car hire excess insurance policy

[oliversl]

can anyone please tell me if you have to show your policy at Alicante airport if you already have a policy and dont want to take out their excess insurance  - thanks

[Aficionado]

Never had to do this - you either take out the hire company's insurance or you leave a deposit, typically 1100+ euros, which (depending on the company) will be either charged to your card or just blocked on it. No point telling them that you have an excess policy, matters not to them.

Michael.

[oliversl]

sorry I am really confused now I understood that if I had my own insurance policy for excess I wouldnt have to take out theirs so really its a waste of time getting it? 

[Spurs]

No you don’t have to show it your policy is independent to the hire co they have 2 ways to hire a car either take their ins or they put a block of €1100 on you credit card they don’t actually take the money but you can’t spend that last €1100

When you return the car if no damage they unblock the €1100 if there is damage they take it from the €1100 you then claim against your car hire excess insurance

So in essence they are not interested in your Insurance they will get their money and you can claim it back

[DaveG]

Never tell them you have an excess insurance - if they know they will try harder to find some damage on your car when you return it; even if that damage was there originally but you didn't notice it.

Make your choice at the desk eg. decline the excess. That has it's perils because some just block the deposit but some actually take it and you have to wait for it to be credited back. If the refund crosses your CC statement date you can finish up paying it in one period and getting it back the next.

They do make life simple don't they - a bigger bunch of crooks you won't find anywhere else.

Read the small print before you book. Avoid Firefly at all costs and Goldcar. In my experience which ended about two years ago Record were one of the better ones but that may have changed.

Dave

Dave

[Aficionado]

sorry I am really confused now I understood that if I had my own insurance policy for excess I wouldnt have to take out theirs so really its a waste of time getting it?

Spurs and DaveG have set it out very well, decline the offered additional insurance and leave the deposit. If the worst happens, be sure to get relevant documentation from the hire company (damage report, invoice etc) as the insurer will want that plus evidence of the payment from your card. The one time I had to claim (the ONLY time I used Solmar! - now gone bust) it was a straightforward and fairly quick process to recover the costs.

Check carefully if the deposit will actually be taken or just blocked on the card. If it is taken and you do not use a euro card, you will suffer an exchange rate hit between the charge and the refund, the banker's share, so try to avoid that.

I have for 10 years been using hirecarsinspain.com and through them hiring from Dickmans - they have an arrangement with Dickmans to block only for the deposit.

Hope this helps,

Michael.

[John H]

To make you break hassle and worry free just take out the car hire companies excess insurance, when the car hire can be obtained so cheaply adding the insurance still makes the total bill very cheap.

I used insurance4hirecar for a few years, but never felt relaxed.


Regards all

John


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[oliversl]

thanks everyone