Reduce My Excess Discount Codes July 2025

If you’ve rented a car in the last decade, you’ve probably felt it - that vague unease when the person at the rental counter points dramatically at a number circled in red and mutters something about "excess charges." Most of us nod, sign, and cross our fingers that we don’t back into anything. This is where companies like ReduceMyExcess come in. Established in 2006, ReduceMyExcess specialises in car hire excess insurance, essentially offering to reimburse you for the hefty excess charges imposed by rental companies - if something goes wrong and you’ve made a claim. It’s the insurance for your rental car insurance. Yes, welcome to modern travel.

What It Actually Does

The business model is straightforward, at least on paper. You rent a car. You take out a policy with ReduceMyExcess - pricing starts at £2.15 per day. If you damage the car and get slapped with a fee from the rental company - called an "excess" - ReduceMyExcess will reimburse what you’ve paid, up to the specified limit. Simple, right? Well, mostly. Like any insurance, the true value lies somewhere between peace of mind and the fine print.

To be clear, ReduceMyExcess isn’t trying to eliminate the rental company excess; it just pays you back after the fact. So you still need to have the money on hand to cover that up-front fee (which can run into the hundreds or even thousands). But instead of paying a rental company’s often-inflated insurance rates, you’re rolling the dice on a cheaper third-party policy. If all goes well, you save money. If not - well, hopefully you haven’t lost the receipts.

The Promise of Savings - Sort Of

Like many sites in the ever-competitive insurance marketplace, ReduceMyExcess offers promotional discounts - a 5% code here, an 8% off sale there. These promotions, plastered across the site, hint at urgency with expiry dates stretching into next year. And while marginal discounts are always welcome, they’re hardly transformative. You’re more likely to save the real money by choosing third-party insurance in the first place, not by hunting for an extra coupon.

It’s worth noting that ReduceMyExcess doesn’t sell car rentals - they just sell the peace of mind that your rental company may withhold. If that feels a bit like paying for emotional support, well, you wouldn’t be entirely wrong. Still, in an industry where gouging is almost a competitive sport, a transparent flat-fee policy isn’t the worst proposition on offer.

How It Actually Works

If you do end up making a claim, you’ll need to provide documentation - rental agreements, invoices, proof of payment - to get reimbursed. The process is online, not wildly burdensome, but not exactly frictionless either. It feels functional but not luxurious - more Clark Kent than Superman. Which, to be honest, might be what you want in an insurance provider. Expectations should remain appropriately British: reasonably competent and unlikely to dazzle.

Is It Worth It?

This, of course, depends on how often you rent cars, how much you resent buying coverage at the rental desk, and how likely you are to back into a lamppost in Nice. For frequent travellers, annual policies make more financial sense - especially if you’re crossing multiple countries or renting luxury cars, which often carry higher excess fees. For the occasional holidaymaker, a single trip policy may suffice, assuming you remember to buy it before picking up the car keys.

Yes, it’s one more thing to think about. Yes, it probably shouldn’t have to exist. But in the end, ReduceMyExcess addresses the real, if faintly absurd, gap that rental car companies have created: the need to insure your own insurance. That it looks slightly ridiculous on a spreadsheet is part of the charm.

The Bottom Line

ReduceMyExcess does one thing, and does it with a certain no-nonsense efficiency: it offers cheaper car hire excess insurance than you'll find at the rental desk. It won’t vanquish the labyrinth of rental policies or eliminate your risk entirely. But for those willing to do a bit of pre-trip prep - and upload a few PDFs in a worst-case scenario - it’s not a bad way to protect yourself from an irritating slice of the travel experience.

Just try not to back into that lamppost.

What you need to know