iCarhireinsurance.com appoints Ben Wooltorton as Sales and Marketing Director

Halo Insurance Services Limited, the innovative niche insurance provider, has appointed Ben Wooltorton as Sales and Marketing Director and member of the Board.

Ben has many years” business development and online marketing experience. He joined SimplySwitch in its start up stage, and was responsible for growing online and offline distribution channels and business development until it was sold to the Daily Mail for £22m in 2006. Since then Ben has worked as a Sales and Marketing Consultant with clients in many different sectors on their online and offline sales, marketing channel development, brand and business strategy.

See the rest of this press release at: iCarhireinsurance.com appoints Ben Wooltorton as Sales and Marketing Director

Irish Tourism in 2011

Irish Tourism in 2011

Car Hire Excess Insurance by Gareth Robinson of Carrentals

Just came across this interesting article by Gareth Robinson of Carrentals.co.uk

"Monday, January 10th, 2011

One of the topics which always seems to crop up in forums and queries to customer support these days is that of excess insurance products.

When you hire a car the rental agreement usually includes cover for collision damage waiver and theft but the customer is still liable for the excess, which can be anything from £500 to £1,500. Excess charges apply even if the damage to the car wasn’t your fault and there have been many tales of spurious ‘damage’ claimed by rental companies and the poor customer losing out as a result.

Because of this nearly half (45 per cent) of drivers now take out excess cover to reduce their liability to zero in the event of a crash or damage to the hire car. The average price for such cover is around £10 per day on top of the rental charge, and one hire company actually charges £15 per day. This adds up to a whopping £105 per week on top of the hire fee.

Hire companies are increasingly pressurising clients to take out this excess cover when they pick up the car but by shopping around on-line before you pick the car up, it is possible to pre-buy a policy for as little as £2.99 per day. Often the products are more comprehensive than those offered by the hire companies as well.

And this is where the problems start, because with hire company staff set targets to sell as many of these products as possible, they can make customers really feel as if they can’t have the car at all if they don’t purchase their product. With most people just wanting to start their holiday or get to their business meeting, it’s no wonder so many capitulate and just sign up.

So what do you do if you have pre-bought an excess policy but the hire company staff are trying to tell you that you have to buy a product from them? First of all, stand your ground and decline the car rental company’s excess cover at the counter when the car is collected. Remember, you don’t have to have an excess policy at all – it is purely your choice – but if you do then you are free to buy it wherever you like.

There is no need to show your policy either as it is the policy holder who is covered, not the rental vehicle. What you will have to do though is to authorise payment of the hire firm’s excess on your credit card. If the car is damaged or stolen, the car rental company will charge your credit card and you then claim for reimbursement on your policy.

There are plenty of companies offering excess cover at reasonable rates as well so it pays to shop around online.

For example, we work with Questor Insurance to offer our customers a policy which covers the excess on the car rental agreement for just £4.99 per day or £44.10 for an annual policy. In addition, this product also provides baggage, personal accident, key, curtailment, drop-off and locked out cover as standard, and the company insures drivers up to 84 years of age. The policy also coves the tyres, windscreen and under body of the vehicle – items that are often excluded by car rental company’s alternative offerings.

Insurance4carhire also offers cover not only for the total amount of the excess for which you are liable if the car is damaged or stolen, but also for damage to the roof and undercarriage of the car, and windows and tyres. They provide annual cover for only £49.00 which give excess cover of up to £2,000 and includes up to seven additional drivers.

As you can see there are plenty of cost-effective alternatives to the hire companies’ products available.

But really, the situation is quite amusing when you think about it. You pay an insurance fee to cover you in the event of damage occurring to the car, but this doesn’t cover all of the cost. So you are then asked to take out another policy, to cover the insurance policy excess."

If you are looking for car hire from Carrental.co.uk follow this link http://www.insurance4carrental.com/Carrrentals.htm

Getting more from your holiday - Travel tips for 2011

The Saturday 1st January 2011 edition of "The Independent's Traveveller" section ran an article by Simon Calder - Get more from your holiday.

Simon offered 11 resolutions of 2011. Amongst the ideas were:

4. Let your digital camera ease your travels - Almost everyone carries a digital camera in the shape of a phone. Use it to your advantage. Before picking up a rental car, take pictures of any damage to the bodywork – with an obvious local landmark such as an airport terminal in the background so you can prove where and when you took it. Or, if you are leaving your car in a large car park, take a picture of the nearest location sign.

and then

10. Never upgrade a rental car - Despite the odd price spike, especially in Spain in summer, car rental remains fiercely competitive – whether you book direct with a multinational provider, find a reliable local firm, or go through a broker such as Holiday Autos or easyCar. Often they will offer very low rates in the hope that you will be tempted to upgrade when you pick up the car. In the US – particularly Orlando – the performance has been turned into an art form: "Surely you're not planning to drive a small car like that any further than the parking lot?" Stand your ground and you may well find that you get a bigger, better car anyway, because in my experience they rarely have the "two-door subcompact" that I routinely book.

It is said that you can enhance your chances of a free upgrade by dawdling to the rental desk – if you're at the end of the queue, the standard small cars will all have been rented out, leaving you with a superior vehicle. The other often-tried tack is to get you to upgrade your insurance by implying that the faintest scratch could result in your house being repossessed. Be confident that the all-inclusive package you wisely booked in advance is as gold-plated as you need, and decline expensive extras.

Had it been 2012 would there have been an extra number on the list? 12. Always buys your car hire excess insurance from independent insurance specialist and save money.

Maybe in next year's edition he will include this very useful peice of advice.

In the meantime why not read Simon Calder's aricle on full by following this link?

Worldwideinsure.com is featured insurance provider

Every month for the rest of 2010 and into the early part of 2011 we are featuring one of the car hire insurance, van hire insurance or motorhome insurance providers who advertises on http://www.insurance4carrental.com/ For January 2011 we are featuring Worldwideinsure.com.

They are a travel insurance specialist set up in 1993, providing quality cover at competitive prices.


The company advertises their Car Hire Excess Insurance and Motor Home Hire Excess Insurance on the insurance4carrental.com website

In a nutshel the car hire excess insurance:

Covers the Excess on damage to the rental vehicle including the undercarriage, windows, tyres, keys.
Covers the Excess charged in the event of Theft.
Valid at all car rental locations in Europe, or World-wide.
Two options - a basic daily rate if you only hire once a year, or a one-off annual premium to cover unlimited use within the 12 month cover period (up to 31 days per rental agreement)
Covers the Policy Holder (i.e the person hiring the car), plus any other drivers named on the car rental agreement'
Cover is available for car hire anywhere within either Europe or Worldwide outside of your home country, unless you have paid the appropriate premium.
If you require cover including your Home Country you must select the appropriate area to include your Home Country.
It does not cover vans or other Commercial Vehicles

The Motorhome and Campervan excess insurance:

Covers the Excess on damage to the rental vehicle including the undercarriage, windows and tyres, plus loss or theft of Keys.
Covers the Excess charged in the event of Theft.
An Excess of £100 applies to claims.
Valid at all car rental locations in Europe, or World-wide.
UK / Ireland residents are covered for hires within your Home Country.
Covers the Policy Holder (i.e the person hiring the car), plus any other drivers named on the car rental agreement.
Does not cover vans or other Commercial Vehicles.

To find out more visit http://www.insurance4carrental.com/Worldwide_insure.htm