Topics
on car hire rental:
British Holidaymakers Could Be Paying More Than Five Times Over The Odds For Car
Hire Excess Insurance That May Not Even Provide Full Cover ...
Released: 8th June
2011
Tourists warned
that some car hire companies still charge an excess even with their top-up cover
Thousands
of Brits planning to hire a car this summer could be paying significantly over
the odds for excess insurance because they take it out when they pick up their
rental, rather than pre-buying online, according to research carried out by insurer
Protectyourbubble.com
Unsuspecting
holidaymakers could end up paying over five times more for excess insurance on
their vehicle by only purchasing cover when they are at the rental desk, through
the car hire company, rather than shopping around and buying through a specialist
online insurer.
Excess
insurance is
offered by car hire firms as a top-up insurance to reduce the customer’s liability
on the rental in the event of a crash or damage. In some cases the excess is reduced
to zero, but some companies still charge an excess even with the top-up cover.
Protectyourbubble.com
carried
out phone research into the six major UK car hire firms; Hertz,
Avis, Europcar, Enterprise, National and Alamo
and found that all six companies charged substantially more for excess insurance
taken out by customers at the point when they picked up their car, than it would
have cost pre-buying through a specialist online insurer.
Two
of the largest car hire companies in the UK, Hertz
and Avis, charged more than £15
per day for excess insurance, compared to taking out excess cover through
an online insurer such as
Protectyourbubble.com,
which costs from just £3.02 per day or £21.14
for a standard seven-day car hire in the UK and Europe.
The
research also revealed that even taking out excess insurance cover through the
hire car companies did not necessarily mean that customers were covered for all
eventualities. For example, Avis excess insurance cover does not include damage
to the tyres and windscreen, and customers are asked to pay a further £2 a day
if they want to include damage to these parts of the vehicle.
Although
the sales representative at Europcar said their excess
insurance does cover all damage to the vehicle, on their website the small print
reveals that underbody, tyres and windscreen damage may be excluded from the cover
depending on the country of destination.
To
research the car hire excess insurance market, Protectyourbubble.com
took a standard four-door Ford Focus or equivalent,
seven day car hire, travelling in the UK or Europe during June, and found that
Hertz was the most expensive of the six major firms,
charging a total of £109.24 for their excess cover,
which brought the excess down from £550 to zero.
Hertz
was closely followed by Avis, which charged customers
who chose to take out excess insurance £108.50 for seven
days of cover. However, unlike Hertz, Avis
cover only reduced the excess from £850 down to £100.
Hertz also had the highest excess on its Collision
Damage Waiver of any of the six car hire companies.
According
to the results of the research, Europcar and Alamo
offered the cheapest excess insurance, with seven days of cover costing just £56,
almost 50% cheaper than Hertz, both reducing the
excess to zero. National charged £65 for seven days of excess cover, while Enterprise
was slightly more expensive, charging £76.93 for a week’s cover. However, while
National’s excess insurance reduced the excess to
zero, Enterprise’s cover only reduced the excess
from £750 down to £250.
The
comparison table in the attached file shows for the six major car hire companies
in the UK, the cost of taking out excess insurance cover and to what amount the
excess is reduced to. The companies are ranked from the company offering the most
expensive seven-day excess insurance cover down to the one offering the least
expensive.
Stephen
Ebbett, Director, Protectyourbubble.com
comments:
“Consumers will be shocked to discover that they could be paying over five times
more for excess insurance cover, and that even taking out the car hire company’s
own excess insurance doesn’t necessarily mean they are covered for all eventualities.
Our
research revealed just how much extra customers are paying by taking out excess
insurance at the car rental desk rather than buying it in advance online through
a specialist company.
“For many customers, it’s only at the point when they’re picking up their hire
car that they discover their insurance cover has a high excess and are then offered
the excess insurance option. In fact, many customers won’t even be aware, up until
that point, that there is even such a thing as excess insurance, and that it might
be sensible to take it out to avoid facing a hefty excess charge if they damage
the vehicle.
“Unfortunately, by the time it is explained to a customer that the Collision
Damage Waiver has
a high excess charge, it is too late and many customers have little choice but
to take out the hire company’s excess cover for peace of mind, unaware that they
could have bought the cover online for considerably less.
“If anyone is thinking of hiring a car this summer in the UK or Europe, just a
few minutes online could save them paying over the odds for excess cover that
may not be fit for purpose.”
Protectyourbubble.com
carried
out its research between 9am and 5.30pm on May 23, 2011, by calling sales representatives
at Avis, Hertz, Europcar, Enterprise, National and
Alamo, to obtain information relating to excess insurance
cover.
Protectyourbubble's
car
hire excess insurance is designed to cover the excess payment, as well as other
items such as damage to tyres, windscreens and the underbody of the car, which
are often the financial responsibility of the hirer and can be expensive.
If
you do take out car hire excess insurance through your car rental company and
not Protectyourbubble, be sure to check that damage to the glass, tyres and the
underbody is included, otherwise you could be stung with a large and unexpected
bill should damage occur to any of these vehicle parts while in your care.
Protectyourbubble’s Platinum excess insurance benefits include:
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