Collision Damage Waiver (CDW)

A Collision Damage Waiver is not really insurance — it is a promise from the rental company that, if the car gets damaged, they will not chase you for the full repair bill. Instead, your responsibility is capped at a fixed amount called the excess. Think of it as the company "waiving" most of its right to charge you.

Here is the catch most people miss: CDW almost never reduces your liability to nothing. If the standard excess is, say, 8,000 MAD and you scrape a bumper, you still pay up to that 8,000 before the waiver kicks in. CDW also tends to exclude the parts that get damaged most often — tyres, windscreen, glass, the roof and the underbody.

In Morocco, basic CDW is frequently bundled into the advertised rate, which is why an agency can say "insurance included" while a deposit is still blocked on your card. That deposit is there to cover the excess if something happens.

If you want real peace of mind, look at how high the excess is and whether you can buy it down with a Super CDW or a separate excess policy. A low headline price with a 15,000 MAD excess can cost you far more than a slightly dearer rate with a small excess.