Claiming for zero excess fee from rental company following accident

mrs_chocolate

A car smashed into the side of me whilst parking.The drivers insurance company have taken responsibility.I have had a hire car now for 2.5 weeks and it will be another week now whilst my car is fixed.I was given a brand new (100 miles on the clock) hire car and was asked if i wanted to take out £7.00 per day cover to take it down to zero excess, i was told i could claim this back from the insurance company.Today i called allianz,the third parties insurer, as my own insurance company told me to do it direct.I explained it was an uninsured loss ,that because of the accident i was having to drive a hire car and having to have the zero excess so i was out of pocket.They said they wouldn't pay it , i then got cross and asked to speak to the manager , she spoke to her deputy who said they may pay it if i send an invoice to them from enterprise the hire car people.Anybody got any experience with this ?can you help ? where do i stand ? After 3.5 weeks i would need to pay nearly £200.

dacouch

How much is the excess on your own vehicle's policy?

mrs_chocolate

£150, is excess on my own car.But when driving my own car if i get a scrape, or the wheel hub gets a scratch i wouldn't be charged for it , whereas with rental cars i would be , even the smallest scuff or scratch is often picked up and charged for ....

martinsurrey

mrs_chocolate wrote: »

£150, is excess on my own car.But when driving my own car if i get a scrape, or the wheel hub gets a scratch i wouldn't be charged for it , whereas with rental cars i would be , even the smallest scuff or scratch is often picked up and charged for ....

AFAIK when insurance companies provide a hire car, they extend the same coverage you hold on your car, to the hire car for free, you have enhanced this coverage down to zero excess, so why would they pay for it?

If you scratched your car, your insurance company wouldn't have fixed it, so why should they pay to fix it on the hire companies car?

tasticz

if op scratched his own car he could just leave it if they feel ok with it however with hired car they will need to pay for any damage how little

i remember reading somewhere about this on here the other party finally paid when the user said his neck is starting to hurt :rotfl:

mrs_chocolate

Hi thanks for the comments,anyone had success with claiming for this type of uninsured loss ?

martinsurrey

mrs_chocolate wrote: »

Hi thanks for the comments,anyone had success with claiming for this type of uninsured loss ?

Its not an uninsured loss.

You can claim to get you back to where you were before the accident.

At no time before the accident did you have a zero excess insurance policy.

At best if you complain enough it'll get paid, but just to shut you up, not because they need to by law.

tasticz

martinsurrey wrote: »

Its not an uninsured loss.

You can claim to get you back to where you were before the accident.

At no time before the accident did you have a zero excess insurance policy.

At best if you complain enough it'll get paid, but just to shut you up, not because they need to by law.

but if OP damaged his own car say scratched his wheel he could choose to not repair it or repair it 6 months down the line when they get a bonus ... just an example however with hired car that option is not available so he should be given the same flexibility no?

martinsurrey

tasticz wrote: »

but if OP damaged his own car say scratched his wheel he could choose to not repair it or repair it 6 months down the line when they get a bonus ... just an example however with hired car that option is not available so he should be given the same flexibility no?

no, if OP scratched his car and didn't repair it, it would be a damaged car, which would be worth less than the same car without the scratch (marginal I know, but true), the OP would have a car worth less, insurance company wouldn't pay anything.

why should the insurance company give the hire car better treatment than the cover the OP had, and paid for, on their own car?