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Excess car insurance (hire car)?

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  • 16-03-2019 7:04pm
    #1
    Whocare
    Registered Users Posts: 1,051 ✭✭✭


    Any good one out there


«1

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    #2
    sunnysoutheast
    Registered Users Posts: 2,072 ✭✭✭sunnysoutheast


    Whocare wrote: »
    Any good one out there

    My current one is with AIG, about €50 for the year. The same product is sold under a number of brands so you might get it cheaper by shopping around.

    I've had a policy with Blue before, about the same price.

    Never had to claim luckily. Note that you have to pay yourself them claim off them.


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    #3
    coylemj
    Registered Users Posts: 25,353 ✭✭✭✭coylemj


    sunnysoutheast wrote: »
    My current one is with AIG, about €50 for the year. The same product is sold under a number of brands so you might get it cheaper by shopping around.

    +1 I priced a few and went with AIG as a recognised brand, they all seem to be in that ballpark. As always, beware of 'too good to be true' offers.

    Excess cover for a one week hire in Europe was €25 so I just paid €49.99 for the year.
    sunnysoutheast wrote: »
    Never had to claim luckily. Note that you have to pay yourself them claim off them.

    This is worth repeating and note that having your own excess insurance is about peace of mind but it will make not one jot of a difference when you're standing at the rental desk in the airport, they don't care what cover you bought in advance. So if you're renting from the cowboys, you will still get the hard sell for their insurance and waving a printout of your excess policy at them will achieve nothing.


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    #4
    acequion
    Registered Users Posts: 3,833 ✭✭✭acequion


    Also with AIG. Never had reason to claim,touch wood.


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    #5
    theteal
    Registered Users Posts: 7,593 ✭✭✭theteal


    Leisure Guard, Europe Annual policy, £36.29. Slightly better terms than previous policy which was with iCarHireInsurance (or something like that) but I'm struggling to remember the specifics.


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    #6
    gud
    Registered Users Posts: 48 ✭gud


    coylemj wrote: »
    +1 I priced a few and went with AIG as a recognised brand, they all seem to be in that ballpark. As always, beware of 'too good to be true' offers.

    Excess cover for a one week hire in Europe was €25 so I just paid €49.99 for the year.



    This is worth repeating and note that having your own excess insurance is about peace of mind but it will make not one jot of a difference when you're standing at the rental desk in the airport, they don't care what cover you bought in advance. So if you're renting from the cowboys, you will still get the hard sell for their insurance and waving a printout of your excess policy at them will achieve nothing.
    What do you mean by the above? If I buy excess insurance from a private company will they not let me hire the car without buying insurance from the car provider?


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    #7
    gud
    Registered Users Posts: 48 ✭gud


    coylemj wrote: »
    +1 I priced a few and went with AIG as a recognised brand, they all seem to be in that ballpark. As always, beware of 'too good to be true' offers.

    Excess cover for a one week hire in Europe was €25 so I just paid €49.99 for the year.



    This is worth repeating and note that having your own excess insurance is about peace of mind but it will make not one jot of a difference when you're standing at the rental desk in the airport, they don't care what cover you bought in advance. So if you're renting from the cowboys, you will still get the hard sell for their insurance and waving a printout of your excess policy at them will achieve nothing.
    What do you mean by the above? If I buy excess insurance from a private company will they not let me hire the car without buying insurance from the car provider?


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    #8
    Boxcar_Willie
    Registered Users Posts: 426 ✭✭Boxcar_Willie


    I always use www.carhireexcess.ie , never had a problem renting and using their cover .


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    #9
    coylemj
    Registered Users Posts: 25,353 ✭✭✭✭coylemj


    gud wrote: »
    What do you mean by the above? If I buy excess insurance from a private company will they not let me hire the car without buying insurance from the car provider?

    Some of the cowboys will flat out refuse to hand over the keys unless you buy their insurance. They make their money by enticing mugs with a 'too good to be true' rental quote on the web, then when the customer shows up at the desk, the screw them with mandatory expensive insurance.


