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Hero – Insurance

Camper
Insurance
in Iceland

A thorough guide to Insurance Options in Iceland

Introduction

Insurance options are often confusing, and the extra effort to understand your deductibles and insurance limitations is a bother. In the Icelandic market, there is an additional “fine print” in all (that we know of) rental contracts due to the harsh environment in which the vehicles operate (Iceland). Insurance companies have steadily added exceptions to the insurance contracts they offer the rental companies, which the rental companies have, in turn, added to your rental agreement as an insurance exception. To compensate, the rental companies sell additional insurance to customers to plug these gaps in the insurance company’s terms.

But that’s where we are tired of the status quo. The extra insurance, in most cases, (all that we know of) only affect the deductibles, and add a few items from the list of limitations as separate purchases. You have probably seen some of them- SAAP or SAAI (Sand and Ash Insurance) is a good example. It makes sense, in a way, but we don’t like it much. With such an approach, you are liable for a myriad of common damages that occur on Icelandic roads. Insurance in a rental environment has to be simpler than the average personal insurance “fine print.”

Included in the CDW Insurance

Things aren’t all bad; The CDW insurance does cover quite a few things well. For example, bodily injuries and third-party coverage are almost absolute—no hospital bills and no compensating damages that are done to other vehicles or property. And the terms do cover quite a few other things.

Included Vehicle Insurance

We purchase CDW insurance that covers damages to the camper van. We extend this insurance and the terms it adheres to, to you, for free.

CDW - Crash Damage Waiver

CDW – Crash Damage Waiver

TM Insurance
Full list of Terms 230*

Caps your self-risk/excess for damages done to your rental vehicle:
300.000 ISK Self-Risk/Excess

The insurance is extensive and provides you with decent coverage. We also throw in a Sand and Ash Insurance and Theft Insurance, with 0 ISK Self-Risk, for free.

Below you’ll find a summary of what’s included in your Insurance, and further down, you’ll find what is not covered.

CDW covers damages caused by:

  • Collision
  • Collision with a stationary object
  • Overturning
  • Skidding off-road or crash-landing
  • Falling Rocks and Landslides
  • Mountain Avalanches
  • Mud or water floods
  • Lightning
  • Fire and resulting explosions
  • Theft and Vandalism

Included Mandatory Insurance

In Iceland, there is mandatory insurance that any owner must purchase in order to make a vehicle street legal. All passengers, and the driver, are insured to the degree listed below.

PAI - Personal Accident Insurance

PAI – Personal Accident Insurance

Insurance provider: TM Insurance


Insures bodily harm if you or other passengers in the vehicle are injured.

0 ISK Self-Risk/Excess

TPL - Third-Party Liability

TPL – Third-Party Liability

Insurance provider: TM Insurance
Full list of Terms 220*

Insures damages caused to another person’s property, vehicle, or person.

0 ISK Self-Risk/Excess

The Limitations to the standard CDW

Here we try and list out all the items you usually find excluded from coverage on the standard Icelandic rental agreement/insurance contract. When we say limitations, we mean that the insurance does not cover these damages at all; so there is no longer a 300.000 ISK ceiling on what you may have to pay. Many of these limitations no longer apply to you if you purchase any of our insurance options, or we offer a maximum deductible for these kinds of damages. We want to highlight the fact that these limitations are in no way bound only to our rental. You will be hard-pressed to find a car or camper rental in Iceland that doesn’t have these items listed, as limitations, on the backside of your rental agreement. We have not found one yet.

Reasonable limitations to a rental car CDW insurance

  • Intoxication of any sort
  • Climbing on the roof
  • Abandoning the camper
  • Reckless or negligent behavior
  • Off-road driving
  • Driving into the ocean
  • River/water damage
  • Lack of rights to operate
  • Racing
  • Burnt holes in seats/carpets

Questionable limitations to a rental car CDW insurance

  • Sand and Ash Damage
  • Wheels and Tyres
  • Springs
  • Batteries
  • Glass that isn’t the windshield
  • Chassis / Underside
  • Suspension
  • Gearbox
  • Drivetrain
  • Other Chassis Parts
  • Roof Damage
  • Eruption / Earthquake / Sandstorm
  • Short Circuit Electrical Damage
  • Cylinders & Cooler due to Weather / Frost
  • Loose rocks peppering underside
  • Burnt out Engine
  • Luggage Racks
  • Animal Damage
  • Gravel / Ash / Pumice
  • Sea Transportation

CampEasy Insurance Options

Finally, here we have the options you can purchase with CampEasy. The most challenging aspect of offering such comprehensive insurance packages is that we invite recklessness or even disregard. If you choose any of these insurance options, please treat our campers with care, even though you aren’t liable for much of the potential damages.

Camper Insurance Options

CampEasy
Insurance Options

Options to reduce your CDW Deductible/Self-Risk and to reduce the risk from the CDW insurance exceptions.

Extra

Included
Insurance

0 ISK p. day


SCDW, Sand and Theft.
Good coverage.


300.000 ISK
CDW
Deductible/Self-Risk

Title

Premium
Insurance

(2WD) 2.990 ISK p. day
(4WD) 3.490 ISK p. day

Reduces CDW self-risk and mitigates a lot of insurance limitations.

50.000 ISK
CDW
Deductible/Self-Risk

Title

Zero-Risk
Insurance

(2WD) 5.190 ISK p. day
(4WD) 5.990 ISK p. day

Exceptional coverage.
Find better on the market, we dare you.

