Car Hire Excess Insurance - Is this true?

boschler

Hello,

I've got a good deal on car hire this summer and opted out of the excess insurance, planning to get it cheaper by arranging seperately as mentioned on the main site.

I recently received some emails asking why I hadn't taken up this option and explained why I wasn't taking out the in house excess policy. I wondered if anyone was able to clarify the points below and whether I am better off taking out seperate excess insurance for around £30 or taking out the recommended (by the car hire company at least) £79 option which they claim is nothing like insurance? Please see the email extract below:

Please bear in mind if you out source it to another company the protection you will have will be an insurance product and I’m sure you know what insurance is like. So if anything happens to the car you will have to pay all the excess first then it is down to you to go through an insurance claim to get the money back. All insurance companies will require, the accident report, a copy of your credit card bill to prove the money was taken (you can wait up to a month to receive this), a police report and witness statement if a 3rd party was involved, without all these details the claim will be void.

With it been insurance and an insurance claim it can take months to get the money back if you do get the money back at all. Also whilst you are going through the claim you will get credit card charges on your credit card where the excess has been charged (unless you have zero percent or are able to pay it off in the same month) and the insurance company will not refund any charges, so it ends up been more expensive.

If you don’t need to claim then you may be quid’s in, but if you do need to claim then you will be no better off than just taking the risk with no protection.

Our protection is nothing like insurance, it is directly with us, we don’t out source it to anyone, everything would be with the same company, no need to go through a full insurance claim with insurance people taking months and most importantly ours is NOT insurance. So I suppose sometimes it pays to get a better cover, it’s not always about the price.

Is what they are saying / claiming true or are they no different to taking out excess with another company?

Buzby

Their policy is insurance too - the only difference is the reality that in the event of any claim, you are not then liable for an immediate payment of the excess on returning the vehicle.

If you have a claim and have your policy elsewhere, then you claim and pay it back - hopefully this will be made before your CC payment is due!

boschler

Thanks for confirming, I think I'll take the cheaper option in that case...

RMCAL

Always buy this cover from a specialist car hire excess insurance provider. Not only are they always cheaper but their cover is more comprehensive (tyres and windscreens are usually not covered as standard otherwise). iCarhireinsurance.com are who I've used in the past...their cheap and when I claimed against bumper damage they reinbursed me within 28 days.

zagfles

Usual scare tactics - though at least they're doing in advance and not when you go to pick the car up - that's the usual tactic! People who've already bought excess insurance from a third party sometimes get conned into buying off the car hire company as well as they claim the third party excess cover isn't valid!

Big margins on rip-off excess insurance sold by car hire companies, so big incentives to sell it!