It’s normally fairly easy to find a good hire car and at a good deal price. Finding insurance for car hire at the best possible price may require a little more thought.
The reason for that is because many people renting cars just take the insurance offers that are put down in front of them by the rental company. That’s a pity because these types of insurance for car hire are usually expensive and may have gaps in cover. In fact, the renter is generally not obliged to take the car rental company’s insurance and can use their own.
To explain – when hiring a car many people see that the rental price includes some forms of basic insurance. Usually these are insurances to cover damage the renter may do to other people or their property (third party liability) or damage to the rented vehicle itself (CDW for ‘collision damage waiver’).
In some countries, the rental price may not include these forms of insurance and the rental company will offer them for sale separately.
When renting a car in a country where insurance is not included, the renter can usually purchase their own forms of CDW and Third Party liability and decline the car rental company’s offers. Such insurance is sold via direct insurance providers often through the Internet. Their prices are usually very significantly cheaper than the prices offered by the car rental companies.
In situations where the insurance is ‘bundled’ into the rental price, it may be possible to ask the rental company for a price that excludes their insurance. In some cases this may not be possible but even there, the renter may still have the option to save money.
That’s because even when the car rental company has bundled the insurance into the rental price, it is often the case that this basic insurance is too limited for many renters’ needs. It may be that the rental company’s policy carries large excess (the amount of contribution the renter would have to pay towards the cost of an accident) and excludes damage to certain areas of the rented vehicle. The risks of incurring high costs following an accident may surprise some renters who thought they had insurance included ‘in the price’!
In such situations, many renters look to take out additional insurance to cover these risks. Once again the car rental company will offer what they may call ‘super CDW’ or ‘Top-up’ insurance but these cover types will be far higher than the same purchased from a direct insurance provider.
It is also possible to purchase from the direct providers, various forms of insurance for car hire that are aimed at providing this additional cover to bridge the gaps in the car rental company’s cover. Their insurance in this case would mean that if for example you accepted the rental company’s insurance but subsequently had to pay excess to them, you would be able to claim this back from your direct provider’s top-up policy.
Having a look at the direct insurance providers could save you a lot of money when purchasing that insurance for car hire. It may be worth a little effort to see what they’re offering.
Tags: Insurance For Car Hire