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    #10
    gud
    Registered Users Posts: 48 ✭gud


    coylemj wrote: »
    Some of the cowboys will flat out refuse to hand over the keys unless you buy their insurance. They make their money by enticing mugs with a 'too good to be true' rental quote on the web, then when the customer shows up at the desk, the screw them with mandatory expensive insurance.
    Can they refuse to give you the car? I don’t want to book with arguscarhire, pay excess insurance with a third party and then get to checkin desk in airport and have pay another 100+odd quid which would make it non feesable compared to getting taxi transfer


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    #11
    coylemj
    Registered Users Posts: 25,353 ✭✭✭✭coylemj


    gud wrote: »
    Can they refuse to give you the car? I don’t want to book with arguscarhire, pay excess insurance with a third party and then get to checkin desk in airport and have pay another 100+odd quid which would make it non feesable compared to getting taxi transfer

    Yes, their car, their conditions. Having your own excess insurance makes no difference whatsoever when you're standing at the rental desk in the airport. Regardless of who you're dealing with, they want to sell you their insurance because they get a big kickback in commission. The amount of aggravation you get when you decline their insurance varies widely.

    An outright refusal to hand over the keys would be the exception, some of them use delaying tactics to 'persuade' you to buy the insurance - especially effective if you have a gaggle of kids in tow. With Hertz and Europcar, my experience is that they make the offer, you decline, they hand you the keys.

    Where are you traveling to? There are several threads over in the Travel forum discussing car rental in various locations. Cicar and Autoreisen for example, get the thumbs up big time for rental in the Canaries.


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    #12
    mickdw
    Registered Users Posts: 23,282 ✭✭✭✭mickdw


    If they agree to hire a car for x amount and offer an optional excess cover, they cannot force you to take it as long as yo u meet the pre existing conditions re credit car deposit.
    To say they are force you to take the insurance is nuts.


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    #13
    coylemj
    Registered Users Posts: 25,353 ✭✭✭✭coylemj


    mickdw wrote: »
    If they agree to hire a car for x amount and offer an optional excess cover, they cannot force you to take it as long as yo u meet the pre existing conditions re credit car deposit.

    You're assuming you're dealing with ethical people who make it clear what is and is not included in the quote you get on their website. And don't spring any 'gotchas' on you when you arrive to pickup the car you think you've rented at a bargain price.

    They can delay you to the point that you cave in and take their insurance. Whch is why there's usually a long queue at their desk.


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    #14
    gud
    Registered Users Posts: 48 ✭gud


    coylemj wrote: »
    Yes, their car, their conditions. Having your own excess insurance makes no difference whatsoever when you're standing at the rental desk in the airport. Regardless of who you're dealing with, they want to sell you their insurance because they get a big kickback in commission. The amount of aggravation you get when you decline their insurance varies widely.

    An outright refusal to hand over the keys would be the exception, some of them use delaying tactics to 'persuade' you to buy the insurance - especially effective if you have a gaggle of kids in tow. With Hertz and Europcar, my experience is that they make the offer, you decline, they hand you the keys.

    Where are you traveling to? There are several threads over in the Travel forum discussing car rental in various locations. Cicar and Autoreisen for example, get the thumbs up big time for rental in the Canaries.
    Traveling to girona airport in Spain the end of the month


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    #15
    coylemj
    Registered Users Posts: 25,353 ✭✭✭✭coylemj


    gud wrote: »
    Traveling to girona airport in Spain the end of the month

    Generic advice for Spain is to avoid Goldcar.

    Start a thread in the Travel forum (link below)

    Keep the title short and simple, call it 'advice for car rental in Girona'

    https://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/forumdisplay.php?f=37


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    #16
    mickdw
    Registered Users Posts: 23,282 ✭✭✭✭mickdw


    coylemj wrote: »
    mickdw wrote: »
    If they agree to hire a car for x amount and offer an optional excess cover, they cannot force you to take it as long as yo u meet the pre existing conditions re credit car deposit.

    You're assuming you're dealing with ethical people who make it clear what is and is not included in the quote you get on their website. And don't spring any 'gotchas' on you when you arrive to pickup the car you think you've rented at a bargain price.

    They can delay you to the point that you cave in and take their insurance. Whch is why there's usually a long queue at their desk.
    They can try. I've hired many cars. Sometimes taken full insurance from the get go if hire was for a very short period but I've never taken it because they forced me into it and I've never been refused the car I'd booked either.
    Yes they are pushy and will even try to get you again when.you get to the car itself with a rep with an iPad doing the hard sell but it's still optional


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    #17
    Charles Babbage
    Registered Users Posts: 5,506 ✭✭✭Charles Babbage


    coylemj wrote: »

    An outright refusal to hand over the keys would be the exception, some of them use delaying tactics to 'persuade' you to buy the insurance - especially effective if you have a gaggle of kids in tow. With Hertz and Europcar, my experience is that they make the offer, you decline, they hand you the keys.
    .


