The Mallorca policy takes effect in the event of accidents with the rental car on vacation. Without them, it can get expensive. Because the conventional car insurance is not liable.

It is a must for vacationers: the so-called Mallorca policy. The liability protection chosen at home should also apply to a rental car abroad.

The reason: the insurance sums, which are sometimes significantly lower abroad, are not sufficient in an emergency to meet claims for damages. Holidaymakers then have to pay higher costs out of their own pockets. This gap can also be closed for a few euros.

The Mallorca policy always takes effect when a policyholder takes a rental car abroad. It increases tourist protection to domestic standards and, according to experts, is one of the most important policies of all. Because the Germans love to travel to Mallorca and often rent a car there, the term “Mallorca Police” came about.

The extra insurance is not limited to the island or Spain. By the way: The correct name of the policy is “insurance for the use of third-party vehicles subject to compulsory insurance”.

“Many policyholders argue that they do not need such protection because they never travel or rent cars abroad,” says Hartmut Schmid, insurance expert at the analysis company Aspect Online in Augsburg. “If they do not live up to this principle, they usually forget to take out additional insurance. And that can get really expensive.”

Another sensible supplement to motor vehicle insurance in addition to the Mallorca policy can be extra foreign protection. It comes into play if the other party’s insurance is not sufficient to pay for all the damage. The protection abroad replaces the damage as if the other party had car insurance according to German insurance conditions. Theft insurance can also be advisable if it is not included in the fully comprehensive insurance.

So that the rental car does not become a cost trap, you should consider a few things:

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