Thursday 18 April 2013

Top Tips: Save Money on Car Hire and Car Club Insurance

I don’t hire a car very often: since going carfree I’ve been amazed how few times it has been necessary. But when I do hire, I’ve noticed recently that, whilst it’s still much cheaper to hire than it is to own and run a car, there’s one car hire cost which is rising – the excess or deductible. This is the bit that isn’t covered by the Collision Damage Waiver, and the likely price you’ll pay for the first portion of repair or replacement costs if anything goes wrong. Back in the day, a minor car park ding meant you’d pay around £60 for a bit of metal bashing and a quick burst of spraypaint.

But things have changed. Just as those unlucky enough to own a car are being hammered by rising costs of insurance, something similar has happened with hire cars, where the excess amount on insurance for car hire typically goes from £500 up to £1,600 - so if your excess is £600 and someone drives into the back of you causing damage of £750, you end up paying £600. Which is why the hire firms are quite persuasive when it comes to coughing up an extra £11.00 a day for excess cover. Either that, or you take the risk.

An alternative is to use a separate insurance policy. Which I did, with a policy to cover the entire excess fee, damage to the roof and undercarriage of the car plus the windows and tyres. I used www.Insurance4carhire.com, a firm with good customer reviews, to get cover for the UK and the rest of Europe at a price of £42.50 for a year. Worldwide including the US is £58.50. For which, you get:
  • Covers excess on damage to the vehicle, theft and damage to windows, roof, undercarriage & tyres
  • Up to £4,000 per claim & £5,000 per year
  • Unlimited number of rentals per year
  • 31 days continuous cover per rental
  • Cover for you plus 7 additional drivers aged 21-85
Not only that, but it also covers Car Club rentals. So if you hire a car more than one weekend a year, and don’t want to take a chance on the excess, it’s a total no-brainer.

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