It’s possible that you’ve just won the lottery and no longer have to worry about saving money like the rest of us mere mortals. If you haven’t and would still be interested in some tips for saving money on rental hire car insurance, then here are our top 5.

1. Don’t assume that the rental company’s insurance is the best or cheapest around.
It is unlikely to be so. In general, the prices of rental hire car insurance are far cheaper on the Internet through the specialist providers of hire car insurance. They can often in fact be several times cheaper.

The cover may also be superior with privately purchased policies. That’s because the rental company’s basic insurance will probably exclude from cover damage to several areas of the rented vehicle and most likely it will also contain excess. The excess is an amount of money (usually 500-1500 pounds) that the rental company will demand you pay towards the costs of any claims even if you have their insurance.

In general, the policies provided by the Internet specialists will not contain such restrictions and limitations.

2. Don’t presume that you must take the insurance offered or provided by the rental company.
You are under no obligation to take insurance from the rental company that may in fact be far more expensive that that obtainable elsewhere. If the car rental comes with little or no insurance included then you are free to use your own policies.

If the insurance is pre-included in the rental price, you can still ask for a ‘hire-only’ rate and use your own very probably cheaper insurance again. This may not be possible in a limited number of special cases such as car rentals that are part of a fly-drive holiday or perhaps some one-off ‘special offer’ deals from the rental company.

3. If buying additional top-up insurance, it may pay to shop around.
If you have decided to take the rental company’s basic insurance, you may be uneasy about the gaps and limitations outlined above. They could cost you a lot of money following an accident.

The rental company’s solution will be to recommend you consider paying more to remove the excess and possibly cover the usually excluded areas of the rental vehicle. They may call this additional payment ‘top-up insurance’ or ‘SUPER CDW’.

This sort of additional cover can also be purchased over the Internet from the rental hire car insurance specialist providers. Once again it may be far cheaper than that offered by the rental companies. If you do have an accident you may still have to pay the excess to your rental company but you could then claim this back from your own private insurance policy.

4. If renting regularly, consider annual rental hire car insurance.
Paying for insurance on a rental-by-rental basis can be expensive if you hire more than once per annum. The specialist providers also sell annual policies that will cover any vehicle rented by you during the lifetime of the one policy (some specialist vehicles may be excluded). The cost savings could be very significant.

5. Don’t have accidents!
Not quite as much a joke as it may seem. If you have an accident then whatever the rental hire car insurance position, you could end up in serious personal, legal and financial trouble – and that assumes that no serious injuries have been involved. Remember you’re probably in an unfamiliar vehicle and if overseas, possibly driving in very different road conditions. Use prudence and take it easy!

It’s possible that you’ve just won the lottery and no longer have to worry about saving money like the rest of us mere mortals. If you haven’t and would still be interested in some tips for saving money on rental hire car insurance, then here are our top 5.

1. Don’t assume that the rental company’s insurance is the best or cheapest around.
It is unlikely to be so. In general, the prices of rental hire car insurance are far cheaper on the Internet through the specialist providers of hire car insurance. They can often in fact be several times cheaper.

The cover may also be superior with privately purchased policies. That’s because the rental company’s basic insurance will probably exclude from cover damage to several areas of the rented vehicle and most likely it will also contain excess. The excess is an amount of money (usually 500-1500 pounds) that the rental company will demand you pay towards the costs of any claims even if you have their insurance.

In general, the policies provided by the Internet specialists will not contain such restrictions and limitations.

2. Don’t presume that you must take the insurance offered or provided by the rental company.
You are under no obligation to take insurance from the rental company that may in fact be far more expensive that that obtainable elsewhere. If the car rental comes with little or no insurance included then you are free to use your own policies.

If the insurance is pre-included in the rental price, you can still ask for a ‘hire-only’ rate and use your own very probably cheaper insurance again. This may not be possible in a limited number of special cases such as car rentals that are part of a fly-drive holiday or perhaps some one-off ‘special offer’ deals from the rental company.

3. If buying additional top-up insurance, it may pay to shop around.
If you have decided to take the rental company’s basic insurance, you may be uneasy about the gaps and limitations outlined above. They could cost you a lot of money following an accident.

The rental company’s solution will be to recommend you consider paying more to remove the excess and possibly cover the usually excluded areas of the rental vehicle. They may call this additional payment ‘top-up insurance’ or ‘SUPER CDW’.

This sort of additional cover can also be purchased over the Internet from the rental hire car insurance specialist providers. Once again it may be far cheaper than that offered by the rental companies. If you do have an accident you may still have to pay the excess to your rental company but you could then claim this back from your own private insurance policy.

4. If renting regularly, consider annual rental hire car insurance.
Paying for insurance on a rental-by-rental basis can be expensive if you hire more than once per annum. The specialist providers also sell annual policies that will cover any vehicle rented by you during the lifetime of the one policy (some specialist vehicles may be excluded). The cost savings could be very significant.

5. Don’t have accidents!
Not quite as much a joke as it may seem. If you have an accident then whatever the rental hire car insurance position, you could end up in serious personal, legal and financial trouble – and that assumes that no serious injuries have been involved. Remember you’re probably in an unfamiliar vehicle and if overseas, possibly driving in very different road conditions. Use prudence and take it easy!

Get a quote for Rental Hire Car Insurance from Insurance 4 Car Hire.