Hev60 wrote:plane340 wrote:Don't forget to purchase some 'Excess Car Hire Insurance' before you travel so you don't get ripped off at the car rental desk.
Questor is great.
Hi I’ve seen this mentioned on other forums. Why is there suddenly a need to purchase extra car hire cover insurances?
We have been travelling to the US (mostly Florida) every year since 1990. We have never considered upgrading our car hire contract. We’ve always used the bigger car hire agents like DFCH, USrentacar, , Net Flights or often booking direct with Avis, Alamo or Dollar. . Perhaps a few times the rental desk agent tried to offer extra cover but we was always told to decline as all the necessary insurance cover is already included. We’ve always ensured that ‘zero’ excess is stated.
Lately I’ve noticed mention of the Enhanced Roadside Assistance, apparently meaning a more substantial breakdown service covering the windscreen, loss of keys, changing a tyre etc but I’m not sure if the average tourist car hire renter will bother.
Wondering what other v-flyers think of the need to purchase extra car hire insurance.
I have been renting cars in Florida for close on 25 years & have always gone with one of the main reputable companies (e.g. Alamo, Avis, Enterprise etc). Even when booked through a consolidator like HolidayAutos / Costco etc, all the necessary CDW insurance has always been included. On occasions I have purchased the Alamo Gold add-on which is a very cheap way of getting up to two additional drivers & a tank of fuel included, so you can return the car with absolute minimum fuel - saves hassle on the last day.
Sure, I've often been offered things like Super-CDW insurance / tyre insurance / key-loss insurance / GPS on collection of the car, but always refuse these.
I do purchase stand-alone car hire excess insurance when renting in Europe though. Typically when renting a car in Europe, you will get basic insurance & damage to the rental car can come with a €1000 excess. They will offer to sell you excess reduction insurance at the rental desk for something like €20 a day. I've got 7 days of cover for a trip to Germany in May for £26.50 & this covers up to £7500. Sure, in the unlikely event you have to claim the rental company will charge your credit card & you then have to claim the money back off the insurer - still a €120-odd saving though compared to the rental companies insurance.
As a slight aside, on one of my more recent rentals in France with Hertz, my nephew was kindly sick [threw up] in the car on the way back to the airport. Reported this at the desk & the car was inspected & no external damage confirmed. Hertz only charged me about £65 for a deep-clean of the affected part of the interior - I was expecting far worse.