Car Excess Insurance WIN!

ThriftMeister

The absolute best £11 I spent for my holiday! I just got paid back the £878.34 for the excess I had to pay on my credit card resulting from a minor incident in France. Details below...

Before leaving for our holiday in the Nice area (Southern France), I carefully mined the Cheap Car Hire page for as much info as possible (I'm a new user so had to remove link).

I used the Comparison sites mentioned, and got a decent rate on a car.

Then I read Tip #5. I had no idea car excess insurance even existed. I read the reports from people it had worked for, visited the comparison site suggested, and found a suitable policy for our week away. Total cost - £11.67. Having never had a rental car mishap I confess I thought twice about buying the policy, but it like a good deal for peace of mind.

Arrived in France a month later, picked up the car and off we went. Within an hour, I hit a bollard and grounded the car on a large curb No other vehicles were involved, so I was able to reverse off and drive away. When I got to a safe place to stop, I assessed the damage. A scratch covering the passenger door and rear panel, and a dent near the bottom of the panel near where it grounded. Bummer. Unfortunately I can't link to a photo of the damage as I'm a new poster on the forums.

Hopped back in and said to Mrs. ThriftMeister,

"That's why I bought the excess insurance!"

Phoned the rental company to inform them that night - not a big deal since car perfectly driveable and no one else involved, no injuries etc. Still, I had to wonder if my Leisure Guard policy would be good. I downloaded the terms and conditions to read again.

It stated that I would need to have the final repair bill from the workshop that carried out the repairs. That seemed like it would be quite a headache to obtain. But figured I had no real choice but to wait and see what would happen.

When I checked the car back in at the rental centre after the holiday, I pointed out the damage. Photos were taken on a tablet and I was asked to sign the tablet. No paperwork was provided, which I knew I would require for a claim. I was told it would be sent via email to the address I had provided when picking up the vehicle.

Sure enough, the first documentation came through within a couple of hours. We were still in the airport. Further documentation, detailing the standard charges for damage arrived a day or two later.

I contacted Reactive Claims (the underwriter for my Leisure Guard policy), gathered the documentation they requested - with the exception of the Final Repair Bill as that was unavailable.

• I filed the claim on 15th July and received an automated acknowledgement.
• I sent a follow up email on 24th July to ensure everything was looking good.
• Received an email on 31st July informing me that all documentation was accepted and the claim would be settled within 7 working days, directly to my bank account.

Sure enough, the funds arrived this morning (5th August), and have been sent off to the credit card.

Claim fully processed before my credit card bill payment was due, so no extra financial pressure there. And of course the credit card is one of the MSE Top Travel Cards, so no extra fees on the exchange rates :T

So glad this site exists and Martin shares tips that can save us hundreds of £££s!
Cheers mate!

Jlo31

Sorry to hear you had a bump but great to hear how well the excess policy worked. I normally buy these too but never have had to claim thankfully.

It's reassuring and interesting to hear how the claims process worked.

EveryWhere

Hmmmmm.......

biggmick1

Excellent post ThriftMeister!

Such great details on the company names, costs and timeline. It makes it so much easier for the rest of us to be able to find the deals out there that really work. It rewards the good guys and the bad guys lose business and hopefully disappear, never to bother us all again.

I've had policies with Leisure Guard before but thankfully never had to claim. I was always a little concerned whether they would try and wriggle their way out of a claim.

It's always easy for us all to share our experiences when we're unhappy with a service/product but it's great when people share the details of the good experiences (I'll make it my New Years Resolution).

shinytop

I had a Goldcar hire car last year in Spain. When I returned it they pointed out a miniscule chip on the bottom of the windscreen and charged me 400 Euro. I had excess insurance from carhireexcess.co.uk and they paid out quickly and with no problems. Well worth the 15 quid or so it cost.

dnpark38

You say your with Leisure Guard and got over £800 excess in a claim, like you I took Martins tip.
My renewal is here and LG only will cover £750 so surprised you got your amount.
My problem is I hire from Avis and their excess is 1200 euro so I was thinking not to renew with LG.

Have you and others got any comment and recommendation for me?

biggmick1

dnpark38 wrote: »

You say your with Leisure Guard and got over £800 excess in a claim, like you I took Martins tip.
My renewal is here and LG only will cover £750 so surprised you got your amount.
My problem is I hire from Avis and their excess is 1200 euro so I was thinking not to renew with LG.

Have you and others got any comment and recommendation for me?

I think you might have misread that renewal. My info says they cover £7,500
They cover up to £500 just for a lost key.

dnpark38

Sorry typos.
£7500
That's put my mind at rest thank you.

biggmick1

dnpark38 wrote: »

Sorry typos.
£7500
That's put my mind at rest thank you.

No problem, happens to all of us.
Could be an advert for Specsavers though.