Andyphilpott Posted August 13, 2006 Share Posted August 13, 2006 I am looking to book another hire car soon for a trip to the Var and I usually pay an additional £2.50 approx per day to insure the excess applied to the Collision Damage Waiver which is generally included in the hire charge. However there seem to be more and more 'get outs' arising, such as damage to tyres/windows/roof or underside of the car not being covered. With the excess generally around £500 and the propensity of French drivers to not worry much about the odd dent, the risk is quite real. So I have been doing some research on the net and I have found an insurer (www.insurance4carhire.com) who sell an annual policy which not only covers all damage but works out cheaper if you expect to hire for more than 21 days in any 12 months. I have not used them yet so would be interested if any forum members have any experience, good or bad, of them. The actual insurer is based in Ireland although that does not seem to be a real problem. All administration is from London. The policy allows for rentals of up to 31 days at a time and they also have policies which cover countries outside Europe.Andy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard-R Posted August 14, 2006 Share Posted August 14, 2006 Check your credit/charge card, if it includes travel insurance it often includes car hire excess cover. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyphilpott Posted August 15, 2006 Author Share Posted August 15, 2006 I never though of that - thanks - I will check up on thatAndy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anton Redman Posted August 15, 2006 Share Posted August 15, 2006 The best business book I have read in my life is 'Up the Organisation' by Robert Townend. In it he mentions that Avis made money out of CDA ( Collision Damage Assurance ) but lost money on car hire. At dollar 20 versus dollar 500 you have an accident one in 25 times you take out the car ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pads Posted August 16, 2006 Share Posted August 16, 2006 [quote user="Richard-R"]Check your credit/charge card, if it includes travel insurance it often includes car hire excess cover.[/quote]which credit card dose this?do you have to take it out as a paid extra?how do i find out if my card has travel insurance?Many thanks for the info Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyphilpott Posted August 17, 2006 Author Share Posted August 17, 2006 Just checked with my card issuer (NatWest) and although it provides an excellent level of travel insurance Excess CDW is not covered so I too would be interested to learn of issuers who do provide this.As for the 500 dollars re 20 dollars question in the post before Richard R's I guess my view would be that the £2.50 per day charge by Holiday Autos is not too bad when you think how easy it is to lose much more than that by, for example, having a wing mirror knocked off whilst parked. I have only had one claim on HA and that was for a lost wheel trim which was £20 alone. However since I am almost certain to hire for more than 22 days in the next 12 months I think I will take up the alternative insurance mentioned in my original post and I will post again if there is anything worthwhile to report.Andy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gardian Posted January 28, 2007 Share Posted January 28, 2007 Any update on this one?I always rent from Hertz via the Ryanair website when returning to the UK and then take the 'Super CDW' cover, but you do get badly caned on this - about £15 / day, I seem to recall. A better deal would of great interest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavyH Posted January 28, 2007 Share Posted January 28, 2007 Try herehttp://www.insurance4carhire.com/£49 for a year to insure an excess - Don't know how good they are because I have never claimed, but as I hire at least 4 times a year when in France, it seems a great deal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gardian Posted January 29, 2007 Share Posted January 29, 2007 Many thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnOther Posted February 19, 2007 Share Posted February 19, 2007 Carhire3000 do Damage Excess Refund from £1.50 to £4.50 per day depending on class of car.http://www.carhire3000.com/Help.do Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yorky Posted February 20, 2007 Share Posted February 20, 2007 I had a annual policy to cover hire car excess. It cost me about £50 but it only covered cars with a new value of around £30000. I don't have it anymore because my CA and CIC and AMEX gold cards cover the excess if you use them to pay for the car rental.Yorky Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Georgina Posted February 22, 2007 Share Posted February 22, 2007 Yes, these excess charges are indeed a big rip off and vary so much. I used Budget Rent a Car and their excess are always low, unless of course you want a suped up model. However Avis I think were charging double for the excess and more for the rental. I just booked with another firm thinking I had a good deal then I read in the small print that they charged for picking up on a Sunday from an Airport, way down at the bottom in font size 10 I think. Which turned out not to be so good after all. This surely should have come up in the original charge when I was given the quote, being as they knew it was a Sunday then. But they have got you by the short and curleys once you turn up at the airport completely worn out and