Full Protection

The rental company’s basic Collision Damage Waiver (CDW) must be included in your car rental .

While CDW covers basic body damage, it has a high excess that you need to pay if there’s damage, even if you did not cause the damage. Full Protection covers your excess charges and other costly damage-related fees, and it covers various types of damage that CDW sometimes excludes.

You can cancel at any time up to the day of pickup for a refund.

Your Coverage

Your cover is for accidental damage, write-offs or the theft of a rental vehicle which is both registered in and hired from a rental company located in the EEA. 

 

With Full Protection you are covered up to the full value of the car. This protection is designed to ensure the various costs applied by rental companies are covered, namely the excess that’s payable on any damages and related fees that are also charged.

You are covered when you are charged for...

• Damage to the rental vehicle's bodywork.
• Theft or vandalism of the rental vehicle.
• Damage to windscreens, mirrors, lights: Includes all external glass & lights.
• Damage to wheels & tyres: Includes punctures, fittings, replacements, repairs.
• Roof damage.
• Damage to the underbody of the vehicle.
• Key loss or replacement or lock out: Covers call out fees, replacement of lost, damaged or stolen car keys, key programming and key delivery. You must follow the rental company’s guidelines.
• Damages caused by natural disasters: Covers wind, fire, hail and other damages caused by natural weather events unless there’s been a breach of the rental agreement.

You are also covered for these costly fees...

• Towing & roadside assistance costs: you are covered for any towing or roadside assistance costs following physical loss or damage to or mechanical breakdown of the rental vehicle.
• Administration fees: Includes Administration fees or anything similar that are charged for processing damage claims (also called handling fees, carriage fees, postal fees, accident fees). Transaction fees that you pay to your credit card company are not covered.
• Drop off/relocation of damaged vehicle: Includes drop off/relocation costs of your rental vehicle if there’s a breakdown.
• Loss of use/demurrage fees: Includes fees charged by rental companies for loss of use while the vehicle is being repaired.

You are not covered where...

1. You or another driver on the rental agreement breached any term of the rental agreement.
2. You or another driver on the rental agreement contravened driving rules or laws in any local jurisdiction where the rental vehicle was driven.
3. You have given misleading or fraudulent information. We reserve the right to recover any claims that have been paid based on any misrepresentation.
4. You have not provided documents that have been requested during the claims process.
5. You paid the rental company in cash and have insufficient evidence for that payment.
6. The event for which you are making a claim occurred before the product was purchased.
7. You incur costs resulting from misfueling your rental vehicle (i.e. using incorrect fuel) or mechanical failure caused by you driving in a manner which is reckless, or which otherwise violates the terms of your rental agreement.
8. You did not notify police in accordance with your Rental Agreement terms. We recommend that you understand the local requirements for notifying authorities prior to picking up your vehicle.
9. Your personal items are lost, stolen or damaged.
10. You are liable for injuries to passengers, other drivers or any other party.
11. You are liable for damages to the property of passengers, other drivers or any other party.
12. The vehicle has been driven on an unsealed road, except for access roads to your accommodation venue.
13. Your rental vehicle is being used for deliveries or similar commercial purposes.
14. Your rental vehicle is a truck/lorry, van, bus, racing car, street car, motorcycle, scooter, moped, motorhome, RV, campervan or a 4x4 that you’ve driven on an unsealed road (except where the unsealed road is an access road to your accommodation venue).
15. Your rental vehicle requires a non-standard driver’s licence in your region/s of travel.
16. If your vehicle was rented from a company on our Restricted Rental Companies list.
17. Your claim relates to internal damage including, but not limited to upholstery/seating, bedding, toilets, showers, electrical outlets, bilge pumps, interior lighting, appliances and portable accessories.
18. Where clutch damage has occurred.

Special Conditions

“Disputed” charges from the rental company

If the rental company’s charges are inconsistent or unfair, as deemed by you or our claims team, we will outline a process for the recovery of the charges through your credit card issuer. If you are unsuccessful in recovering these charges and can evidence this to us, we will then consider these charges under the terms of this policy. Examples include, but are not limited to, charges for interior, wear and tear or other damage that you are not responsible for or mechanical failure or inflated repair costs.

Coverage through other means

If you are covered by another product for the same benefits as those listed here, including but not limited to free credit card travel cover or personal auto insurance, you will be required to initially make a claim through the other product. We will process a claim for the outstanding amount after the alternate claim process is complete. In the event your claim is paid in full through an alternative claim process, you will be entitled to request a full refund of your premium.

Currency calculations and fees that you pay to your credit card issuer

Claims are calculated based on the currency that was originally charged by the rental company (this is the “currency of loss”). Our claims calculation does not include international card or other fees or foreign exchange conversions applied by your credit card issuer. Our claims process allows you to convert your approved claim amount from the original currency of loss to your preferred currency, using a retail exchange rate.

