Car Hire Insurance Con

We all know that when we hire a car in Spain you end up paying significantly more when you pick it up mainly because of the Insurance TRICK does anyone have any suggestions how to get around this 

My last quote for 11 days at Malaga was £80 for the car and £150 for this extra insurance and of course the Fuel at an inflated rate to add on too 

Many Thanks

It is very easy. Before you leave the U.K. take out a Car Hire Excess Reimbursement Insurance policy. There are several policies on the market and I paid £40 for an annual policy. This covers more than the insurance the hire firm offer as it includes, but not limited to, tyres, wheels, all glass, undercarriage etc. If you really lose the fight when collecting the car just send the receipt to the insurance company and generally they will reimburse you. Without naming names you could start looking at insurance 4 car hire or just google it.

Not just Spain. Hire a car in UK and the insurance will cost a much, if not more, than the car hire. Same as the USA and probably every country.

As steone says, take out excess car hire insurance. I have an annual policy which costs £39.99. I have claimed on it once when I hit the pot hole from Hell in UK bursting the tyre and damaging the alloy wheel rim. £106 for a tyre and £145 for the wheel rim was paid to me in less than a week. OK, the car hire companies will stick extra on your credit card to cover costs if you don't take out the insurance but I've always had it returned straight away and haven't even seen the extra appear on the statement. But be careful with some hire companies who are very slow in refunding the amount they've taken and some have been mentioned on here.

I would just like to add to the comments by Bobaol & Steone:

Yes, take out the car hire excess insurance in the UK, also when you pick up the car make sure you either take photographs or video of the car before driving away and also when you drop it off on your return.

If when you pick the car up there are any scratches or bumps make sure they are noted on the rental agreement before driving off and if possible when dropping the car off on your return, get them to check it over whilst you are still there.

They will block a certain amount of money on your credit card to cover any damages, but this will be returned if there are no damages, if there are damages then that is what you pay the excess insurnace for in the UK.

Good Luck

I did not mention that the policy I have covers at least the whole of Europe including the U.K. Yes Bobaol my insurance cost the same as yours!!

There is however a downside of not taking the hire companies excessive insurance policy and  that is they will demand a 'deposit' from you usually about £1,000 depending on the hire company. They say that if you offer a credit card they will 'only' block this amount. If you are lucky this will be unblocked after 1 to 2 weeks. So if you have enough available credit on your card and you will not be spending that amount on your trip then thats ok. If you offer up a debit card then the wrath of the heavens will descend on you as the hire company will remove that amount and eventually give it back, usually about 1 month later. They have use of your money and you don't get any interest.

An old 'trick' I used to do was have an additional credit card with a low limit on it, say £1,000 to £1,500 which was only used for car hire and hotels where you have to leave an 'open' card for any extras that you have and then try and leave without paying. As if any member on here would even think of doing anything like that.

I looked at the One year cover and I am considering this option you really have to look at the small print on these rentals.I have been in so many car hire places waiting to be served listening to heated arguments over additional costs and  I dont think ive ever picked up a car that hasnt had a scratch a dent on it. 

Basically its a matter of Trust I can see it from both sides 11 days rental £240 pound Ford Fiesta it aint that bad Ive seen some firms quoting double that. 

The excesss used to be 400 odd euros now its 1050 at Goldcar seems a lot 

ManyThanks for all your information 

Rod,

The comments and advice made are good, but I have to say in my experience there's not a problem.

Whenever I hire I use Centauro who've always been exemplary.  If they have a fault they are a bit too relaxed in that they don't always have an inspection official on duty and they just take the keys off you without checking the vehicle with you.  But I must have hired over 50 times from them without even a hint of a problem.

The Car Excess Insurance route is both cheap and simple, usually the annual cover makes sense.

You make a comment about "small print".  But let's be honest it's really more a matter of taking 5 minutes to read the car hire agreement and insurance policy.  If like me you use the same companies it's only a one-off, so not an issue. 

The one niggle I've had was when I went to Gran Cararia and accepted a quote for a cheap and cheerful car hire company.  It turned out that contrary to what I'd been told by the online agent you had to get on a courtesy bus to pick up the motor from the airport which wasted 30 minutes, then the vehicle was a hand painted bright orange heap which looked like it had been in a demolition derby.

But I'm amazed how cheap both the car hire and excess insurance cost and if you stick to the main players rather than save every last penny you should be OK.  Well I have and only got praise for that sector.

Watch out for Firefly at Malaga airport, when I have hired a car, refused their insurance because I have my own annual policy, they point out and highlight by drawing a ring around the clause in their contract that says you are not covered for breakdowns.

I argued that it is their car and that they must guarantee to me that the car will be recovered and repaired, or replaced, if it breaks down, but all they did was point to the clause again and say 'Not covered for breakdown' unless I took out their insurance.

I haven't used them since.

kelju 

I've never heard of "Firefly" - but from what you say that are being cheeky. 

Of course the standard insurance cover you take out will not cover the cost of  breakdown repairs anyway, unless it follows on directly from an insured peril. 

But the Firefly salesperson may be confusing the fact that in Spain the standard private car policy automatically extends to include the cost of towing your vehicle to the nearest suitable garage repairer following breakdown. 

This is arguably a minor benefit, but of course if the breakdown was caused by a defect in the car the cost should be paid or re-imbursed by the car hire company.  So I reckon they are probably being "economical with the truth".

I always use Enterprise and take the lot. Last week I had a car in UK and the insurances were £60 more than the hire costs but, knackered after a week chasing around the UK on business and then facing the stress of getting on the plane back to Spain - the last thing I need is aggro at the car hire return, so for me its a no brainer for no hassle.