Car Rental Insurance to Consider

Car rental insurance is a subject you should take seriously. Many people have an inclination to spend a lot of time looking for the model they want to hire and what extras to include but then move quickly over insurance without paying it too much attention.

If you give into that temptation because insurance as a subject is boring, then you could be in line for some grief!

That’s because at the outset it is important to understand that if you have an accident in a hire car and the circumstances are not covered or not fully covered by insurance, then it will be you that is legally liable. You could be paying out some very large sums of money indeed should that happen.

Many renters think this is impossible because their car rental deal said “insurance included” or they purchased insurance from the car rental company. Unfortunately such insurance is limited and usually contains numerous exclusions.

It may offer cover for third party risks (damage to another person or their property) but in many countries the maximum amount payable may be capped at too low a level given the huge awards a court can make following an accident.

The rental company’s car rental insurance may also provide what’s called CDW (collision damage waiver) to cover against damage to the rented vehicle. Their basic cover though will usually exclude areas of the vehicle such as the tyres, wheels, undercarriage, roof and windows – all areas easily and expensively damaged.

Finally, their policy will almost certainly carry excess. The excess is a financial amount that the car rental company will expect you to pay towards the cost of an accident and it is typically set between 500 and 1500 pounds.

All told, you may find that you still have significant financial risk and exposure arising from your use of a rented car even when you have insurance in place.

There is a solution. You can purchase additional or ‘top-up’ insurance from the rental company. This may reduce excess, increase the amount of liability protection and cover areas of the vehicle normally excluded from damage provisions. The trouble is, this insurance is expensive when purchased from a rental company.

The direct insurance companies selling through the Internet usually provide a cheaper option for car rental insurance. They offer a range of products aimed at things such as car rental excess and liability cover etc. Their insurance is structured so that it is purchased for a number of days (or a year) and it will cover any vehicle rented by you during that period – subject to terms and conditions.

This could not only save you a lot of money but it could also save time as you would not longer have to worry about this every time you rented a car. This could be very useful for any renter but particularly those that are planning to rent several times in a period. It may be worthwhile finding out more on this subject and their products and services can be checked out easily via the net.

We are very grateful to insurance4carhire.com for this most useful information.