desperate.Georgina Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Judith Posted February 22, 2007 Share Posted February 22, 2007 [quote user="Andyphilpott"]So I have been doing some research on the net and I have found an insurer (www.insurance4carhire.com) .... I have not used them yet so would be interested if any forum members have any experience, good or bad, of them. [/quote]I used them for 2 years whilst we were still hiring cars, but never had to claim so cannot say how that would be. They did stop sending renewal reminders when I told them that we no longer needed the insurance (as we now have a car in France so don't hire any more). It does only cover "abroad" - I would have liked it even more if it covered UK car hire, but it specifically doesn't. I use a car club in the UK now, so that is that problem solved. Can't see that they are any worse than any other insurer, you have to ask is it worth £50 a year (or so, might have gone up a little by now) for peace of mind?? They do seem to cover items which most car-hire insurance packages won't. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phylisbide Posted February 23, 2007 Share Posted February 23, 2007 Judith - what is a car club? Phylis Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnOther Posted February 23, 2007 Share Posted February 23, 2007 Hope I'm not jumping in uninvited.Car clubs are an idea that's catching on in UK. Ideal for those who only need a car occassionally.http://www.carplus.org.uk/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Judith Posted February 23, 2007 Share Posted February 23, 2007 [quote user="ErnieY"]Hope I'm not jumping in uninvited.Car clubs are an idea that's catching on in UK. Ideal for those who only need a car occassionally.http://www.carplus.org.uk/[/quote]Of course not, ErnieY. Useful if you live in a big city where parking (and congestion charge etc!!!) is a nightmare. There are now several around, City car, streetcar are two I know of, not quite as convenient as having your own, you have to book it and get it back on time etc, and for long trips a hire car is better priced, but I like the convenience that as long as I book in time, I have a car within 5 mins walk, (outside the congestion zone, whereas I live inside it!) and if that is booked there is one not far away - but I am talking about the centre of London where I would expect such choice. I don't use it very much - only for trips where I cannot use public transport (eg carrying large objects) and it is not exactly the best value, but convenient it can be. Can be driven abroad (at some excessive cost I suspect) but the intention and pricing is for short trips so I have never tested bringing one to France for my hols!Hope that helps! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lollie Posted February 24, 2007 Share Posted February 24, 2007 If you have a gold mastercard it covers this plus all sorts of travel cover for you and your family.Lollie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jc Posted February 24, 2007 Share Posted February 24, 2007 There has been correspondence elsewhere recently that the cover offered by these cards has so many conditions that it is barely worthwhile-as has been said before"read the SMALL print". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnOther Posted February 24, 2007 Share Posted February 24, 2007 Now you see, there's the trouble with sweeping statements, your particular card might but I have a Lloyds Gold MC and it doesn't [blink] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Owens88 Posted February 25, 2007 Share Posted February 25, 2007 'Just checked with my card issuer (NatWest) and although it provides an excellent level of travel insurance Excess CDW is not covered so I too would be interested to learn of issuers who do provide this.' B**um. I have been travelling with nat west travel insursance for years and presumed it does. Oh dear yet another job/task/argument for next week. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jc Posted February 25, 2007 Share Posted February 25, 2007 There are many different levels of so-called "free" travel cover offered on Gold cards-the minimum usually only covers you for what you paid for-ie.if you used it to pay for a ferry crossing-it only covers you on that crossing-nothing else.Most exclude pre-existing medical conditions.I once had to claim on my proper insurance and was glad I had it.I dislocated my ankle totally.It paid for an operation,hospital stay,repatriation for my wife and myself(that included taxi to airport in France,BA flights and taxi from Gatwick) and a driver to bring our car home-this was all done with a single phone call to the insurer,they organized everything,took over completely.I would never travel again without similar cover. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lollie Posted February 25, 2007 Share Posted February 25, 2007 http://www.mastercardfrance.com/fr/particulier/gold/assistance.html#7Maybe it is something particular to french cards? After all car insurance in France covers so much more than UK insurance. i breakdown cover.Lollie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clair Posted February 25, 2007 Share Posted February 25, 2007 The March 07 copy of the magazine 'Le Particulier' has an in-depth article on what to watch out for when hiring a car in France.The magazine gives independent advice and I have been a subscriber for several years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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