The Smart Way
to Explore Canada

Driving in Canada is an amazing way to explore the country, but don’t let potential rental car charges spoil your trip. In Canada, car rental agreements often come with no collision cover by default, meaning if the car is damaged or stolen, you could be on the hook for the entire cost. Even when collision cover (CDW/LDW) is included, it usually carries a high deductible (excess). This deductible can range widely: some UK-booked rentals include CDW with an excess of around £300, £500, but if you decline the rental company’s cover, you might be liable for thousands (up to the full value of the vehicle). For example, even a minor incident can be expensive, a scraped bumper or dented door could easily incur a repair charge of a few hundred pounds, and a cracked windscreen might cost £500 or more to replace. Without Car Hire Excess Insurance, you would have to pay these amounts to the rental company.

Car Hire Excess Insurance saves you money by covering these damage costs. Purchasing excess (or CDW) cover from an independent provider like Gigasure is far cheaper than buying the rental company’s own insurance at the desk. Rental desks in Canada often try to sell you their CDW or waivers for $20, $30 CAD per day (roughly £15, £20 a day), which can inflate your rental bill significantly, sometimes nearly doubling the base rental cost. By arranging cover in advance with Gigasure, you avoid that high-pressure upsell and enjoy better cover at a fraction of the price.

Tip: Even the “full” insurance from car hire companies can have exclusions or sneaky fine print. With Gigasure, you’re covered for those common exclusions like tyres, windows, and undercarriage damage, so you won’t be caught out by the small print.

Yes, for most travellers renting a car in Canada, excess insurance is absolutely worth it for the peace of mind it provides. Consider the potential costs: if you had an accident or the car was stolen, you could face a bill of thousands of pounds. The cost of an independent policy is relatively low, often around the price of a few coffees per day (for example, roughly £4, £5 per day, or under £50 for an annual multi-trip policy). This is minor compared to a £2,000+ charge you might face for major damage or theft. Rental companies charge a premium for their waivers (often £15+ per day), so an independent policy can pay for itself even if you don’t end up needing to claim. And if you do need to claim for any damage, you can save a huge amount. Canada’s driving conditions can include long highway drives, busy city traffic in unfamiliar cities, and even wildlife encounters, meaning the likelihood of small incidents (a chipped windscreen from a flying stone, a minor fender-bender in a parking lot, etc.) isn’t negligible. Having excess insurance means you can relax and enjoy your Canadian road trip, knowing you’re financially protected. In summary, it’s a small investment for potentially very large savings, a smart trade-off for savvy travellers.

In Canada, the law requires that all rental cars come with basic third-party liability insurance. This covers damage or injury you might cause to other people or property. However, the mandatory minimum liability cover can be quite low, for example, some provinces only require around C$200,000 of liability cover, which in a serious accident may not go far. (Rental companies often offer Supplemental Liability Insurance (SLI) at the desk to increase that liability cover to a higher limit, like $1 million. If you feel the included liability is insufficient, you can consider purchasing that additional cover from the rental provider.) On the other hand, cover for damage to the rental car itself is not automatically included in Canada. Unlike many European rentals, collision damage waiver (CDW) or loss damage waiver (LDW) is usually an optional add-on in Canada. You are not legally required to buy CDW/LDW, but if you don’t have it, you are responsible for any damage to or theft of the car. Many Canadian rental companies will ask for a credit card authorisation (security deposit) and can hold you liable up to the full value of the vehicle if you have no waiver. The exact terms will be stated in your rental agreement. If you book through a UK travel agent or broker, your rental package might include CDW and Theft Protection with an excess, for instance, some deals include CDW with a deductible of a few hundred pounds. Always check your rental contract or voucher to see what insurance is included. In summary, standard rental cover in Canada typically includes third-party liability (for others’ damage) but does not include damage cover for the rental car itself unless you add it. That’s why many travellers either purchase the rental company’s CDW or rely on a standalone policy like Gigasure for protection.

The “excess” (or deductible) on rental cars in Canada can vary widely depending on what insurance arrangement is in place. If your rental comes with CDW/LDW included (say, as part of a British package deal), there will usually be an excess amount, commonly around C$500 to C$1,500 (approximately £300, £900), that you’d have to pay if the car is damaged. For example, a hire car might come with a $1,000 CAD deductible, meaning you’reresponsible for the first $1,000 of any damage and the rental’s cover pays the rest. On the other hand, if your rental does not include CDW at all (a very common scenario if you arrange the car directly in Canada or decline the rental company’s cover), then effectively the “excess” is the full value of the car. In that case, there is no set capped excess, you could be liable for tens of thousands of pounds (whatever it costs to repair or replace the vehicle) if something goes wrong. Rental companies will usually place a hold on your credit card as a security deposit (often a few hundred pounds) even if you have cover, but this deposit is not the limit of your liability when CDW is absent. It’s simply to cover smaller damages or as a goodwill bond. With Gigasure’s Car Hire Excess Insurance for Canada, you don’t need to worry about these scenarios. If your rental has an excess (deductible), our policy will cover that cost up to £10,000, reimbursing you so you’re not left out of pocket. And if your rental has no CDW and you’re liable for the full damage, our CDW cover up to £75,000 steps in to cover the damage costs. In practice, this brings your effective liability down to £0, because whatever the rental company charges you for damage (within our cover limits), you can claim it back from us. It’s a safety net that turns a potentially catastrophic expense into a manageable situation. 

It’s true that some travellers have protection through premium credit cards or travel insurance policies, but you should be careful relying on these alone. Credit card cover for rental cars is far less common for UK cardholders than it is for those in some other countries. While a few high-end UK credit cards might offer CDW insurance for car rentals abroad, most standard UK cards do not include this benefit. Even if your credit card does advertise car rental insurance, you must usually decline the rental company’s CDW and use that same card to pay for the rental, and there are often many conditions and exclusions (certain vehicle types, trip duration limits, country exclusions, etc.). Travel insurance sometimes offers a car hire excess add-on, but typically it’s limited. In many cases, travel insurance will cover the excess only if you have a CDW from the rental company, for instance, it might reimburse your £500 excess but it won’t cover you if you never had CDW and are liable for the whole car. Also, such covers often have lower limits and may exclude damage to things like tyres or windscreens. Gigasure’s Car Hire Excess Insurance is a dedicated policy specifically designed for rental car protection. That means it comes with high cover limits and covers all the common trouble spots (tyres, glass, undercarriage, etc.) that general policies might overlook. Our claims process is straightforward and quick, since this is our specialty. Many of our customers use Gigasure as their primary protection because they prefer the certainty and completeness of coverit provides. Even if you do have some cover from a card or travel policy, a Gigasure policy can act as a valuable safety net to fill any gaps. In short, unless you’ve thoroughly verified that your credit card or travel insurer will fully cover your Canadian rental (and all the types of damage that could occur), it’s wise not to risk it. A specialist excess insurance policy gives you comprehensive cover and peace of mind, so you can drive in Canada knowing you’re truly protected.