To put it simply, there is no way of avoiding the need to buy insurance cover whenever you hire a car – practically any country in the world imposes a legal obligation on drivers to hold a minimum level of insurance to cover third party claims for personal injury or loss or damage to their property.
 
Though there may be a requirement for it, however, there is no reason why you need to pay over the odds for that protection – and by choosing wisely you might actually save money on your car rental insurance.

Whose Job Is It?

If you want bread, you go to the baker; if you want candles, you go to the candlestick maker. So, if you want insurance, does it seem to be a good idea to go to a car rental company?
 
Car hire companies may be efficient and competitive when it comes to renting you a vehicle, but providing you with insurance is not their primary line of business – insurance is offered as an add-on or an after-thought.
 
And when it comes to offering what is merely a supplementary service to the principal task of providing cars, rental companies are unlikely to go out of their way in the provision of good quality insurance cover at a fair price.
 
Indeed, the cost of insurance cover bought directly from the car rental company is typically the source of the complaint. A correspondent to the Guardian newspaper on the last month wrote in to complain that a European car rental company had demanded payment for insurance cover that was double the price of renting the vehicle - and then charged an inflated currency exchange rate into the bargain.

Insurance From Insurance Providers

The alternative to buying insurance from a car rental company is to buy it from an insurance provider. There are specialist providers who make arranging car rental  -and car hire excess insurance too - their sole line of business.  And as the sole line of business, but all of their efforts into ensuring that the product sold is the suitable one, delivered at the most competitive price.

There Are Additional Advantages

• An online application and purchase of immediate cover make the process quick, easy and convenient.
• Buying the cover before you leave home – rather than in a potentially frazzled state at the hire car desk mid-journey – gives you the chance to consider exactly what you are buying.
• Payment in sterling avoids your being ripped off by overseas agents applying an unreasonable or exorbitant rate of exchange.
• You are buying cover from professionals in the field of insurance who are able to describe exactly the extent of the cover you need.
• Payment of a single premium may replace the daily rate for insurance that a car rental company is likely to charge.
• Buying standalone car rental excess insurance may provide more comprehensive protection than that offered by the hire car company (such as covering the car underbody, windscreens etc).
• Above all, perhaps, you may rest assured that the price you pay represents value for money in a competitive market.
• The next time you are looking for car rental and car hire excess insurance, therefore, you might want to start your search first by approaching those whose job it really is.