    Yes, but in this case the excess needs to be covered on the credit card and some people object to having a €2000 hold on their credit card, so then they refuse to give you the keys.


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    #18
    coylemj
    Registered Users Posts: 25,353 ✭✭✭✭coylemj


    Charles Babbage wrote: »
    Yes, but in this case the excess needs to be covered on the credit card and some people object to having a €2000 hold on their credit card, so then they refuse to give you the keys.

    I rented an Opel Corsa from Europcar in Lanzarote back in Feb. last, the excess was €870. I have my own excess policy so I declined their insurance but they only put a €300 hold on my credit card.


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    #19
    jimgoose
    Registered Users Posts: 20,176 ✭✭✭✭jimgoose


    I find this crowd quite good. They're Zurich PLC:

    https://www.icarhireinsurance.ie/


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    #20
    jimgoose
    Registered Users Posts: 20,176 ✭✭✭✭jimgoose


    coylemj wrote: »
    I rented an Opel Corsa from Europcar in Lanzarote back in Feb. last, the excess was €870. I have my own excess policy so I declined their insurance but they only put a €300 hold on my credit card.

    Use Cabrera Medina. They're not the cheapest, but they're excellent to deal with and they don't use excesses.


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    #21
    Boxcar_Willie
    Registered Users Posts: 426 ✭✭Boxcar_Willie


    jimgoose wrote: »
    Use Cabrera Medina. They're not the cheapest, but they're excellent to deal with and they don't use excesses.

    +1 on Cabrera Medina , have used them in Lanzarote many times and brilliant to deal with , even take cash with no deposit .


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    #22
    Debub
    Registered Users Posts: 706 ✭✭✭Debub


    if you don't take the insurance for the car rental guys - sometimes the deposit on the CC is quite big - for example, its €3000 for a 7 seater at Cork airport, which I think is a bit crazy


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    #23
    theteal
    Registered Users Posts: 7,593 ✭✭✭theteal


    Debub wrote: »
    if you don't take the insurance for the car rental guys - sometimes the deposit on the CC is quite big - for example, its €3000 for a 7 seater at Cork airport, which I think is a bit crazy

    That is a decent lump alright, what company?

    I've never had to put more than £1200 (Europcar, Dublin Airport, nearly 10 years ago). Generally in my experience it's between £300 - £1000


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    #24
    Debub
    Registered Users Posts: 706 ✭✭✭Debub


    Hertz


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    #25
    gooner99
    Registered Users Posts: 2,040 ✭✭✭gooner99


    Hi.

    I booked at a car for 5 days in Esbjerg Denmark direct with Europcar for €138 basic with a €536 excess. I didn't take the full excess protection for €80 which reduces the excess to zero and adds Windscreen, Glass, Lights & Tyres protection when booking online.

    Will they up the price higher than €80 when I get to the desk?

    Am I best to go with AIG or carhireexcess.ie for the 5 days for €15 instead (I rarely hire, so the full year might be a waste)?

    I'd imagine it being Denmark they won't try the hard sell as much as say in Spain.



    This is the full detail of the Europcar premium excess protection for €80....

    Take extra comfort in knowing you are extra protected. Premium Protection package reduces your excess amount to zero in case of damage to the vehicle caused by collision, theft or attempted theft. It also protects you in the event of damage to the windscreen, glass and tyres, and includes Super Personal Accident protection that provides indemnity for driver, passengers in case of death or injury and covers their personal effects.

    Take extra comfort in knowing you are extra protected. Premium Protection package reduces your excess amount to zero in case of damage to the vehicle caused by collision, theft or attempted theft. It also protects you in the event of damage to the windscreen, glass and tyres, and includes Super Personal Accident protection that provides indemnity for driver, passengers in case of death or injury and covers their personal effects.


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    #26
    coylemj
    Registered Users Posts: 25,353 ✭✭✭✭coylemj


    gooner99 wrote: »
    I booked at a car for 5 days in Esbjerg Denmark direct with Europcar for €138 basic with a €536 excess. I didn't take the full excess protection for €80 which reduces the excess to zero and adds Windscreen, Glass, Lights & Tyres protection when booking online.

    Will they up the price higher than €80 when I get to the desk?

    No, it will still be available, for the same price.
    gooner99 wrote: »
    Am I best to go with AIG or carhireexcess.ie for the 5 days for €15 instead (I rarely hire, so the full year might be a waste)?

