Car hire insurance in Croatia
Standard car hire insurance in Croatia excludes damage to the wheels, undercarriage, windscreen and interior, and an insured event must be reported to the rental agent immediately unless otherwise agreed with the agent.
What damage does standard insurance exclude?
Under the rental conditions for Croatia, standard insurance does not cover damage to the wheels, undercarriage, windscreen and interior of the car. The deposit is shown on each car before payment, and some cars carry no deposit at all.
- Wheels
- Damage to wheels is excluded from standard cover.
- Undercarriage
- Undercarriage damage is not covered as standard.
- Windscreen
- Windscreen damage is one of the stated exclusions.
- Interior
- Damage to the interior is also excluded as standard.
What must I do if there is damage?
For an insured event, notify the rental agent immediately and obtain a police report unless otherwise agreed with the agent.
Failure to meet these conditions cancels the insurance issued for the car and makes you fully responsible.
The contact phone number given at booking, with the correct country code, must be reachable throughout the rental and on the day before pick-up. Service quality claims are not accepted if the renter could not be reached by phone or by Viber, WhatsApp or Telegram.
What other rules must I follow?
The insurance is invalid in the event of deliberate damage to the car caused by intentional vandalism or neglect.
Rental cars are allowed to travel only on paved public roads. The rules of driving in Croatia themselves, such as daytime lights from 1 November to 31 March, come from the Road Traffic Safety Act.
Travel outside Croatia requires permission, arranged by email with the rental partner's support. Travelling by ferry between the islands and the mainland needs prior arrangement with support before the booking is completed.
How should I compare insurance options?
The rental conditions for Croatia describe standard insurance: the four areas it excludes and the two cases in which it is lost. They do not describe any higher level of cover.
The deposit is shown on each car before payment. The methods for paying the remaining rental cost, holding the deposit and the deposit refund timelines are shown during booking and in the rental voucher.
How is this different from the deposit?
Some companies retain the deposit for 30 to 45 days after the car is returned. A fine or an unpaid toll from the rental period is charged to the deposit, with administrative expenses added in the case of fines. Fuel, parking, fines and toll roads are the renter's cost and are not part of the cost of your rental. The methods for holding the deposit on the card and its refund timelines are shown during booking and in the rental voucher.
What should I check at collection?
If a credit card is required, it must be a physical embossed card in the main driver's name, and it must be with you when you pick up the car. The driving licence must be a valid national licence with its details in Latin script, and its expiry date must be no earlier than the end of the rental; copies and electronic licences are not accepted.
The car must go back with the same fuel level it was collected with. If the level is lower, you pay the difference at the rental company's rates; if it is higher, you are not compensated. The conditions attached to the car set out the reporting duties after an incident.
Questions
What is not covered by car hire insurance in Croatia?
Standard insurance excludes damage to wheels, undercarriage, windscreen and interior.
What must I do after an accident in a hire car?
Tell the rental agent immediately and get a police report unless they agree otherwise. The conditions say that failing either cancels the insurance issued for the car and makes you fully responsible.
Does the insurance cover damage on a gravel road?
Rental cars are allowed to travel only on paved public roads. Standard insurance excludes damage to the wheels and undercarriage.
Does the deposit change what standard insurance covers?
The rental conditions do not link them. The deposit is shown on each car before payment, and standard insurance excludes wheels, undercarriage, windscreen and interior whether or not the car carries a deposit.
Is there a higher cover level that buys back the exclusions?
The rental conditions for Croatia do not describe one. They set out what standard insurance excludes.
Can the cover be lost entirely?
In two cases. After an insured event, not notifying the agent immediately or not obtaining a police report cancels the insurance, unless otherwise agreed with the agent; and deliberate damage through vandalism or neglect is not covered.