QuestorInsurance.com - Car hire excess cover review, waiver comparison.

questor-insurance.co.uk – Car rental excess review

Policy name	Two products available: daily and annual.
Price	Price depends on choice of European or worldwide cover, whether daily or annual policy, number of drivers, optional extras chosen. Daily policies are from £3.01 per day and annual policies are from £44.10.
Number of trips/days covered	The daily policy insures a single car hire agreement, up to 180 days in length. Price depends on number of days needed. The annual policy insures unlimited car hire agreements in the year, up to 31 days per rental.
Area covered	European or worldwide cover available.
What is covered?	Any physical loss or damage to the car up to the excess shown in the car rental agreement, including loss or damage to tyres, windscreen or under body of the vehicle, and towing charges.
Amount of cover	Covers the excess on the car hire agreement up to £2,000 per incident, and £3,000 in total per car hire agreement for European cover. This amount increases to $80,000 for rentals outside of Europe.
Multiple drivers covered?	Yes. The policy covers the policyholder, plus any other persons named on the certificate of insurance and the car rental agreement (as long as those other people would have been eligible to buy this insurance themselves). You must specify the other named drivers when taking out the policy. Also offer a ‘dual lead driver’ option, meaning two people can rent separately, under one policy. This is an optional extra.
Rentals in home country covered?	Yes, if you are permanently resident in UK or Ireland.
Rentals near home covered?	Yes, if you add this optional extra (only available to residents of UK or Ireland). Otherwise, you are only covered for rentals at least 150km from your home address.
Restrictions on drivers’ ages?	Ages 21 – 84 covered.
Additional items included	Personal accident – up to £10,000 (Any person named on the certificate of insurance) Baggage – Up to £300 (Note this ‘benefit’ has limited value – a £50 excess applies to this section, and the items must have been in locked boot or glove box. £150 limit per single item, or £75 if no proof of purchase. No claims allowed for thefts from unattended car between 8pm and 8am.) Lost or damaged car keys – £500 Curtailment (i.e. if the car rental is cut short on the advice of a doctor) – £15 per day, up to £200 Drop-off charges – up to £200 Locked out cover – up to £40 If the third party liability cover provided by the care hire company is inadequate you can top it up to $1,000,000. This is especially important if renting in the USA or Canada, where mandatory limits are very low. 5% discount on second and subsequent purchases.
Small print/exclusions to beware of	Car must have a value of less than $80,000, and must not be an ‘exotic’ or ‘classic’ car (unless specifically agreed by the underwriters in advance). The person listed as the ‘Lead Driver’ on the policy must be the lead driver on the car hire agreement. The following types of vehicle are not covered: motor homes, trailers or caravans, trucks, commercial vehicles, motorcycles, mopeds, motorbikes, off-road vehicles, recreational vehicles, vans and vehicles with more than 9 seats. Mechanical breakdown is not covered. Misfuelling is not covered. Driving on anything other than a public highway is not covered. The policy must have been purchased before the start of the car hire agreement that you wish to cover.
Policy underwritten by	White Horse Insurance Ireland Limited (specialist travel insurers, part of the Thomas Cook Group). Claims are handled in the UK by Axa Assistance Claims Centre Ltd on behalf of White Horse.
Procedure for claiming	You will be required to pay to settle the claim when you return the vehicle to the car hire company. You must obtain a damage report and retain your receipts. On your return, report the claim to Axa within 31 days, online, by phone or by email. You will need to supply the following documents, so make sure you keep them: 1. Copy of your certificate of insurance. 2. Copy of rental agreement. 3. A copy of your charge receipt (if separate from the rental agreement). 4. A copy of the law enforcement / police report (if applicable) for damage / loss over £50.00. 5. Your copy of the car hire company’s accident damage report. 6. Invoices / receipts / other documents confirming the amount you have paid in respect of accident / damage / loss etc. for which the car hire company holds you responsible. 7. Copy of your credit card statement showing payment of the damages claimed. 8. Copy of the driving licence of the person involved in the accident (the driver). 9. Name and address of your bank together with the sort code and account details.