    It's not a huge excess, you could consider risking it. But for the sake of €15 .....
    gooner99 wrote: »
    I'd imagine it being Denmark they won't try the hard sell as much as say in Spain.

    There isn't much logic to that statement but FWIW, I rented from Europcar in the Canaries in Feb., the excess was €870. I declined their insurance and got no aggro. whatsoever.


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    #27
    Debub
    Registered Users Posts: 706 ✭✭✭Debub


    We had gone for a driving holiday for a couple of days just to do 6 passes in the Swiss Alps. Booked the rental from Sixt. My friend had an annual Car Hire Excess insurance (AIG) and just added me to it for a small extra charge. When we got to the Sixt counter at Zurich Airport, we off course refused the extra insurance from Sixt, but then the girl said that if we don't take that insurance, then the rate for the rental will be different and we had to pay a higher rate for the rental for the car. At the back of my mind - I knew that shouldn't be right, but we were in a hurry and my friend didn't want any confrontations, so we took the hit...


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    #28
    coylemj
    Registered Users Posts: 25,353 ✭✭✭✭coylemj


    coylemj wrote: »
    Some of the cowboys will flat out refuse to hand over the keys unless you buy their insurance. They make their money by enticing mugs with a 'too good to be true' rental quote on the web, then when the customer shows up at the desk, the screw them with mandatory expensive insurance.
    mickdw wrote: »
    If they agree to hire a car for x amount and offer an optional excess cover, they cannot force you to take it as long as yo u meet the pre existing conditions re credit car deposit.
    To say they are force you to take the insurance is nuts.

    So Mick, is this poster nuts?
    Debub wrote: »
    When we got to the Sixt counter at Zurich Airport, we off course refused the extra insurance from Sixt, but then the girl said that if we don't take that insurance, then the rate for the rental will be different and we had to pay a higher rate for the rental for the car. At the back of my mind - I knew that shouldn't be right, but we were in a hurry and my friend didn't want any confrontations, so we took the hit...


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    #29
    gooner99
    Registered Users Posts: 2,040 ✭✭✭gooner99


    In the end I hired the car in Esbjerg Denmark with Europcar without their excess insurance. I purchased the insurance with AIG. Picked up the the car they advised me of the excess amount they needed to hold on my car. Never asked if I wanted to buy their excess. Really pleasant experience. Didn't check the car when I picked it up, he just said it was brand new. It had no marks at all, but I took some photos. Again no check in return, but again I took some photos. All in all a pleasant experience. West Denmark is lovely and easy to drive in. Upgraded to automatic for free (was costing 400 extra when booking online). I would recommend automatic as it's so handy when your sitting on the left.

    Thanks again to everyone posting here. Was great advice and reassurance.


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    #30
    coylemj
    Registered Users Posts: 25,353 ✭✭✭✭coylemj


    gooner99 wrote: »
    In the end I hired the car in Esbjerg Denmark with Europcar without their excess insurance. I purchased the insurance with AIG. Picked up the the car they advised me of the excess amount they needed to hold on my car. Never asked if I wanted to buy their excess. Really pleasant experience. Didn't check the car when I picked it up, he just said it was brand new. It had no marks at all, but I took some photos. Again no check in return, but again I took some photos.

    It sounds like you had the same hassle-free experience with Europcar as I did in Lanzarote last Feb. Ironic to thnk that they own Goldcar whch gets so many bad reviews but that's another story.

    The important photo to take when returning a Europcar rental is of the rental form itself. The agent at the returns desk fills in the part where damage is noted or ticks the option to say that there was no damage. If they tick the box to say there was no damage and you have a photo of the form with their signature, that's all you need. That's especially important if,as you say, they did not appear to do a check on the car when you gave it back.


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    #31
    Charles Babbage
    Registered Users Posts: 5,506 ✭✭✭Charles Babbage


    coylemj wrote: »
    It sounds like you had the same hassle-free experience with Europcar as I did in Lanzarote last Feb. Ironic to thnk that they own Goldcar whch gets so many bad reviews but that's another story.

    The important photo to take when returning a Europcar rental is of the rental form itself. The agent at the returns desk fills in the part where damage is noted or ticks the option to say that there was no damage. If they tick the box to say there was no damage and you have a photo of the form with their signature, that's all you need. That's especially important if,as you say, they did not appear to do a check on the car when you gave it back.


    Recording the form is fine, but their T&Cs almost certainly allow them identify other damage subsequently.


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