Renter insurance and excess

All Karshare rented vehicles are covered under our insurance policy. Within this policy there's an excess to pay in case of damages. The insurance excess amount and the fee to reduce your insurance excess will vary based on the vehicle you've chosen to rent and your personal renter score. Find out more.

Full excess

The full excess is the maximum amount that the renter is responsible for in the event of physical damage. This is standard and included on every rental at no fee.

Reduced excess (recommended)

Renters can choose to reduce the excess by paying a small fee. This option can be selected in the 'Choose any extras section' as you make a rental booking. Example screenshot and rates below.

Deposit

The deposit is different to the excess. Before each rental period, Karshare will make a temporary hold of a pre-authorised amount. This is to cover potential fines, tolls and other unintended costs.

When will I get my deposit back?

You'll receive your deposit back within 7 working days unless there's been damage that needs investigating. Find out more.

What does the insurance excess cover?

The standard insurance cover we provide is fully comprehensive. This means that the excess is the maximum amount you will pay if you cause damage to the vehicle. 

How does the insurance work for renters?

For the scenario below, we'll use example figures of; full excess is £1200, reduced excess is £350 and the deposit is £250.

If you have standard insurance with the full excess of £1200 and you damaged the car and the cost of the repair was £550, Karshare would keep your deposit of £250 and take a further £300.

If you have paid for the reduced excess and you damaged the car and the cost of the repair was £550, Karshare would keep the £250 deposit and charge you £100 and that would be the end of your liability. This is because the maximum amount you're responsible for is £350 as you paid for reduced excess.

Please note we reserve the right to estimate the amount to charge until we have a finalised quote - in the event that the quote was less we would return the extra paid, or you would then be liable for the difference if the quote was higher (up to maximum of £1200).

What happens if I'm involved in an accident or there is damage and it's not my fault?

If a renter is involved in an accident that isn't their fault, they're still responsible for paying the excess on any damages unless a third party is involved and they have admitted liability and we can claim the damages from them.

We would retain the excess (full or reduced) until the 3rd party has admitted liability. Once the 3rd party has admitted liability and we have recouped the costs, we will refund the excess to the renter.

Where damage is caused to a vehicle by an incident not involving another vehicle or the vehicle is stolen, the renter is still responsible for paying the excess on the vehicle.