Eurozone car hire includes a hefty excess

by Gill Montia

Story link: Eurozone car hire includes a hefty excess

Insurance4carhire.com, which provides excess insurance for those renting vehicles, is warning consumers of the huge excess penalties that are being charged by some EU car rental firms.

Britons who damage hire cars in the Eurozone can be charged up to £1,000 by rental providers, many of which operate in popular holiday and second home destinations, such as Italy, Spain, Portugal, France and Ireland.

According to Insurance4carhire spokesperson Larry Ursich, “Whilst overseas, many UK drivers have to accept the car hire firm’s policies at inflated prices or else drive away with no protection against a host of potential problems.”

In addition, it is commonplace for insurance supplied by car rental businesses to exclude damage to a vehicle’s undercarriage, tyres and windows.

This kind of detail tends to be contained in policy small-print, leaving consumers vulnerable to steep charges for something a small as a windscreen chip.

Mr Ursich explains: “Although Portugal, with its hefty excess penalty of up to £1,000, generally includes damage to the undercarriage, tyres and windows, those travelling to France could be stung by a charge – between £550 and £750 – as damage to those parts of the vehicle is generally excluded.”

Insurance4carhire strongly recommends that anyone hiring a car abroad takes the time to read their policy documents or arrange insurance before leaving the UK, from a standalone provider.