Car hire
What should I check in a car-hire insurance quote?
Information checked 18 October 2026.
The short answer
Look past labels such as “full cover”. Compare the damage and theft excesses, the deposit required at collection, the exclusions and the procedure after an incident. Also establish whether an upgrade reduces what the rental company can charge or asks you to pay first and claim reimbursement later.
A smaller deposit does not necessarily mean a smaller liability, and a zero-excess heading does not mean that every event or charge is covered.
Cover, excess and deposit do different jobs
| Item | What to find in your offer |
|---|---|
| Damage waiver or cover | Which events and parts of the hired car it addresses, and under what conditions. |
| Theft protection | Whether theft has its own excess and conditions. |
| Third-party cover | What applies to injury or damage caused to other people or property. |
| Excess | What you may still be charged for a covered incident; check whether it is per incident. |
| Deposit | The money reserved or charged at collection. It is not automatically the most you could owe. |
| Optional protection | Whether it changes the rental company’s charge or reimburses an eligible charge through another policy. |
Carhire.ba’s insurance and deposit page illustrates the distinction. It currently publishes a €2,500 damage and theft excess per incident with a €200–€600 card hold under its standard protection. The smaller hold does not create a €600 liability limit. These are that page’s reference figures; the agreement for your vehicle and dates is the one that matters.
Work out what the upgrade costs
The same page advertises an optional product at €25 a day, with a zero damage and theft excess and cover for wheels and glass. At that advertised daily rate, five charged days would add €125.
Check the rental company’s charging period before doing the multiplication. A five-night trip is not automatically five rental days, and the advertised rate is not a dated quote. Compare the full upgrade price with the exact change it makes to the excess, deposit and covered events.
Read the exclusions
Carhire.ba lists exclusions involving gross negligence, drink-driving, wrong fuel, lost keys, off-road driving and breaches of local law. Your contract may also address tyres, the underbody, interior damage, recovery, administration, loss of use and unregistered drivers.
Ask how the cover applies to every proposed driver and every country on the route. An insurance upgrade does not provide the rental company’s permission to cross into Croatia, and cross-border cover may have its own territorial conditions.
Know who pays first
If you plan to use a credit-card benefit or a separate travel policy, read that policy alongside the rental agreement. Carhire.ba describes a process in which a claim is settled with the rental company first and reimbursement is then sought from the card issuer. Your own policy may work differently.
Establish who invoices the damage, what you may have to pay before making a claim, which evidence is required and which deadlines apply. Reimbursement later does not remove the need to meet the rental company’s card and deposit requirements at collection.
Keep the incident procedure with you
Yes.ba’s terms require damage or loss to be reported immediately and prohibit off-road use. For whichever provider you choose, save its current accident, theft and breakdown instructions before setting off. Check when police attendance or a police report is required, which telephone number to use and whether you need approval before arranging recovery or repairs.
Choose only after the price, covered events, exclusions, remaining liability, deposit and claims procedure are clear in the same offer.
Keep planning
Can I hire a car using a debit card, and what deposit should I check?
Can I take a rental car from Bosnia and Herzegovina into Croatia?
Which documents and driver details should I confirm before hiring a car?