Hire Car Insurance save hundreds of £'s

[ROBBERIFFIC]

Hi

Just arranged car hire through Thomas Cook, you know the free car hire thing all the travel companies do. Asked about insurance to cover all the strange CDW SLI business and was quoted £368.00 for the two weeks.

Having hired a car from US Rentacar last year for £245.00 for the two weeks made me think that the car was not "Free" as they suggest that it is.

Started rummaging around the internet and found an article from the Daily Mail all about Hire Car Insurance and that you can buy it here in the UK before you go and all the hire car companies accept it.

Ended up on a company called Bettersafe who quoted just over £60 for the two weeks all in nearly £300 less than I was quoted by Thomas Cook Alamo.

As it was so inexpensive I rang the company asking what the catch was and there is no catch, underwritten by Lloyds of London covers the Hire Car for up to £100,000.00 and 3rd party Liability for £1,000,000.00.

So get the free car and insure it with these guys and have £300 extra spending money!

Happy Days

[Greyfriars]

All the ones I have checked have inadequate cover on third party claims. So I will stick with the company insurance thank you.

The other problem is if you are in an accident it is up to you to sort out the claim. I don't wish to waste my time when I should be on holiday.

When this happened last May I was back on the road in a new car within an hour!

[ROBBERIFFIC]

All the ones I have checked have inadequate cover on third party claims. So I will stick with the company insurance thank you.

From: Hire Car Insurance save hundreds of £'s - theDIBB
http://www.thedibb.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=936573

No need to be snotty about it, I am only offering some advice not twisting your arm up your back :angry:

[Mr Tom Morrow]

OP. I am in the same camp as Greyfriars. These Companies come and go and the quote you have is dirt cheap I have to say so sounds very attractive.

Apart from Greyfriars incident (which wasn't his fault) another Dibber on here had a member of his party write off 3 cars in one go! I wouldn't want to be dealing with a UK Company for that. Plus god help anybody if it's an injury accident.

Not for me but others will disagree.

[ROBBERIFFIC]

This is what is covered...
This policy is a daily policy, price shown is the total policy cost
This policy covers damage to tyres, wheels, windscreen (glass), underbody and roof in addition to bodywork, fire and theft
Collision Damage Waiver And Supplementary Liability Insurance only applies for rentals in or trips through USA, Canada, Caribbean, South & Central America.
Worldwide Policy
Excess covered to £4000 per Incident and £5000 per Annual Period of Insurance
Collison Damage Waiver Insurance of $100000
Supplimentary Liability Insurance limit cover of $1000000
Can be used within country of residence
8 named drivers aged between 21 and 85 allowed on policy with no extra charge
Includes £25 per day of curtailment or restitution cover in case of accident or illness requiring drivers hospitalisation
Includes £60 of lock out cover
£300 of cover for costs of returning hire car to depot in case of accident or illness requiring drivers hospitalisation
Hit and run and uninsured motorist incidents covered
£500 of lost key cover
£500 of misfuelling cover to clean the engine/fuel system of the incorrect fuel. Does not cover mechanical damage
Towing costs covered to policy limit following accident and mechanical breakdown
Policy is covered by Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS)
Covers cars with value up to £65,000
Policy available to UK residents only
Policy does not cover claims for damage incurred whilst using the car outside the rental firm's terms and conditions

Alamos cover...

Unlimited mileage
Full tank of fuel
3 additional drivers
Collision Damage Waiver (CDW)
$1 million liability coverage
Zero excess in the USA

[Maggi68]

I have been looking at booking our own insurance rather than go through Alamo / Thomson.

I emailed Alamo and they advised that they are happy to accept a third policy as long as it offered equivalent or better cover. They did say however that I would still need to pay local taxes of $2.05 per day, airport fee of around $3 plus additional driver costs of $10-12 per day, even if the policy mentions cover for additional driver as this is the fee to have them named on the agreement not covered. So for us we would still need to pay around $185 on arrival to Alamo.

We would still save money but as we have never driven in the US before we are still a little apprehensive. My main worry is a courtesy car should anything go wrong. I contacted Insurance4CarHire to ask what would happen should we be involved in any collisions and they said that they would not provide a courtesy car nor would they cover the cost of one either should we need one. For the sake of saving £100 I don't know if we'll bother. It's still a big saving but I just don't think it's worth the worry.

[Mr Tom Morrow]

OP. Have you researched the Lloyds syndicate offering this Insurance?
My understanding is that they have been told by Lloyds to revise down their profit forecasts for 2016.

[Diznee]

Our last two trips the advice has always been to decline extra insurances as the car is already fully insured, this has always been with Alamo via Charter Travel. Same again this year, has the advice changed?

[99plums]

OP, Yes you will have adequate insurance but the company you eventually hire from won't help you if you have an accident. You will have to sort your own breakdown/tow truck etc., probably won't get a replacement car and you will have to pay for all the damage/repairs yourself whilst in the US and then claim it back when you return home. Thanks for posting but personally I'm happy to go with the hire companies own insurance.

[Mr Tom Morrow]

Originally Posted by Diznee

Our last two trips the advice has always been to decline extra insurances as the car is already fully insured, this has always been with Alamo via Charter Travel. Same again this year, has the advice changed?

See more...

No the advice is still the same. Just make sure you have CDW, SLI, Zero excess and all taxes etc.
Thats what you get with a reputable hire. The one to be wary of is the 'free car hire' as yes it is free but it's not Insured properly.

I have little doubt loads of people over the years have driven away thinking they are covered - but they aren't!