While all vehicles hired from AutoRent come with Collision Damage Waiver (CDW) as standard, they require you to pay a large excess if you have a collision or loss (for example 1,200 Euros on an economy car such as a Corso or Polo).

You are able to opt for Super CDW, which reduces the excess to nothing. This option on its own costs about 10 Euros per day for a small car.

Many of our guests take out ‘car hire excess’ insurance in the UK, which can give you the same peace of mind at a lower cost. You should be able to get an excess policy from a standalone provider for as little as £2 a day. With these policies, you pay the £100s or £1,000s of hire firm's excess in the event of a claim, and then reclaim the money from the excess insurer.

What's more, standalone excess policies often cover more than the basic insurance offered by car hire firms, such as damage to wheels and windscreens. Policies and their limits vary from company to company.

You can find a good explanation and often discounted prices via the MoneySavingExpert website (scroll down to ‘Beware the car hire excess insurance trap’ section).