UKC

I've booked a hire car in Majorca for next month and I'm about to take out an excess insurance.

Can anyone tell me, if there is some sort of mishap with the car, do I have to pay up front and claim back from the excess insurance company?

The hire car is booked with Avis.

In reply to mypyrex:

Are you buying excess insurance independently rather than through the hire company?

If so the hire company are likely to require a pre-authorisation on a credit card at pick up for the value of the excess. If you have any damage they take the cost out of this and you claim it back.

My experience suggests that unless you are doing multiple trips in a year it is cheapest to use the hire companies excess insurance as long as you have factored this cost into the process of selecting your car.

In reply to timjones:


Yes. Questor are quoting about £20 for seven days.

In reply to mypyrex:

I do annual excess insurance with insurance4carhire. Over the last 15 years I've twice had to make a claim. Once when I didn't notice pre-existing damage when hiring from Goldcar and got stung for a new wheel and tyre, and then we had the hire car broken into and got stung for a new window and winding mechanism. Each time we had to pay up front , but got a receipt from the hire company which we sent to insurance4carhire with the claim. They settled quickly without quibble.