When you look for insurance for hire cars, you’ll probably find that the terms you’re familiar with for private car insurance just don’t apply. In their place are things like Collision Damage Waiver (CDW) and Theft, Supplemental Liability Insurance (SLI), Excess, the Deductible etc.
To all intents and purposes, you can probably think of CDW as a form of comprehensive insurance. Therefore CDW and Theft offer cover against damage to or theft of the vehicle.
Car hire in the UK and for many parts of Europe will normally include third-party cover that offers protection should you injure a third-party or damage their property while driving the rented vehicle. This may be limited in terms of the maximum amounts payable and you can choose to increase this amount by purchasing SLI to provide additional financial cover. It is worth noting that court awards to third parties following an accident may be very high so the limits of your cover payout should be carefully checked.
In the USA insurance for hire cars is not mandatory and will not be included in the rental price of the vehicle. Collision Damage waiver and Supplemental Liability Insurance can be purchased separately. The price will be quoted as a daily rate and will significantly increase the cost of the rental. Many find it more cost effective to purchase insurance for hire cars in advance from one of the many independent insurance companies who operate in the UK on the Internet or High Street.
You’ll find that most insurance policies carry excess. The excess is the amount of contribution the insurance company will expect you to make towards the cost of the claim. This can be a fairly substantial amount and varies from insurance supplier to insurance supplier. Typical values for excesses relating to insurance for hire cars can be anywhere between 500 and 1500 pounds. You can take out an insurance policy or waiver to provide you with cover for these excess payments.
Many but not all insurance companies will sell insurance for hire cars that excludes certain areas of the car from cover. These exclusions will typically be the windows, tyres, roof and undercarriage of the vehicle and any damage will have to be paid by the renter.
Insurance for hire cars does not have to be obtained from the car rental company. There are numerous specialist insurance companies in the market place and it may make sense to look at what these independent companies are able to offer before you accept the quote from the car hire company. Many may be able to offer a much more competitive quote better targeted at requirements of the renter.
The car rental company will sell you insurance for the duration of the rental only. Independent insurers can operate in this way as well but many also offer daily or annual policies that can be very cost effective particularly if you know that you are going to rent a car on a number of occasions. Some offer policies that cover areas of the vehicle normally excluded by the rental company’s insurance meaning that damage to those vulnerable areas will be covered.
Whoever you chose for your insurance for hire cars, it is usually a good idea to read the policy detail carefully. Know exactly what you want and what you have paid for. That way in the event of an accident and a claim being made there will be no unexpected surprises!
Tags: Insurance For Hire Cars