Car rental excess insurance

jimmurt

I was in Spain for a few days last week and picked up a rental car for a really good price. I got the car through argus.com

When I was picking it up the guy at the desk asked me did I want to buy insurance to cover the excess. The insurance was a lot more than the actual price of renting the car so I took a gamble and said no.

Between then and walking away with keys he tried selling the insurance 3 more times and was very pushy about it.

Just wondering what does this insurance cover me for exactly? Do I have to pay up to a certain amount even with insurance?

Also has anyone came across this kind of aggressive selling of it with some rental companies?

I left it back with no issues, just wondering for the next time.

Allinall

jimmurt wrote: »

I was in Spain for a few days last week and picked up a rental car for a really good price. I got the car through argus.com

When I was picking it up the guy at the desk asked me did I want to buy insurance to cover the excess. The insurance was a lot more than the actual price of renting the car so I took a gamble and said no.

Between then and walking away with keys he tried selling the insurance 3 more times and was very pushy about it.

Just wondering what does this insurance cover me for exactly? Do I have to pay up to a certain amount even with insurance?

Also has anyone came across this kind of aggressive selling of it with some rental companies?

I left it back with no issues, just wondering for the next time.

The excess that you have to pay on any claim s usually €1,000 +.

It's this excess that you are insuring against.

CiboC

It's pretty normal with all rental companies. They advertise a cheap rate and then try to sell you the insurance which can double the cost of your rental.

The way around it is to buy an annual car hire excess policy which will cover you for the excess, it's a much cheaper way or arranging the hire.

jimmurt

CiboC wrote: »

It's pretty normal with all rental companies. They advertise a cheap rate and then try to sell you the insurance which can double the cost of your rental.

The way around it is to buy an annual car hire excess policy which will cover you for the excess, it's a much cheaper way or arranging the hire.

Yeah I've checked online and found companies that specialize in car rental excess. I will need to rent one for a month later in the Summer and they are a lot cheaper than buying from rental company.

Del2005

jimmurt wrote: »

Yeah I've checked online and found companies that specialize in car rental excess. I will need to rent one for a month later in the Summer and they are a lot cheaper than buying from rental company.

With the rental company insurance you just walk away from the car, unless its tyre damage which usually isn't covered. With the specialist excess insurance you have to pay the full amount to the rental company and claim from the excess insurance company.

For a few days rental its less hassle to take the rental companies but for a month its definitely better to go with your own policy.

Jimbob1977

Most basic car rentals come with the following:

o Collision Damage Waiver.

o Theft Waiver

CDW and Theft Waiver will have 'an excess'.... i.e. if you have €5,000 of damage, you will still need to pay the first €xxx

The excess is what you are 'on the hook' for.

What they are trying to sell is 100% super coverage, where you are not liable for anything. It's a commission thing.

They will still take a deposit on your credit card, like €1,500, and keep it if there's damage.... but you will recoup the full amount afterwards through your super policy. You recover everything. There is no excess to pay.

I think it's called Damage Refund Insurance.

Via my Ryanair flight, I got it for €4 per day.

It's just like gambling. You are predicting what might or might not happen. Will the extra few quid give you 'peace of mind'? I said yes for €4 a day.