0 ISK
CDW
Deductible/Self-Risk

  • Included Insurance
  • Premium Insurance
  • Zero-Risk Insurance
  • CDW Insurance
  • 300.000 ISK Deductible
  • 50.000 ISK Deductible
  • 0 ISK Deductible
  • Gravel Damage To Windshield
  • 150.000 ISK Deductible
  • 10.000 ISK Deductible
  • 0 ISK Deductible
  • Theft Insurance
  • 0 ISK Deductible
  • 0 ISK Deductible
  • 0 ISK Deductible


CampEasy CDW insurance additions – not covered in other insurance contracts:

  • Included Insurance
  • Premium Insurance
  • Zero-Risk Insurance
  • Sand and Ash Damage
  • 0 ISK Deductible
  • 0 ISK Deductible
  • 0 ISK Deductible
  • Wheel/Tyre damage
  • 1 No Coverage
  • 10.000 ISK Deductible
  • 0 ISK Deductible
  • Springs
  • 1 No Coverage
  • 40.000 ISK Deductible
  • 0 ISK Deductible
  • Batteries
  • 1 No Coverage
  • 40.000 ISK Deductible
  • 0 ISK Deductible
  • Short Circuit Electrical
  • 1 No Coverage
  • 40.000 ISK Deductible
  • 0 ISK Deductible
  • Glass that isn’t Windshield
  • 1 No Coverage
  • 40.000 ISK Deductible
  • 0 ISK Deductible
  • Chassis damage
  • 1 No Coverage
  • 40.000 ISK Deductible
  • 0 ISK Deductible
  • Suspension
  • 1 No Coverage
  • 40.000 ISK Deductible
  • 0 ISK Deductible
  • Gearbox
  • 1 No Coverage
  • 40.000 ISK Deductible
  • 0 ISK Deductible
  • Drivetrain
  • 1 No Coverage
  • 40.000 ISK Deductible
  • 0 ISK Deductible
  • Cylinders & Cooler due to Freezing
  • 1 No Coverage
  • 40.000 ISK Deductible
  • 0 ISK Deductible
  • Burnt Out Engine
  • 1 No Coverage
  • 40.000 ISK Deductible
  • 0 ISK Deductible
  • Loose Rocks Damages Underside
  • 1 No Coverage
  • 40.000 ISK Deductible
  • 0 ISK Deductible
  • Luggage Racks
  • 1 No Coverage
  • 40.000 ISK Deductible
  • 0 ISK Deductible
  • Roof Damage
  • 1 No Coverage
  • 40.000 ISK Deductible
  • 0 ISK Deductible
  • ² River Crossing / Water Damage
  • 1 No Coverage
  • ² 1.400.000 ISK Deductible
  • ² 700.000 ISK Deductible

1 These are standard Insurance Limitations in Iceland. CampEasy Terms apply unless specifically mentioned.
² Only applies to 4×4 vehicles. No other campers can legally cross rivers.
Limitations listed in the “CampEasy CDW Insurance Additions” are in every rental contract at car and camper rentals in Iceland or very similar ones. We prefer to list them out (and provide insurance options), rather than have them all in the fine print.

Bonus Insurance

Camper Insurance Options

Cancellation Protection
Book with confidence

0 ISK p. day

Cancellation Insurance is included with all rentals.

More than 24-hours to rental start: Full Refund.

Less than 24-hours to rental start: 30% Retained.

Cancellation Protection is void when ‘non-refundable 3% extra off’ option is chosen at check out

0 ISK
Deductible/Self-Risk

Extra

Super Service
Roadside Assistance


2.000 ISK p. day

If you get stuck, blow out a tire, drain the batteries, get lost, or need any assistance outside the service/rental agreement, this insurance covers the entire cost to come assist you.





0 ISK
Deductible/Self-Risk

Tips

Look up what kind of insurance you already have, such as Travel Insurance, Credit Card Insurance, etc. It’s a good idea to do that beforehand.

Getting Premium insurance is a good minimum, primarily as it protects against Gravel Damage, which is the most “uncontrollable” factor when traveling around Iceland. Comparatively, damages on Icelandic roads are common.

Sheep! They are everywhere. Watch out.

Black Ice – Invisible ice sheet on roads during the winter months.

Speed limits:
Highway: 90 kph
Tunnels: 70 kph
Gravel roads: 60 kph – Slow down considerably when meeting vehicles to avoid gravel damage.
Towns: 50 kph
Speed cameras have low tolerance, and fines are high.

Dealing with damages

The only times we’ve had bad reviews and bad experiences are when a camper comes in with damages. It’s never fun for anyone involved, so we’ve tried hard to safeguard all parties, and to provide the best insurance options we possibly can. We take high-resolution photos of every angle of the camper before it goes out. That way, we can refer to those images to never charge our customers for damages they did not cause. We recommend the customers do the same, although we provide full access to the photos we take. We increased the margin, going by a “size of a coin” minimum damage to justify damage charges, although cracked windows are an exception.

We now sign off each camper when customers return them and do a thorough inspection of the vehicle right away. That way, we can promise not to send bills after you have left. When you finish your return process and go home, you will not receive late or unexplained charges from us. The exception is when customers choose our 24/7 return service, where they agree to unattended inspections after they have left.