Car hire in UK insurance help

halidogg

Hi

I am flying to England next week and picking up a hire car for 4 days. I am just at a lost to work out which insurance I should be taking out with Hertz. Should I simply take out their standard insurance with Hertz and then purchase a car hire excess cover from a third party insurance provider to cover me for the excess on the hertz insurance policy? (Blueinsurance for example provide car hire excess cover)

Never hired a car before and not really sure how this works.

Any help would be great.

Thanks
Brian

veetwin

I always get the most basic insurance I can. From what I can tell car hire companies charge very little for car hire but rake it in on the insurances and extras they try to sell you.

You can even insure tyres and keys but you will pay handsomely for the privilege. You can purchases excess insurance online from a separate company which is much cheaper if it puts your mind at rest but I never bother. I am usually confident I can return an undamaged car after a few days use.

coylemj

veetwin wrote: »

You can even insure tyres and keys but you will pay handsomely for the privilege. You can purchases excess insurance online from a separate company which is much cheaper if it puts your mind at rest but I never bother. I am usually confident I can return an undamaged car after a few days use.

+1 You shouldn't get screwed around by Hertz in the UK. I hired from them in France a couple of years ago, got a very 'soft sell' for extras in the airport as in ....

Hertz agent: 'would you like to buy extra insurance?'
Me: 'No thank you'
Hertz Agent: 'thank you sir' (hands me the keys and a copy of the rental agreement)

I think its the smaller companies in Europe and pretty much everyone in the US who go overboard flogging you the extras, in many cases more or less telling you that you have no choice.

Gatica

I rented a car before with an added free driver, free driver scratched the bumper when parking the car. I was thankful we had insurance, as we got no hassle when returning the car and no callback from their insurance.

Lima Golf

veetwin wrote: »

I am usually confident I can return an undamaged car after a few days use.

The phrase your only as good as the worst driver on the road springs to mind What if someone hits the car in a car park and drives off? I have never damaged my own car or a hired car in 10 years of driving, except for a recent incident with a hired car just posted this review before I seen this thread if you want a read of it.

http://touch.boards.ie/thread/2057300393/1/#post92432343

ardmacha

Lima Golf wrote: »

The phrase your only as good as the worst driver on the road springs to mind What if someone hits the car in a car park and drives off? I have never damaged my own car or a hired car in 10 years of driving, except for a recent incident with a hired car just posted this review before I seen this thread if you want a read of it.

http://touch.boards.ie/thread/2057300393/1/#post92432343

How likely as these things? Car hire companies often charge vast amounts for excess insurance, an appreciable part of the excess for each day. The third party excess insurance can cover things much more cheaply, the only possible problem is waiting for the payout.

Lima Golf

ardmacha wrote: »

How likely as these things? Car hire companies often charge vast amounts for excess insurance, an appreciable part of the excess for each day. The third party excess insurance can cover things much more cheaply, the only possible problem is waiting for the payout.

If you look at things that way then why insure your health? You might never get sick, or why insure your house, it probably won't burn down. Each to their own. It's just my opinion that third party policies are a good option. It cost me €6 for a 2 day rental. The excess on the car was £1,000. Yes I've hired plenty of cars and returned them without a mark but for me I like the peace of mind, for the sake of a few euro, that I won't be stung for up to €1300 if things do go wrong. As for the wait to be reimbursed. They issued a cheque 1 week after the incident so it was very quick.