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Original poster

Hire car question!

21 replies

Bittern11 · 05/04/2019 18:59

You know when you hire a car, you pay for an insurance called collision damage waiver? Then the car hire company tries to get you to take out an extra insurance called a Super Cover (Excess Waiver) insurance - so you don't have to pay a huge excess if you have an accident/the car gets damaged.

Do you pay this? Or do you just take the chance that you won't have an incident? If you have an accident and have to pay the excess, would this be reimbursed through the insurance included in the car hire package?

Sorry this is a dull question. It just annoys me every year, having to pay an extra £100 per week on this bloody insurance to give us peace of mind.

OP posts:
buzzbobbly · 05/04/2019 19:03

You buy a standalone policy before you leave home for virtually pennies compared to what the hire co try to charge, and drive away happy.

Whynham · 05/04/2019 19:04

I don't bother, I hire a car at least once or twice a year for a week or so at a time and have done for over ten years. The company I use have told me they don't charge the full excess if they don't need to and they have a fair policy if it comes back with scratches.

Original poster
Bittern11 · 05/04/2019 19:06

You buy a standalone policy before you leave home for virtually pennies compared to what the hire co try to charge, and drive away happy.

What kind of policy? Can you link to one?

OP posts:
buzzbobbly · 06/04/2019 10:12

Bittern I used this one last time: www.eversure.com/excess/

I didn't have to claim, but I found the setting up process very easy and straightforward, and when I contacted them with a query they responded promptly and helpfully. I'll use it again this year when I go away.

One word of warning though - some car hire companies will really put pressure on you to accept and threaten that you can't take the car unless you have their policy, yours isn't valid etc. Google reviews of the firm you choose (avoid Goldcar like the plague).

breadzeb · 06/04/2019 10:22

I can't say I have really noticed tbh. I hire from Arnold Clark and the price on the website includes insurance. The only thing they ask in collecting the car is for £100 fuel deposit.

Original poster
Bittern11 · 06/04/2019 10:38

Thanks, Buzzbobbly, I’ll take a look.

Not sure if it applies in the uk, but it def does in France and Spain.

Had a chat over Twitter with Hertz last night and they said their insurance would not pay back the excess if we had an accident, but said we could buy a policy from an outside company too.

OP posts:
Original poster
Bittern11 · 06/04/2019 10:40

Ha, the Eversure quote is £42 and the Hertz cover would be £200. Thanks, Buzzbobbly!

OP posts:
SpoonBlender · 06/04/2019 10:57

Check if your credit card comes with cover for car hire - my Amex does. You do need to pay for the hire on the same card, which should be obvious but!

buzzbobbly · 06/04/2019 11:03

No worries Bittern.

Just be careful that it is what you need. It is cover that pays any excess you are charged for accidents. It is not actual insurance for the damage.

So if you mean the Hertz excess is £200, then £42 is much better.

There are further discounts available here (where I got the eversure tip) www.moneysavingexpert.com/travel/cheap-car-hire/#needtoknow-5

CannyLad · 06/04/2019 11:24

Hire companies can put some really massive excess payments onto insurance - like £1000 for a windscreen i.e. the excess will be the total cost of repair so their insurance won't have to pay out. I've used www.insurance4carhire.com/ and always been happy, though I've not had to claim. I also booked cars through BA which seems to give a slightly better deal than direct sometimes as I added extra driver for free and some other benefits I can't remember now.

I might be wrong but I think that it reduces the chance of being stung for ridiculous charges too, as it makes you look like a cire hire pro not some greenhorn who can be liberated of their cash.

BarbaraofSevillle · 06/04/2019 11:30

Top tips for (relatively) stress free hiring of cars abroad:

Read the MSE guide linked to above
Don't use Record, Rhodium or Goldcar
Buy your excess insurance before you go
Watch out for fuel policies if you won't be driving very far, as many cheaper companies are full to empty, which means that you gift them 3/4 of a tank of fuel that you paid over the odds for when you return it.
Take a credit card for the 1000 euro excess that you will asked for because you aren't paying for their rip off insurance
Take pics of the car before you leave the site and the same when you return it.

TwoShades1 · 06/04/2019 11:33

I brought a travel insurance policy which covered the hire care as well as things like lost luggage, etc. It was much cheaper than the stand alone policy from the car hire company and covered lots of other things too.

buzzbobbly · 06/04/2019 11:41

Oh that's interesting TwoShades! Can you provide a link as my annual travel policy is just about uip for renewal now too! I might be able to bag a twofer! Grin

GiantKitten · 06/04/2019 11:52

Another benefit of the standalone excess waiver policies is that they generally cover keys, tyres, underside, roof & all glass, which the hire company policy might not.

And re fuel policies, it’s best to go for full to full if it’s an option - makes it much easier to bring it back with the right amount!

GiantKitten · 06/04/2019 11:58

We’ve used this company for years. We did actually have to claim once & they were very good - paid up in full very quickly.

www.carhireexcess.co.uk/

Hoppinggreen · 06/04/2019 12:03

We have Insurance4hire
Around £40 for a whole year

buzzbobbly · 06/04/2019 12:06

Take a credit card for the 1000 euro excess that you will asked for because you aren't paying for their rip off insurance

Make sure the card is in the driver's name!
Some shadier companies will insist this has to be the case, and if not, will add on the card holder as additional driver (at £££!). It's a bloody minefield of dodgy merchants and "gotchas" like insurance, with a few gems in between, unfortunately.

Janek · 06/04/2019 12:29

We once booked car hire through an online agent, rather than directly with the company. We inadvertently paid with a debit card (upon booking) rather than a credit card. When we picked up the car we 'had' to have their insurance (despite having an annual cdw insurance policy) because they can't reserve the excess on a debit card, and apparently they couldn't possibly use a different card from the one we had booked on once we were there.

In answe to one of op's original questions - the excess is what you have to pay in the event of an accident - the rest is covered by the company's insurance, but the first £1000 is payable by you (or your cdw insurance ideally!).

Original poster
Bittern11 · 06/04/2019 12:31

Just be careful that it is what you need. It is cover that pays any excess you are charged for accidents. It is not actual insurance for the damage.

Yes, that's fine. If we hire with e.g. Hertz insurance is automatically included - just not the CDW excess!!

OP posts:
GiantKitten · 06/04/2019 12:50

On our last few holidays, in Corfu & Crete,we’ve hired from local companies, not multinationals - generally cheaper, very friendly, & not nearly as dodgy as the big ones can be.

The cars can be higher mileage, & not always pristine, but those are minor niggles. Also they don’t have desks in the car hire hall in the terminal so you don’t have to queue for ages - they have a small compound in the car park so they meet you at arrivals & take you there.

Bess66 · 06/04/2019 13:14

Can't recommend this site enough www.carhireexcess.co.uk

I have made a claim with them too. It was quick and easy.

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