When you need it
This site offers information based on guidance from public bodies, rental car companies and others, as a starting point for planning your trip (as of September 2026; it isn’t an explanation of insurance or the law). How words are used and what the coverage includes differ from company to company, and they can change. Always check the latest details with the company you rent from and in the official information listed at the end of this article.
This is a dictionary for quickly checking, on the spot, the Japanese insurance and coverage terms (CDW, NOC and others) you often see on rental car booking screens and counter paperwork.
It gives not just the meaning but also what to look at when you’re there.
The English on each “In English:” line is the translation that company uses itself. Wording can differ from company to company.
The words in this dictionary
Money words
- 免責額／自己負担額 — deductible
- 免責補償 — CDW
- ノンオペレーションチャージ（NOC） — Non Operation Charge
- 営業補償／休業補償 — compensation for business interruption
- 無制限 — unlimited
- 時価 — market value
Words about what’s covered
- 対人補償 — bodily injury
- 対物補償 — property damage
- 車両補償 — car damage
- 人身傷害補償 — personal injury
- 自賠責保険 — compulsory automobile liability insurance
Plan names
- 選べる補償 — coverage you can choose
- 任意加入 — optional
- 標準補償コース／免責補償コース／安心補償コース — Basic / Safety / Super Safety Package
- 安心Wプラン — Double Protection Package
- レンタカー安心パック（RAP） — Rental car Assistance Pack
- フルサポートプラン／スタンダードプラン／ライトプラン — Full Support / Standard / Light Plan
Words that decide the NOC amount
- 自走し予定の店舗に返却 — driven back to the scheduled shop
- 自走できず／自走不可能 — unable to be driven
- 汚損 — dirt or damage
Words on documents
- 貸渡約款 — rental agreement
- 事故証明／交通事故証明書 — traffic accident certificate
- 示談 — settlement
Money words
免責額／自己負担額
The amount you pay yourself in an accident. On paperwork, the two are written side by side (Toyota Rent a Car’s guidance says 「自己負担する費用（免責額）」, “costs you pay yourself (deductible)”).
「免責額5万円」 means you pay up to 50,000 yen yourself. It doesn’t mean you’re protected up to 50,000 yen.
In English: deductible (Toyota Rent a Car).
免責補償
A system that means you don’t have to pay your own share (免責額) in an accident. It’s also written 「免責補償制度」 or 「免責補償コース」.
Some companies state clearly that it isn’t insurance (Nippon Rent-A-Car, Times Car Rental).
In English: Collision Damage Waiver (CDW) (Toyota Rent a Car, ORIX Rent a Car).
ノンオペレーションチャージ（NOC）
Money the renter pays to cover part of the car’s downtime, when the office can’t rent it out because it’s being repaired or cleaned. It’s charged separately from both your share and the repair cost.
You pay it even if you have 免責補償. To have it waived, choose a plan that covers NOC as well.
In English: Non Operation Charge (NOC).
営業補償／休業補償
A word that comes up in explanations of NOC. It means making up for the office’s loss while the car is out of action. NOC is the money you pay as this 営業補償.
In English: compensation for business interruption (Toyota Rent a Car), compensation for suspended use of the vehicle (Nissan Rent a Car).
無制限
It means there’s no upper limit on the amount covered. You often see it next to coverage for injury to other people and damage to other cars and property.
In English: Unlimited.
時価
The car’s value at that point in time. If the coverage for the rented car says 「時価まで」 (“up to market value”), it’s covered up to that value.
In English: Market value (ORIX Rent a Car).
Words about what’s covered
対人補償
Coverage for when you injure another person in an accident.
In English: Bodily injury (Toyota Rent a Car).
対物補償
Coverage for when you damage another car or property. It may come with your own share (免責額).
In English: Property damage (Toyota Rent a Car, ORIX Rent a Car).
車両補償
Coverage for the rented car itself. It may come with your own share (免責額).
In English: Car damage (Toyota Rent a Car), Vehicle (ORIX Rent a Car).
人身傷害補償
Coverage for injury to the people in the car.
In English: Physical disability (Toyota Rent a Car), Personal injury (ORIX Rent a Car, Times Car Rental).
自賠責保険
Insurance that every car in Japan must have (Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism). It only covers injury to other people, not damage to property.
The 対人補償 on a rental car includes this insurance (according to Toyota Rent a Car and Times Car Rental).
In English: automobile liability insurance (Toyota Rent a Car), Compulsory Automobile Liability Insurance (Times Car Rental).
Plan names
選べる補償
A term on Toyota Rent a Car’s Japanese pages, attached to 免責補償 and 安心Wプラン. It means you choose for yourself whether to take it.
任意加入
It means you decide for yourself whether to take it. On ORIX Rent a Car’s Japanese pages, it’s attached to 免責補償.
標準補償コース／免責補償コース／安心補償コース
Times Car Rental’s three tiers. 標準補償コース is just the coverage in the price, 免責補償コース also waives your share, and 安心補償コース waives NOC as well.
In English: Basic Package / Safety Package / Super Safety Package.
安心Wプラン
Toyota Rent a Car’s plan that adds a waiver of NOC to 免責補償. Its full name is 「トヨタレンタカー安心Wプラン」.
In English: TOYOTA Rent a Car Double Protection Package.
レンタカー安心パック（RAP）
ORIX Rent a Car’s plan that waives NOC.
In English: Rental car Assistance Pack (RAP).
フルサポートプラン／スタンダードプラン／ライトプラン
Nissan Rent a Car’s three tiers. ライトプラン is basic coverage only, スタンダードプラン waives your share, and フルサポートプラン waives NOC as well.
In English: Full Support Plan / Standard Plan / Light Plan.
Words that decide the NOC amount
自走し予定の店舗に返却
When, after an accident, you can drive the car yourself back to the office where you were due to return it. NOC is the lower amount (Toyota Rent a Car).
In English: Able to be driven / Driven back to the scheduled shop (Toyota Rent a Car).
自走できず／自走不可能
When you can’t drive the car yourself. At Toyota Rent a Car, it’s listed alongside 「予定の店舗に返却されなかった場合」 (“when the car isn’t returned to the scheduled office”), and NOC is the higher amount.
In English: Unable to be driven (Toyota Rent a Car), immovable (Nissan Rent a Car).
汚損
Getting the car dirty or damaging it. Smoking in a non-smoking car counts too (according to Toyota Rent a Car). It’s one of the reasons NOC is charged.
Words on documents
貸渡約款
The document that sets out the rules for renting the car. It’s also where things like the cases in which the coverage can’t be used are written.
In English: Rental Agreement (Toyota Rent a Car).
事故証明／交通事故証明書
A document in which the Japan Safe Driving Center certifies the facts of an accident, based on police records. It’s used for insurance claims.
In English: Traffic accident certificate (Japan Safe Driving Center), accident report (Toyota Rent a Car).
示談
Agreeing with the other party in an accident, by talking it over, on how to settle it. At some companies, the coverage can’t be used for a 示談 made without the company’s consent. Don’t agree to anything on the spot — contact the rental company first.
In English: settlement (Toyota Rent a Car), private settlement (Times Car Rental).
If you’re not sure
If you don’t understand a word on the paperwork, point to it and ask at the counter before you sign.
※ Coverage names and what they include, the amounts of your share and NOC, and how paperwork is written differ by company and can change. When you actually rent, check that company’s information and its rental terms (貸渡約款).
