Have you booked your hire car with TravelSupermarket, or are you planning your holiday right now? Be careful: the biggest cost trap is not online, but at the vehicle collection desk. Uncertain and exhausted holidaymakers are often put under heavy pressure there to buy expensive add-on insurance, which can easily double the original rental price. Check your situation now.
Tick what applies to your current or planned booking. Our tool will generate the right arguments so that you can deal with the desk confidently.
Editorially reviewed on: 05/07/2026
The business model of many local car hire firms and franchise operators is no longer based solely on renting out vehicles. The real money is made from extremely expensive insurance products pushed on customers at the desk through fear. Phrases such as "Your online cover is not valid here with us" or "If you do not take this, you will have to pay £900 immediately for a scratch" are part of everyday staff training at many branches.
The basis of every car hire booking is third-party liability insurance (covering damage to other vehicles) and so-called CDW. CDW is the collision damage cover for your hire car. If you book the cheapest tariff directly with TravelSupermarket, this CDW usually comes with a high excess (often between £700 and £1,300). That means that in the event of an accident or theft (LDW - Loss Damage Waiver), you are liable up to that amount from your own money.
If you book your car through comparison sites or brokers and tick "No excess", you are not taking out that additional insurance with TravelSupermarket in Spain or the USA, but with the booking platform or its insurer.
What happens on site: For the desk agent at TravelSupermarket, your booking often appears in the system only as the "basic tariff", because they cannot see your separate external insurance. That is why they will try to sell you their own insurance ("Super CDW"). Stand firm. Say: "No, thank you, I am already covered externally." Allow the deposit hold and sign the rental agreement.
This is the standard arrangement with good broker bookings. In the event of damage (e.g. a scratch on the wing), the local rental company TravelSupermarket will initially take the money from your blocked deposit. So you pay first. Once you are back home, you submit the damage report and your card statement to the booking platform, which then reimburses the costs to your account in full.
Standard collision damage policies from car hire firms often strictly exclude glass (stone chips), tyres (punctures), roof and underbody damage. However, if you booked through a broker with "Premium Cover" or your credit card includes this protection, you may already be covered. Do not let the desk staff panic you into buying extra packages.
This is where the biggest risk arises: if you present only a debit card (for example a Visa Debit card without a true credit facility), TravelSupermarket may refuse to hand over the car on the basic tariff because the deposit cannot be securely pre-authorised. At that point, you may effectively be forced to buy the expensive Super CDW on site to reduce the deposit requirement to zero. That often costs hundreds of pounds extra. So always make sure you have a genuine credit card.
Our guides and generators are based on a strict review of current UK and international passenger-rights rules (such as UK Regulation 261 (UK261)), relevant court judgments and UK consumer travel law.
They are developed by Marc (project lead) & team to help travellers enforce their rights confidently against airlines and travel organisers.
Important note: Our tools provide self-help guidance for flight delays, hotel problems or rail disruption. They do not replace individual legal advice from a solicitor.
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