Incidents involving another vehicle

In cases where another vehicle (a “third party”) has been involved in an accident, and details of that vehicle and/or its driver are available, we require that information to be provided during the claim process. We may also confirm from the rental company that they have received those details. Rental companies will often charge you an amount up to the excess and reimburse you if you are deemed to be “not at fault” as a result of an investigation between the insurers of each driver. We will assist you to help ensure you’re expediently reimbursed.
If we pay out a claim before completion of any investigation, we reserve the right to recover the reimbursable funds on your behalf. We will bring action in your name to enforce these rights.

Cancellation by us

We reserve the right to cancel your coverage where there is a valid reason for doing so by giving you reasonable notice in writing by email to the address you have given us. For the purposes of this clause, a valid reason would be where:
> you advise us of a change of risk under your policy which we are unable to insure;
> you have provided incorrect information and fail to provide clarification when requested; or
> we are required to invoke the sanctions clause under this policy.

Referrals from rental companies

We authorise distribution partners to sell our products. To avoid a rental company's conflict of interest, if you have been recommended or directed to our service by a rental company that is not an authorised distribution partner of ours, your claim will instead be referred to the "disputed charges" process to ensure a fair outcome.

General Conditions / Eligibility Requirements

All of the following conditions and/or eligibility requirements must be met for you to qualify for reimbursement:

1. Your name must be on the rental agreement and it must be signed. Other drivers that are on the rental agreement with you are also covered.
2. You must not have breached any terms of the rental agreement.
3. Coverage is limited to one vehicle per rental, for the duration of coverage, except if your rental vehicle has been replaced by the rental company. Each time that you sign a new rental agreement you will need a new product.
4. You must take reasonable care to protect the rental vehicle and avoid damages.

Making a Claim

Go to rentalcover.com/claim. You will need photos or scans of these documents:

1. Your rental agreement from the rental company.
2. Your driver’s licence.
3. Bank statement showing your payment for the damage.
4. Final invoice from the rental company (available when the damage costs are settled - this may differ from your initial invoice).
5. We may also request that you provide an invoice showing the repair cost for damages.
6. Police report, if applicable.
7. All correspondence with the rental company.
8. Other documents as requested by your claims officer.

Cancellation and refunds

The cancellation terms are outlined on your Certificate.

Compliance Statement

Data Protection & Privacy

We are committed to protect your personal information and we are committed to the principles of data security in the configuration of our services. With respect to European General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), as a data controller, we collect and process information about you and we also receive personal information from your booking agent including your email address, name and phone number, risk details and other information which enables us to issue and modify policies and process claims, detect, investigate and prevent activities which may be illegal or could result in your policy being cancelled or treated as if it never existed and  protect our legitimate interests. We may share that data from time to time with insurers or contractors investigators, crime prevention organisations who may be outside of the European Union. We will never share your data with external marketing services. Our Privacy Policy outlines how we process your data, the data that we collect and the processes to undertake should you either wish to request a copy of your data, or remove consent for us to retain your data. We may monitor and record phone calls to help maintain our quality standards and for security purposes.

You can access our Privacy Policy here.

Jurisdiction and Law

This insurance shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the country in which the risk is situated, without prejudice to the provisions set out within Regulation (EC) 593/2008. You have declared your understanding of, and have requested for the contract of insurance to be provided in, your chosen language. You confirm you understand such contract and agree to be bound by its terms and conditions.

Policy Issuer

This policy is provided by RentalCover.com, a trading name of Cover Genius Europe B.V. whose registered office is Herengracht 420, 1017 BZ. 4QP Amsterdam.

Cover Genius Europe B.V is registered at the Dutch Chamber of Commerce (73237426). Cover Genius Europe B.V is a firm authorised and regulated by the Authority for the Financial Markets (1204617). Cover Genius acts in its capacity as an agent of the Insurer and not the Policyholder. If you purchase a policy from Cover Genius, the Company receives a commission which is a percentage of your premium.​ This policy is underwritten by Collinson Insurance Europe Limited.

Collinson Insurance Europe Limited is incorporated in Malta and is authorised by the Malta Financial Services Authority to carry on business of insurance under the Insurance Business Act, 1998.

Period of Cover

You are covered for the period as shown in your Certificate.

Complaints/Disputes

You can contact our Claims Complaints Team ([email protected]) for a formal review of your claim or if you have other concerns.

We will respond within 5 days.

Once you have received your final response from us, if you are still dissatisfied you may refer your case to the Klachteninstituut Financiële Dienstverlening (Kifid).

Postbus 93257
2509 AG Den Haag
Tel. 0900 – 3552248
www.kifid.nl

The Kifid is an independent body that arbitrates on complaints about general insurance products and other financial services. It will only consider complaints after we have provided you with written confirmation that our internal complaints procedure has been exhausted. You must submit the complaint to Kifid within one year after submitting the complaint to us or within three months after you have received our final response to your complaint.

