive or timed driving of any kind.
- Driving under the influence of drink or drugs.
- Wrong fuel, and damage caused by ignoring a warning light.
- Deliberate damage, and use for anything unlawful.
- Your own belongings left in the car.
An exclusion is not a penalty clause with a bigger number attached. Where the policy does not cover the event at all, the excess stops being your ceiling and the liability is the whole cost of the car. That is why an unnamed driver at the wheel is the one thing we are inflexible about.
Can I use my own policy or a driving-other-cars extension?
On a car from our fleet, no. The vehicle is ours and it goes out on our cover, which is already in the rate — there is nothing to save by substituting your own.
Do not rely on a driving-other-cars extension on a personal policy either. Those extensions almost universally exclude hire and rental vehicles, they are usually third-party only, and they carry value ceilings far below the cars on this site. Arriving believing you are covered by one is the most common misunderstanding in this sector.
If you hold a commercial or fleet motor policy and want the car added to it, say so at the enquiry stage. It is handled case by case, with your insurer's cover note seen and checked before the car moves — never as a verbal assurance on the day.
How does a claim actually work?
Tell us immediately and arrange nothing yourself. A repair you organise privately is not an insured repair, and it usually costs more than the excess would have.
- Make sure everybody is safe. If anyone is hurt, that is a 999 call first.
- Call us before the car is moved, if you safely can. Recovering a low car is not a job for a standard flatbed and a strap.
- Photograph the damage, the position of the vehicles, and the other driver's registration, name and insurer. Do not admit liability at the scene.
- We open the claim. On a fleet car the vehicle is ours, so the claim is ours to handle.
- Your liability is settled against the excess for that car, and no further.
Whose insurance covers a car you source rather than own?
The supplying partner's. Most of the catalogue is badged "we can source", which means those cars are arranged through a vetted partner rather than owned by us.
On those, the cover, the excess and the driver criteria are set by whoever holds the vehicle. We confirm all three with you in writing before anything is agreed rather than assuming they match ours — which is also why a sourced car carries a guide rate rather than a confirmed one.
On the cars badged "in our fleet" the answer is simpler: the car is ours, the policy is ours, and the figures on the page are the ones that apply. See the fleet.
Common questions
Can the excess be reduced?
Ask when you enquire and we will tell you what is possible on that specific car. We do not publish a reduction we cannot honour on every vehicle, so the excess printed on a car’s page is the figure that applies unless something in writing says otherwise.
Am I insured on a track day?
Not on a road policy. Every UK motor policy excludes circuit driving, and the exclusion does not soften because the day is billed as a driving experience or an airfield session. A track day is arranged as a separate hire with cover written for circuit use, so say so in your first message.
Are additional drivers covered?
Yes, if they are named before delivery and checked in advance. They must also meet that vehicle’s own age, licence and points criteria. Anybody driving who was not named is not insured, and at that point the excess is no longer the limit of the liability.
Do I still pay the excess if the other driver was at fault?
Possibly not. If another driver was at fault and their insurer accepts it, you may pay nothing at all. What you should not do is settle anything privately at the scene, because that is what removes the claim from the insurers who would otherwise have recovered it.
Related guides
- What you need to hire a supercar The licence, age, points tolerance, documents and deposit you need before a supercar can be booked out to you — with the real bands from our catalogue.
- What happens if you damage a hire supercar? The clearest answer we can give to the question everybody asks and nobody wants to ask out loud: what a scratch actually costs, what the deposit can be used for, and what happens in the hour after an incident.
- How supercar delivery works We hold no depots or counters, so every hire is delivered and collected. What that means in practice, from lead time to the walk round to the fuel policy.
Supercar hire insurance and excess, explained
Every figure in this guide is published per car, before there is any form to fill in.
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Written by Performance & Prestige against the rates, driver criteria and delivery areas published on this site. Rates are “from” prices inclusive of VAT and are confirmed with you before anything is agreed — see driver requirements, insurance and excess and delivery.