Protectyourbubble car hire insurance

ProtectYourBubble

Have you checked your car hire excess information? You could be liable for up to Ł1,600 should you damage the car whilst it is in your care without the right car hire excess insurance. With Protect your bubble you could save up to 60% of the cost of buying the same car hire insurance through your rental company.

When you hire a car in the UK or overseas for business or pleasure, car rental companies insure the vehicle as part of the car rental agreement but they apply a hirer's excess which will vary from supplier to supplier, generally between Ł500 and Ł1,600 depending on supplier.

You may be surprised to learn that the hirer (you) will not only be responsible for paying the excess should the car be damaged or stolen, but you will also be responsible for all costs relating to damage to the under body, tyres and windscreen. Not what you want or expect to have to pay for whilst on holiday!

With Protect your bubble Car Hire Insurance, for as little as Ł2.37 a day or Ł38.09 a year you can cover the excess on the car rental agreement up to Ł2,000 in any one claim or Ł3,000 in total each car rental agreement. Plus cover any costs associated with damage to tyres, glass and under body during your car rental agreement. In addition our policy provides a number of other benefits which are not often offered by car rental companies or they charge further sums to cover…… such as lost keys, being locked out, personal accident, curtailment, baggage whilst in the car and drop off fees.

Protect you bubble’s Car Hire Insurance is available to anyone renting a car with a value less than $80,000, who is aged 21 - 84 and has an internationally recognised full driving licence. If you live in the UK or Ireland cover in your home country is included and we have an option to allow rentals that start close to your home.

There are two products to choose from:

A Daily policy insuring a single car rental agreement up to 180 days in length or;
An Annual policy insuring unlimited car rental agreements in the year up to 31 days per rental.

Protect your bubble will cover rentals worldwide and there is provision to top up the third party liability cover by up to $1,000,000 where the locally provided cover is inadequate (e.g USA). There are also some optional extras that you can select if required

Near Home Rental – allows UK and Ireland resident policyholders to rent a vehicle close to the main residence (within 150 kilometers).
Dual Lead Driver – allows two persons named on the policy to rent vehicles independently.).

If you are a motorist, there will probably be several occasions when you will use a hired car - maybe when your existing car is being serviced and you are given a courtesy car for the day; or when you are on holiday for a week or two and enjoying travelling around. Or maybe you regularly hire a car as you don't have a vehicle of your own.

Whatever reason you use a hired car for, you will generally have some form of insurance in place to protect you in the event of an accident, either via your own insurer or as part of the car hire agreement. But what about the excess? Have you considered this? If you are involved in an accident, the car insurance will only pay out for damage over and above the excess amount - you will have to find the first part of the claim. However, excesses can often exceed £1,000

Protecting the excess

You probably have not given much thought to protection against paying the excess on the insurance for your hired car, but the importance of this type of cover should not be underestimated. For example, you are on holiday and have hired a modest car to get you from A to B during your stay. You have insurance in place for your hired car, believing that you are financially protected in the event of an accident. However, what you may not realise is that in the event of a claim, you will be liable for an excess - this is the first part of any claim.

Unlike a standard UK car insurance policy, where the excess amount is agreed by you and is typically Ł250-Ł500, when you hire a car in the UK or overseas the car rental company will define the excess amount. This can be anywhere from Ł500 right up to a staggering Ł1,600, subject to the supplier. So, in the event of a claim, this means that your holiday could cost you a lot more than you had bargained for.

Additional protection

It's not just the excess that you may be liable for in the event that the car is damaged or stolen. If there is damage to the tyres, the windscreen or the under body, you could be responsible for these costs as well! The good news is that you can protect yourself against having to pay for the excess on the cover for your hired car with our Car Hire Excess Insurance policy.

Protect your bubble Car Hire insurance is underwritten by White Horse Insurance Ireland Limited (a Thomas Cook Group Company) and administered on their behalf by Questor Insurance Services Limited who are authorised by the Financial Service Authority

Protect your bubble is a trading name of Assurant Direct Limited, a company registered in England and Wales (registration company number 5399683). Assurant Direct Limited is an Appointed Representative of Assurant Intermediary Limited, a company registered in England and Wales (registration company number 4019801). Assurant Intermediary Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority (registered number 311243). You can check this on the FSA's register by visiting the FSA's website www.fsa.gov.uk/Pages/register or by contacting the FSA on 0845 606 1234.

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