The Benefits of car hire excess cover

Here are a few reasons as to why you need car hire excess insurance :

Peace of Mind: Renting a vehicle can be a very daunting experience, especially if you’re not accustomed to it. Not only are you faced with driving a car that is unfamiliar to you, but you are often tasked with navigating foreign road systems and unfamiliar territory. Purchasing a car hire excess insurance policy can help to alleviate some of these worries and let you concentrate on the task in hand. With car hire excess insurance, you can eliminate your excess liability in the event of an accident. This is a priceless benefit to any consumer.

Cost Effective: Purchasing car hire excess insurance through an independent provider instead of at the rental desk can prove to be very cost effective for individuals and businesses alike. By way of comparison, our research has shown that some car rental companies in France charge up to €20.00 per day while independent providers are charging as little as €2.99 per day for the same level of cover. It is important that you make sure to shop around before you travel to get the most benefit out of your policy. Most companies will offer to cover excesses up to €4,000 which in our experience is more than adequate. If you are planning to rent a car for an extended period of time, there are even more savings to be made by purchasing an annual policy. Some annual policies will offer up to 62 days of continuous cover. This is of great benefit to individuals or business people who spend a great deal of time abroad.

Flexibility: Car hire excesses insurance policies are designed to benefit the needs of all customers whether they are domestic, foreign, frequent users, business clients, etc. Most car hire excess insurance policies will offer cover for up to 62 days of continuous cover on an annual policy and sometimes up to 6 months on a single trip/daily policy. It is very important that you remember to take out the car hire excess insurance cover before you sign the rental agreement as this cannot be taken out once the rental agreement is signed.

Better Cover: The car hire excess insurance cover that you can obtain from an independent provider often has greater benefits than the cover you are offered at the rental desk. There are additional benefits to be had such as cover for the tyres, windows, roof, keys and undercarriage. The claims process can also be much more straightforward as the claims company is based in your home country and not the country in which you are renting your vehicle. There is also an English-speaking representative that will be happy to clarify any questions that you may have regarding the coverage.

In Country Coverage: This means that you can use the car hire excess insurance policy in your home country which may be beneficial if you don’t have the full time use of your own vehicle or if you need to rent a vehicle when your vehicle goes into the garage or is involved in an accident. Previously many providers restricted cover to use outside of the home country but they are now adjusting the wording of their policies as they can see the benefit of lifting this restriction.

Additional Drivers: If you are planning on travelling away with family or friends, you can include their names on your policy at no additional charge. This means you can share the driving and benefit from some down time yourself.

Family Cover: Some policies offer a ‘Family Cover’ benefit which means that members of your immediate family can rent vehicles independently of you and still be covered on your car hire excess insurance policy. This can be of benefit if you are travelling away in a large group or if you have adult children who regularly rent cars too.

Road Rage: Some car hire excess insurances policies will offer cover for any physical injury resulting from an incident of road rage.

Car Jacking: Some Car hire excess insurance policies will offer cover for car-jacking.

Key Replacement Cover: Companies often offer Car hire excess insurance cover in the event you lose the key to a rental vehicle and incur charges for new locks. This often includes locksmith charges too. This is a great benefit and takes away the worry of losing your keys. Something we are all capable of!

Supplemental Liability Cover: Supplementary liability insurance provides cover if you are involved in an accident while driving a rented car and cause damage to a third-party by injuring them with the rental vehicle or causing physical damage to their property. It is required in the USA, Canada, the Caribbean, South and Central America. Most companies offer this as an additional benefit or add-on.