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Wednesday 25 January 2012

Save money on car hire excess insurance and take a winter break

iCarhireinsurance.com a major car hire excess insurance and van hire excess insurance company issued a press release on the 23rd January.

This very informative news release said "Over two million people booked a holiday last week according to ABTA and for those planning several breaks with the use of a hire car, iCarhireinsurance, the award-winning car hire insurance broker, recommends that consumers should also purchase an annual policy for excess car hire insurance at the same time which could save up to £400 a year*(enough to pay for a mini winter sun break!).

Travellers often feel compelled to buy their car hire excess insurance from the rental company on arrival as they pick up their car, which is usually from £17 a day*, with 83% not realising they could purchase it from another supplier and over two thirds (71%) not knowing that this insurance is significantly more expensive than they could buy elsewhere (YouGov research 2011*).

“By the time people have a week’s break in February, a week at Easter and perhaps two weeks in the summer, they could well have spent over £400 on excess car hire insurance if they buy it from the car rental company compared with buying a one off annual policy from £39.99 with iCarhireinsurance.com,” said Ernesto Suarez, CEO and founder of iCarhireinsurance.com.

“We don’t begrudge sales staff at car rental desks trying to earn commission selling excess car hire insurance but we do begrudge the exorbitant cost, which is on average over 80% (see Table 1 below) more than buying the insurance direct from iCarhireinsurance.com. We recommend you put your hard earned cash to better use and have a free holiday in the autumn instead with the £400 saved.”

Many customers are unaware, until they collect their hire car, that in the event of damage or theft, even if it’s not their fault, they are liable for excess charges of up to £2000. At this point, unless they purchase excess protection from the rental-desk, they are left exposed. These policies are usually expensive, approximately £17 a day (see Table 1) and limited in scope.

Ernesto Suarez, CEO and founder of iCarhireinsurance.com, said: “Even a small chip on a windscreen or a scratch down the side of the car can leave people liable for hundreds of pounds if they don’t have an excess insurance policy. Our advice is simple - buy before you fly - to get the best excess car hire cover, at the most economical price and put the money saved towards another holiday.”

iCarhireinsurance.com’s excess insurance also protects vulnerable parts of the rental vehicle that are usually excluded by the rental companies’ policies.
As well as annual policies from £39.99,
iCarhireinsurance.com also offers daily cover from £2.99.
Key Benefits of Stand-Alone Car Hire Excess Policies:
  • Annual or Daily cover
  • Protect yourself against excess charges for damage and theft
  • Cover for damage to areas usually excluded by the rental company such as windscreens, tyres, roof and undercarriage
  • European or Worldwide coverage
  • UK automatically included for UK residents
  • No distance from home restrictions
  • Cover for additional drivers named on the rental agreement

The Survey: The research was undertaken for iCarhireinsurance.com by YouGov Plc. Total sample size was 2007 adults, of which 1103 had hired a car. Fieldwork was undertaken between 1 - 4 April 2011. The survey was carried out online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all GB adults (aged 18+)."



So if you are thinking of saving some money on your car hire excess insurance, visit the iCarhireinsurance.com website here

Source: iCarhireinsurance - Halo Insurance Services Ltd - January 2012

Tuesday 24 January 2012

Vicki Butler-Henderson suggests Top 10 Holiday Driving Routesiving



Insurance4carhire.com the long established car hire excess insurance company issued a press release on the 18th January 2012.

They said that new research commissioned by Insurance4carhire, the UKs largest provider of vehicle rental excess protection, has revealed that almost two thirds (63%) of Brits are either planning or considering a driving holiday in 2012 – whether at home or abroad.  Interestingly it appears empty nesters are most keen, with 41% of those aged over 45 making up the largest group planning or considering a driving trip .


Channel 5's Fifth Gear presenter and motoring journalist  Vicki Butler-Henderson, comments in the press release saying: “Driving is one of the best ways to take in the scenery through some of the most beautiful routes around the world.  However, it is important to plan ahead - from selecting the right vehicle for the terrain, to reading up on the local road laws and signs to researching routes.  While we don’t plan for mishaps, it is equally importantly to ensure you have sufficient insurance and excess cover as a small prang, could end up costing as much as the holiday.”

Vicki has listed the top 10 Driving routes that include The Dordogne region, France Route 66, Chicago to Los Angeles , USA, Tuscany, Italy  and The Col de Turini, Monaco. 

Find out the full details Here

To find out more about the range of car hire excess insurance products from insurance4carhire.com Click Here (Remember by following that link you can save money on some of their car hire excess policies)

Thursday 5 January 2012

iCarhireinsurance comes up with New Year Tips to stop car renters being ripped off

To start 2012 off on the right foot the iCarhireinsurance.com team has come up with Five useful tips to avoid sales pressure at the car rental desk and also making sure that people hiring a car are not ripped off when they return a hire car.

Tip One: Take Photographic Evidence - something I have personally done when I have rented when I could not get anyone to sign off my comments when I collected a hire car.

Tip Two:  Audit Trail icarhireinsurance suggests downloading a GPS Tracking app to the renter's smart phone to create an audit trail of where they have been.

Tip Three: Check Final Bill for Overcharging - Check the  final bill from the hire car company to ensure that extras have not been added like petrol etc. Also get the car signed off when you return it and check your credit card statement.

Tip Four: Don't buy insurance from the Car Hire Rental Desk

 - they say a car hire customer can save up to 80% buying car hire excess insurance in advance from iCarhireinsurance.com - Find out more Here

Tip Five: Take Photographic Evidence at the End of the Trip - If someone can't check your car in, then take photos. Digital photos should be able to show dates if the photo is taken by a digital camera or mobile phone.

So if you are planning on hiring a car in the near future or even later in the year it is worthwhile considering all of these.