Liability car insurance when visiting Europe from the US

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tl;dr
Your rental car will come with adequate insurance to ensure its road legal and that the rental company won’t lose out. See this handy rental guide, particularly point 5.

Every vehicle has to have an insurance policy in the UK if it’s to be driven on the roads. That’s a legal requirement. As such all rental cars come with at least some level of insurance cover (rental companies don’t want their cars impounded because you didn’t take out insurance). Any other insurance you choose to have is in addition to this (though not legally required).

There are three main levels of cover in the U.K.

Third Party

  • The minimum cover required by law in the UK. It covers you against costs that arise as a result of injuries you cause to other people and damage to their vehicles.
  • I believe this is equivalent of what you call liability insurance. It covers your liability against third parties.

Third Part Fire & Theft

  • As above with added protection against your vehicle being stolen, or destroyed in a fire.

Comprehensive

  • Third Party Fire & Theft plus cover for damage or theft of your vehicle's contents.

  • I believe this is similar to your collision insurance.

Your rental car should come with comprehensive insurance, I’ve never heard of any company providing less.

There are many other additional insurance add-ons you can purchase but these aren’t legal requirements. One they car rental company will probably try and sell you is excess waiver insurance. If you take this out and subsequently need to claim on the insurance policy, there will be no excess to pay. The catch is the insurance they sell you can cost a significant amount. I would recommend taking out your own excess insurance prior to picking up the car. It’s easy enough to take out your own policy online and significantly cheaper.

Here is a great guide to car hire.

Upvote:0

European car rental agencies are required by law to supply insurance to the minimum statutory requirements of their jurisdiction. However, these limits may be insufficient for your personal comfort. Your best bet may be to find an insurer that offers personal umbrella liability policies that cover foreign automobile usage. These policies top up the third party liability coverage on your personal auto and property policies, and add in some coverage, such as this situation, libel, slander, and directors’ and officers’ liability for your volunteer work for non-profit corporations.

While not all have this feature, at least some do. (I am an insurance broker by trade.) Availability may vary by region.

Talk to brokers and agents in your area to see if such a policy is available for you.

Upvote:6

Liability insurance is mandatory in Europe, and follow the vehicle. In many places you can't legally have license plates on vehicles without valid liability insurance.

It will not be a option you can take away, and it will have coverage according to local and European laws.

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