Car rental insurance question

summereire

Hi, I'm a bit confused about car rental insurance. As far as I understand most insurers include CDW in their quotes in Ireland, but sometimes you can waive CDW if you have a separate policy. Even when they include CDW though there is an excess.

Am I right in understanding that policies like the one Axa https://www.axa.ie/other/car-hire-excess/ and carehireexcess.ie provide cover just the excess, i.e. the grand or two that they hold on your card when renting and you still need CDW from the rental company making the liability zero if there is a scratch etc?

And then policies like the one AIG https://www.aig.ie/personal/car-hire-excess-insurance offer, which us more expensive but says it covers Excess + CDW + SLI, mean that you don't need CDW cover from the car rental company? In practice do many companies let you hire from them if you're not getting the CDW from them, and are they easy to deal with if so?

Going to be hiring on and off this year, mainly in Ireland, so trying to decide on the best strategy.

Thanks,

John

maureencol

I rent a car once or twice a year when I go home from the U.S.  The rental agencies are very picky about what outside insurance they will accept.  I have a World MasterCard that will cover the CDW and the rental agencies will let me waive it with proof that my MasterCard covers the Republic of Ireland as many of them exclude Jamaica, Israel and Ireland.  I get a letter from my credit card that specifies they cover the Republic.  Also, the car rental agency will put a hold on your credit card of anywhere from 2.000 Euro to 5.000 Euro (depending on the type of car) until you bring the car back unscathed.  If you do have any damage, they will deduct the amount from your credit card and you have to submit to your credit card insurance all the details to get reimbursed.  They will not cover "loss of use" without proof from the rental agency that they had no similar cars available during the time they had it in getting repairs or in some cases "towing charges." 
I don't think the rental companies will accept the Axa or AIG however, you should contact them to be sure.

summereire

Great thanks. So by the sounds of things CDW cover could be tricky. What about just insuring the excess? (a) is it worth doing that statistically do you think and (b) if so, as the rental companies themselves charge so much, is an external excess policy like the ones at those links for €50 to €60 a better way to go?

The_Conductor

summereire wrote: »

Great thanks. So by the sounds of things CDW cover could be tricky. What about just insuring the excess? (a) is it worth doing that statistically do you think and (b) if so, as the rental companies themselves charge so much, is an external excess policy like the ones at those links for €50 to €60 a better way to go?

The damage costs that car hire companies habitually associate with various damage types- are spurious, excessive, and in a majority of cases extreme. For example- very often a puncture is replaced with a new tyre, rather than repaired, and an OEM tyre used- so a 10-20 Euro tyre repair becomes a 200 Euro new tyre. A missing antenna- will include the mounting- so instead of a 10 Euro charge its 120. A broken mirror mounting will include the mirror, motor and wiring (heated mirrors etc)- so a 60 Euro mounting- heads over 300.......

Car hire companies put a 'charge' on your card which they will only release, less any damage, up to 35 days after the car is returned. You are not given a break-down of possible charges on the spot- its done retrospectively- when you don't have a chance to properly dispute it.

I bring a high definition camera with good wide angle lens with me- and spend 10 minutes photographing the exterior and the interior of the car- when collecting and leaving it off- thats the sole purpose of the camera- and I make 100% certain that the staff know that I have photographed the car- drawing attention to pictures of any scratches (esp. on alloy wheels, bumpers, doors etc) at the outset. I make sure I have 10 minutes free to do a similar exercise when returning the car. I also avoid smaller hire companies like the plague- and when renting- while I use discount sites- specify that I am only interested in major suppliers.

I got caught out with a puncture- and scratches that I know I didn't incur myself- from a smaller supplier- and was arguing for weeks over liability- before I started my religious photographing of any cars I was hiring (mostly in Portugal or Israel- not Ireland).

The excess insurance- can be pricey in its own right- and I don't like having a 5k charge hanging on a credit card- I've found my own personal insurance policy- which costs me 20-30 minutes of photography and bringing a decent camera with a good lens with me- the most effective policy I've ever undertaken- married to avoiding smaller hire companies like the plague (the Portuguese ones I've found are the most audacious in their charge attempts).

I've been renting cars for around 25 years- on average 5-6 a year- and I prefer to pay a little extra for something reasonable (esp. engine size)- and have gotten hit by every trick in the book at one stage or another.

summereire

summereire wrote: »

What about just insuring the excess? (a) is it worth doing that statistically do you think and (b) if so, as the rental companies themselves charge so much, is an external excess policy like the ones at those links for €50 to €60 a better way to go?

Insuring the excess is probably the worst value insurance around, which is why the rental companies try so hard to get you to buy it.

If you are a safe driver and rent relatively often, you will pay for the excess in saved insurance premia in no time.

I would consider taking it only if you are driving in countries/situations which you consider especially risky relative to your driving skills/experience.

I agree re photographing the car and also that much of the excess insurance is bought only to prevent the rental companies blocking the renters credit cards.

summereire

Excellent advice, thanks. So we seem clear that photoing before and after is a good idea, and that the excess insurance they sell isn't good value at all, and it also seems to be the case that external CDW insurance isn't that practical at least in Ireland- would you agree so far? So the last bit is external excess insurance, which seems to run about €50 to €60 a year- is this something that is worth considering? Despite being a safe driver I'm wondering about the statistical likelihood of people opening doors into the car in parking lots, minor scratches etc through regular use- what do you think? The money would still be blocked off but is that extra cover a good idea?

The_Conductor wrote: »

The damage costs that car hire companies habitually associate with various damage types- are spurious, excessive, and in a majority of cases extreme. For example- very often a puncture is replaced with a new tyre, rather than repaired, and an OEM tyre used- so a 10-20 Euro tyre repair becomes a 200 Euro new tyre. A missing antenna- will include the mounting- so instead of a 10 Euro charge its 120. A broken mirror mounting will include the mirror, motor and wiring (heated mirrors etc)- so a 60 Euro mounting- heads over 300.......

The_Conductor

summereire wrote: »

The money would still be blocked off but is that extra cover a good idea?

You're paying for peace of mind- the money is still blocked off- however, in the face of documentary evidence of the state the car was received in, and returned in (date stamped photos)- its highly unlikely a company would try to pull a fast one.

summereire

Yes, I think that should address dodgy practices. I'm wondering what the statistical likelihood is of real damage though. Are those policies for €50 to €60 as good as they seem? i.e. will they pay out easily if there are any issues? I'm not that concerned about the money being blocked off as long as it's not taken- I'm just a bit concerned someone else will damage the car. With my own car I came out to the car park of a supermarket last year and there were some people standing around who told me that an elderly women had reversed into mine, scratched it up badly, and then drive on without stopping. I don't really care about cosmetics but I have a feeling the rental company would! Stuff like that!