This is a subject which causes a great deal of confusion with customers who are hiring cars in the UK.
The reason being there are many options available to you and you’re not quite sure what you need and what you can afford to refuse.
Experienced travellers can often get confused with this.
The part I am going to cover relates more to customers arriving in the UK from North America. In North America many credit card companies offer additional benefits with their card. Car rental insurance cover is one of these benefits . Very often car rental customers from North America when booking a car in the UK will request that the car hire company insurance is not included in the price as they have insurance with their credit card company.
The car rental company would only consider this if the credit card was a Gold card or a Platinum card, as these cards can cover, the whole cost of the car.
As a customer you should be aware of this. If you choose to use a Gold card for example to cover the insurance and you are involved in an accident. In the unfortuate event that the car was badly damaged beyond repair, the car rental company would charge the complete cost of replacing the vehicle to the credit card of the renter.
The customer would have to claim this money back from the credit card companies insurance and hope they pay out.
If you don’t have a Gold card, just an ordinary credit card, you can still use your credit card insurance to cover some of the insurance cost. I am referring to the deductible when mentioning the insurance cost. Damage excess is referred to in North America as a deductible. Briefly, this is the maximum sum of money that the car rental company will hold you responsible for in the event the car is damaged. The sum could be in the region of £600.
In this situation you cannot directly make use of your card to cover the excess . In this situation you would decline the optional insurance offered to you at the car rental desk by the car rental company representative. The representative will authorise your credit card for the total excess amount. If the car was returned damaged they would deduct the cost of the repair from your card up to the maximum amount of the excess. You would then claim that amount back on your credit cards insurance.
Some independent car rental companies will offer you cheaper insurance packages.
See Car Hire Prestwick Airport Low Cost
