iCarhireinsurance received great media coverage last Friday in an article in The Daily Telegraph. - Avoid overpaying for insurance at the car hire desk - Check out these iCarhireinsurance tips and start your holiday safe in the knowledge that you haven't been overcharged for your insurance when hiring a car.
It looks like they had re-published an article on the iCarhireinsurance blog website from last December written by Ross Callander
With the main holiday season just around the corner it contains some very useful suggestions.
When you pick up your holiday vehicle, the staff at the car hire desk will normally try and sell you a number of extras, including excess insurance. However, pay for excess insurance at the car hire desk and you’ll probably pay far more than you should.
Here are the basics of car hire insurance, what excess cover you can buy before you travel and how it compares to the additional cover you’ll be offered at the car hire desk.
Collision/loss damage waiver
A collision damage waiver (CDW) or loss damage waiver (LDW) is probably what you think of as car hire insurance since it protects you financially against damage or loss to your hire car.
When you hire a car in Europe, the majority of car hire companies will provide CDW cover as well as third party insurance as standard. This means that if you’re involved in a car hire incident resulting in damage to or theft of the vehicle, the full cost of the vehicle would be covered minus any excess you’re liable for.
However, most car hire companies charge an excess if the vehicle is damaged or stolen, which ranges from £500 to £2,500.
Buy car hire excess insurance before you travel
The excess fee is set so high by many car hire companies so they can sell you their excess waiver insurance (EWI) as an extra. Many car hire companies also make it difficult for you to find out the cost of this waiver when you make your booking – it makes it easier to sell expensive EWI cover when you pick up your vehicle.
Some car hire companies charge as much as £25 per day for excess insurance – £175 over a seven-day holiday.
However, buy car hire excess insurance from iCarhireinsurance.com before you travel and you can save more than 70pc.
The cover sold by iCarhireinsurance.com is also usually more comprehensive than those sold by car hire companies.
Resist the car hire desk sales patter
Sometimes, less reputable companies may try to tell you that the excess insurance policy you bought before travelling is “invalid”.
But remember, it is not a policy that insures the rental company; it is a policy that insures you against excess charges the rental company may charge you. That’s because it’s actually a personal indemnity against car hire excess insurance charges – the rental company is nothing to do with the contract.
However, you might need to leave a deposit to cover any car hire excess. When you use a stand-alone car hire excess insurance policy you will usually have to leave a security deposit with the rental company up to the value of the excess.
Most rental companies hold this as a pre-authorised amount on a credit card, so make sure you have the money available on your card when you collect the vehicle.
If the car is damaged or stolen when it’s with you, the rental company will withhold some or all of your deposit – all you have to do is submit a claim to iCarhireinsurance.com to recover it.
What a car hire insurance cover policy with iCarhireinsurance.com covers
The car hire excess insurance sold by iCarhireinsurance.com is much more comprehensive than the cover sold by most car hire companies. So if you buy an iCarhireinsurance.com policy, you can turn down other car hire insurance – such as cover for the roof, undercarriage, windows and tyres.
To Go to The Daily Telegraph article follow this link
To find out more about iCarhireinsurance products follow this link
From yesterday 8 June 2015, the paper counterpart of the UK's driver licence was abolished as part of HM Government's "Red Tape Challenge" to remove unncessary administrative burdens on drivers.
The DVLA will no longer issue the paper counterpart and from now onwards all existing paper counterparts will no longer have any legal status.
There will be no change to the photocard part of the driving licence and vehicle rental companies will still need to check that document. This is where the problems could start.
According to a report in todays "Independent", the AA reported that a number of its members had had problems with the DVLA website yesterday. Under this new scheme, anyone wanting to obtain details of their licence to hire a car has to go to the DVLA website and provide their National Insurance number.
If you have not got the information just before you set off you can have a situation whereby you have just arrived late at Faro Airport in Portugal with your young family, now you will have to remember your National Insurance number (and that of your partner as well) if the Car Hire company needs more information.
