Hire Car Insurance

Sweatsock

Hi folks,

I don't have a car myself at the moment but am considering hiring one over the Christmas period to make visiting family etc a bit easier.

A colleague mentioned it being worth my while taking out insurance for hire cars but I'd never heard of this. Never having hired a car before I assumed you were covered by the car hire company's own insurance? My colleague seems to think that you are but that having this additional cover would cover things like the excess in the event of a fault accident?

Basically, any advice on companies or experience of having hire car insurance is welcome along with a rough estimate of costs would be ideal. I had a look online and it appeared one company would cover me for £40 for a whole year which seems very low. I have a fault claim on my record from march 2011 but this company didn't even ask about my driving history, is that normal with car hire insurance?

Thanks in advance

lisyloo

The excess on car insurance can be high.
Some companies offer you the option of paying extra to cover the excess but alternatively if you hire a lot you could buy an annual policy.

Personally I always like to have £0 excess.
This gives any cynical hire company absolutely NO benfit to saying you scratched the car when you didn't because they would get no cash from you anyway.

My advice is thoroughly check the car before you take it and note down any damage or scratches, take picture if you have a camera on your mobile.
Depending on how paranoid you want to be you could take pictures before you take the car back but ideally check in with a person and get them to check the car and agree it's fine when you take it back.

Getting £0 excess gives them notreason to plant a bogus claim on you either to get any damage fixed or to get the excess from you.

I had a look online and it appeared one company would cover me for £40 for a whole year which seems very low.

Are you sure this isn't just covering you for an excess?

If you don't hire very often it may be cheaper to pay the hire car company a few quid a day, but if you think you might hire a lot then an annual policy could be cheaper.

Personally I would definitely look for £0 excess if possible and that would even be a major criteria in company selection for me as it helps avoid a whole load of hassle even if it does cost a few £s more.

forgotmyname

Inspect fully.. It may annoy them a little but the risk is they find a scratch or scuff that was there already and blame you.

Look especially at the bumper corners, wheels and under the doors.

rs65

Sweatsock wrote: »

I had a look online and it appeared one company would cover me for £40 for a whole year which seems very low.

I have cover for hire cars for about £40 but I think you find it will be for the excess only. Mind you, it also covers this like windscreen, roof, tyres etc which the hire car company doesn't cover.

To reduce the excess to nil when you hire a car can be £10 a day so the annual cover works for me. I probably hire 21 days in Europe every year and about the same in the UK.

I've never had to claim on it though.

One thing to watch is some of the hire car excess policies only cover you for hires undertaken more than x miles from home.

666diablo

As said before check the car thoruoghly. Take out your phone and record everything whilst the car is still on the forecourt and the rep from the hire car company is showing you around the vehicle.

Read the paperwork.

I worked in the industry for one of the biggest names. The cars were well maintained and the amount you paid upfront was irrelevant. Its what they get out of you after you returned the vehicle that excites and motivates hire companies.

The cheaper the cover, the more loopholes in favour of everyone esle except YOU......

Some very good advice above, take it and you will be fine.

666diablo

Also pay equal attention to the interior of the car.

fyi

The left rear hub cap which cost approx £125 for a set of four, meant that a car for hire that left the forecourt at £25 per day, would return to the forecourt with an automatic £125 additonal charge, everytime it went out.

If it was challenged, at least via several communications, it would be reduced to a lower amount, eventually.