Holiday car hire: Drive a bargain

SUMMER holidays are here and for the next two months many will be heading off. With more and more people putting their own holiday packages together, there are a few insurance products you may wish to consider that will save you time and money.

Many of us who book flights on Aer Lingus, Ryanair, British Midland or Aer Arann will be familiar with the car hire offers at knock-down prices.

Often the price you are quoted does not include car hire excess cover, which can cost you an arm and a leg when you purchase it at the car hire counter.

A good money-saving tip is to purchase your own policy before you leave. If you rent a car a few times a year, then an annual policy will save you even more money.

Car Hire Excess Cover

If you are hiring a car on holidays (or for work) then you should consider taking out a car hire excess cover policy before you leave home.

Most car hire arrangements generally cover collision damage waiver (CDW) and theft.

However, should you damage the rental car, or should the car be stolen, the driver is asked to pay the first portion of the repair or replacement costs. This is known as the excess.

In most agreements the insured is still liable for the first portion of the repair or replacement costs otherwise known as the excess, which can be up to €2,000. The policy insures you, the policy holder, not the rental vehicle.

Excess is a voluntary insurance. You can save significant time and money purchasing a car hire excess policy before collecting your vehicle at the car hire desk.

Decline the car rental company's excess cover at the counter when you collect the car.

If the car is damaged or stolen, the car rental company will charge your credit card for the excess amount and you can then claim for reimbursement on your policy.

The policy covers the excess on a car hire policy up to a maximum of €3,000 of damage, including damage to windows and tyres, fire, vandalism, theft or loss of use of the rental vehicle.

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Breakdown cover comparison for numerous roadside service companies

Service versus price is the prime consideration when purchasing almost everything we buy. But nowhere is this more important than when buying breakdown cover. Too often we sign up for this product without first doing an in depth breakdown cover comparison. The pity of this is more than just money is wasted. The greater issue is that we wander onto the road thinking we are protected when in fact we are not.

There are hundreds of companies offering car and motorbike breakdown cover in the UK but only three are of merit. They are AA, Green Flag and RAC. To compare breakdown cover from these three, you will need to go to Breakdownchoices.co.uk. Breakdown Choices is the leading breakdown cover information site on the web. They offer what is undoubtedly the simplest means to compare prices and services for cover that can be found anywhere. And, as Breakdown cover is part of the consumer choices network you may be certain they have only evaluated honest and fair offers from substantial, reliable companies. Prices for breakdown cover range from 20 to 120 pounds per annum dependent on which services you will require.


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