Alternatively, you can also contact the Insurer:

Collinson Insurance Solutions Europe Limited (UK Branch)
The Customer Relations Department, PO Box 637, Haywards Heath West Sussex, RH16 1WR, England
Email: [email protected]

Collinson Insurance Europe Limited (CIEL) is the Insurer and underwrite all the benefits provided under the policy. CIEL appointed Collinson Insurance Solutions Europe Limited (CISEL) to handle complains on its behalf as indicated above. CISEL can provide a translation If you remain dissatisfied after receiving our response you may be able to pass your complaint to the Arbiter for Financial Services. The service is provided in English and Maltese and further details including contact details for the Office of the Arbiter can be found at the below address.

Office of the Arbiter for Financial Services
1st Floor, St Calcedonius Square, Floriana FRN 1530, Malta
Tel: 80072366 (from Malta)
Tel: +356 212 49245 (from outside Malta)
Email: [email protected]
Website: https://financialarbiter.org.mt

You may also have the right to pass your complaint to an Ombudsman in your country of residence.

Sanctions

We shall not provide cover or be liable to pay any claim or other sums, including return premiums, where this would expose us to any sanction, prohibition or restriction under United Nations resolutions, asset freezing or trade or economic sanctions, laws or regulations of the European Union, United Kingdom, and/or all other jurisdictions where we transact business.
 

Fraudulent and Unfounded Claims

If any claim under this Policy is in any respect fraudulent or unfounded, all benefit paid and/or payable in relation to that fraudulent claim shall be forfeited and (if appropriate) recoverable. We shall not be liable to you in respect of a relevant claim occurring after the time of the fraudulent act. For the avoidance of doubt, the rights and obligations of the parties to the contract with respect to claims occurring before the time of the fraudulent act are unaffected; and 

• We need not return any Premiums paid
• We may share information about the circumstances with other organisations, public bodies, authorities and law enforcement agencies for criminal investigation.

Definitions

Any word defined below will have the same meaning throughout:

Accident or collision

Accident or collision means a sudden, unexpected event caused by something external and visible, which results directly in loss or damage.

Bodywork

Bodywork means the metal frame of your rental vehicle.

Call out fee

Call out fee means a roadside assistance charge from a service provider to attend to a vehicle breakdown.

Certificate

Certificate means a validation Certificate issued which describes who is covered under this product. This is provided along with your confirmation email or invoice.

Country of residence

Country of residence means your place of residence.

Currency of Loss

Currency of Loss means the currency that was originally charged by the rental company for the damage charges.

Distribution Partner

Distribution Partner means contractually authorised distributor of our service.

Excess

Excess means the amount paid - or payable - by you to the rental company, if there’s accidental damage or theft. RentalCover.com products are "zero excess", meaning there is no excess deducted by us for a claim.

Full value

Full value means the market value of the rental car at the time of your claim. This is the cover limit and is the most we pay in the event of a claim.  

Insurer

Insurer means  Collinson Insurance Europe Limited of Third Floor, Development House, St Anne Street, Floriana FRN 9010, Malta 

“Not at fault”

“Not at fault” means that one of the drivers is not deemed responsible for damages after an investigation between the insurers of each driver.

Natural weather event

Natural weather event means an event caused by natural forces, including but not limited to fire, flood, earthquake, explosion, tsunami, volcanic eruption, landslide, avalanche, hurricane, cyclone or storm that was impossible to predict at the time you acquired this product.

Policy

Policy means this reimbursement policy that reimburses the charges as outlined in the benefits table.

Rental agreement

Rental agreement means the contract provided by a rental company in respect to the provision of a rental vehicle that contains your signature confirming you agree to its terms.

Rental company

Rental company means a commercial operation in business to rent out vehicles in the EEA which are fully licensed, where applicable, by the regulatory authority of that country, state or local authority including online "share" or "peer to peer" websites, loan cars from a licensed mechanic or accident replacement vehicles.

Rental vehicle

Rental vehicle means the private passenger automobile rented in the EEA from an authorised rental company - including mechanic loan cars and accident replacement cars - at the time the rental contract is signed, including online "share" or "peer to peer" websites, loan cars from a licensed mechanic or accident replacement vehicles.

RentalCover.com

RentalCover.com, the website which distributes the product and provides the claims administration system.

Tax

Tax means a government tax that is payable by you in addition to the cost of the product.

Theft

Theft means a rental vehicle that has been stolen, to either a known or unknown location, without your permission.

Vandalism

means a rental vehicle that has been damaged intentionally by you or someone known or unknown to you.

You/your

You/your means the person named on the Certificate and any other person who drives the same rental vehicle and is listed on the same rental agreement.

 

Collinson Insurance Europe Limited whose registered office is Development House, St. Anne Street, Floriana, FRN 9010, Malta is authorised and regulated by the Malta Financial Services Authority to carry on business of insurance under the Insurance Business Act, 1998. RentalCover.com, a trading name of Cover Genius Europe B.V whose registered office is Herengracht 420, 1017 BZ Amsterdam. Cover Genius Europe B.V is a company registered at the Dutch Chamber of Commerce (73237426).

Last Updated: 24 November 2023