Glossary
Loss Damage Waiver (LDW)
A waiver bundle combining collision damage cover (CDW) with theft protection — the renter is released from paying for both damage to the vehicle and its theft, subject to the excess.
LDW is essentially CDW plus theft cover sold as a single waiver. Where CDW alone caps the renter's liability for collision damage, LDW also caps liability if the vehicle is stolen during the rental — provided the renter followed the contract (locked the vehicle, retained the keys, reported promptly). Many operators in the US and parts of Asia default to selling LDW; European operators are more likely to break it into separate CDW and theft-protection lines.
Standard exclusions match CDW: gross negligence, unauthorized drivers, off-road use, and damage to specific parts (tires, glass, undercarriage). Theft cover typically requires the original key to be returned with the police report — losing the key invalidates the waiver almost universally because it shifts the loss profile from theft to negligence.
For operators, the choice between LDW-as-bundle and split CDW + theft is partly pricing strategy and partly margin attribution. Renviq supports both: configure LDW as a single agreement line, or break it into two coverage items that are billed and reported independently.