The AA on their Hiring a Car page suggest that you "Print your own driving licence record from DVLA's website - you'll need to know your driving licence number, national insurance number and your home address post code.
Obtain a code from the DVLA's 'share driving licence' service that you can pass to a third party (employer, hire car company). The code will only be valid for 72 hours and will give them one-off access to your online driving licence record to verify the printed copy." See Page Here
According to The Independent, yesterday the AA's president Edmund King said " There have been problems for some of our members. We have heard that a number have found the DVLA website very slow. Another problem is the need to give a national insurance number. People travelling abroad and hiring a vehicles could well not have this number to hand. We are pushing for a change on the website, so people are asked for their passport number instead". The relative page of the DVLA website is here Unfortunately this National Insurance number does not appear on the European Health Insurance Card - certainly not my one.
You can’t use the DVLA service:•if your licence was issued in Northern Ireland
•to check the progress of a licence application
•to check historical information, eg expired penalty points or old driving licence entitlements The DVLA also has updates and advice here
Hiring a vehicle: how to prove your driving record after 8 June 2015 - Information below is from DVLA website
From 8 June 2015, you may wish to check with the hire company what they need to see when you hire a vehicle. If you’re asked for evidence of what vehicles you can drive or confirmation of any penalty points, you can request a unique code from GOV.UK which allows you to share your driving licence details or you can download a summary of your driving licence record. The code lasts for up to 72 hours and will allow the hire companies to make any necessary checks.
If you cannot generate a code online then you can call 0300 083 0013 and DVLA will provide you with a code.
Alternatively, you can call DVLA on 0300 790 6801 and leave permission for your driving record to be checked verbally by a nominated hire company. This also applies if you have a paper licence that was issued before 1998.
Not all vehicle hire companies will ask for this information and we advise that you check with your hire company
Whether or not of course if you are overseas you can call the 0300 numbers, no doubt time will tell.
The trade association in Britain for vehicle rental the BVRLA's Chief Executive, Gerry Keaney, said: “Replacing paper forms with digital services is a great idea, but the government has gone about this the wrong way by rushing the process and not giving enough warning to motorists.
“The online system being offered by the DVLA is far from ideal and the car rental industry is working with it as best it can. “We are confident that our members will keep their GB licence holder customers up-to-date with any new procedures, which should minimise any disruption for travellers." They too are offering advice at this page
It will be interesting to see how this all works out over the next few weeks as we enter the main holiday season. You might collect that hire car late at night at Faro without a request for more information on your driving record, but then you might not. The DVLA say this is progress and are offering a more efficient service or is this just another way to save money by the British Government.
What do other countries do? According to "Citizens Information" in The Republic of Ireland "From 2013 a new plastic-card driving licence has been introduced, replacing the paper driving licence. This is an EU initiative to introduce a secure, compact style of licence in all member states".
The NDLS - National Driver License Service website says "You are still required to produce your own licence for inspection when hiring a vehicle overseas; an International Driving permit (IDP) should be seen as a translation of your licence and not a replacement.
All countries in the EU benefit from a 'mutual recognition' agreement in respect of driving licences.
Under the agreement, Irish driving licence holders can drive in any EU country on their existing Irish driving licence so long as it's current and valid.
An Irish licence holder must be age 18 with a full licence to drive in most EU Countries. The following countries (Austria, Hungary and United Kingdom) allow a full licence holder to drive at the age of 17.
Other Countries
When driving in non-EU or EEA countries, an international driving permit (IDP) is required. This is recognised internationally and allows you to drive in most but not all countries across the world. An IDP is available to Irish residents with a current full Irish driving licence. The permit is valid for one year from date of issue or to the expiry date of the licence if less than a year. More information Here
So at the end of the day it would be interesting to find out how other countries operate and what additional information will be required when the renter of a vehicle produces his / her plastic licence at the car hire company's check in desk.
