Car rental companies almost always have a damage excess. Insurance costs are a significant part of the car rental cost. They have an excess amount in their policies to reduce their costs.
The “collision damages waiver” portion of the insurance policy covers the excess amount. The excess amount refers to damage to the rental vehicle. The exact amount of excess will depend on the car’s size and the rental company, but the average excess is around GBP 600.00.
You will be offered the chance to buy insurance in the event that your vehicle is damaged.
You might have more than one product. There might be differences in how much excess is reduced between products. For example, some policies will limit the liability to GBP 2000.00 while others will make the policy null. Some policies include personal accident insurance. The cost to reduce the excess to zero would, for example, be GBP 13,00 per day plus your rental costs.
These products do not have to be purchased. You should know that if you find damage on your car upon your return, and there is no record of it being damaged before you rent the car, your credit card could be charged up to GBP 600.00. Rental staff usually assess the cost of repairs and provide guidance as to what they should charge for each type of damage.
There are insurance products available that can provide protection against the possibility of money being taken from your card. It can be much cheaper than the rental car company’s products. You would refuse to accept the waiver if you bought a product from an outside supplier.
If the vehicle is damaged, the rental company will take the normal cost off your credit card. You would then be eligible to claim it back on insurance.
A lot of credit card companies, especially in North America offer car rental insurance to platinum and gold cardholders. The insurance covers damage to the vehicle, but not third-party risk. This insurance can lower the rental price. If, for instance, the car was rented on this basis and it was damaged beyond repair, the rental company could charge less. The rental company could then take out your credit card to cover the cost of replacing the vehicle. This would mean that you could claim the cost back from your credit cards insurance.
There is a possibility that the actual repair cost to your car may be less than the amount you charged to your card. If you believe this is possible, it would be a good idea to contact your insurance department at the company after the car has been repaired. You might be able to get any difference in the amount of repair you paid back.
The car rental company will charge your credit card the amount of the damage. If the car rental company is able to recover money from third party insurance, you will be able to request the amount that was taken from you to be refunded.
