Other sections in this guide
- Overview
- Car hire jargon explained
- Car hire tips
Car hire and car clubs Car hire tips
Take out a separate insurance policy
Take out separate insurance for your hire car
If your car hire company has high excess charges and you don’t want to take out their top-up insurance, you may be better off taking out a separate policy for the extra cover.
If you’re only using the hire car for a short time, a daily excess policy will be cheapest, but if you hire a car more frequently an annual policy could be best.
Insurance companies that offer excess cover policies include Dailyexcess.com, iCarhireinsurance.com, Insurance4carhire.com, Questor Insurance and Worldwide Insure.
Do check that the policy covers you for all areas of the car, including its tyres and windscreen.
Would you know what to do if you were unlucky enough to be involved in a crash? If not, check out guide to dealing with car accidents.
Book your hire car early
You could save cash by booking your car hire early
Online and early booking discounts are plentiful, so if possible book up to three months in advance.
Check age restrictions
Many car hire companies will charge a premium for renting to drivers aged under 21, and certain higher performance vehicles will be restricted to those over 25 years old.
Some may not rent to people over 70 years old and some may charge an extra fee for the youngest and oldest drivers.
Know your rights
Credit cards give you extra protection when hiring a car
The car hire market is not regulated, but consumers have two forms of protection:
- If you spend more than £100 on hire car using a credit card, section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act can be used to claim back any disputed cash.
- If the car is hired as part of a holiday package and you encounter problems, then you can claim through the Association of British Travel Agents.
Hiring a car in Australia
If you hire a car in Australia, there is often a set limit to the number of kilometres you can cover each day.
If you exceed this, you’ll be charged an additional or excess charge for every extra kilometre, so look for a deal that offers 'unlimited' kilometers.
