Pauline
Forums Admin
When we lived in the US, we booked through AutoEurope.com and took the "no insurance" option. We had an option on our American Express credit card that if we paid using it, it covered any damage. We never had to test this, but I have talked to others who used it. They paid for the damage, then contacted Amex who reimbursed them.
Now we live in the UK and book through AutoEurope.co.uk. You do not have a "no insurance" option here. All rentals include insurance, BUT there is a large deductible (they call it "Car Hire Excess") - usually 1000 Euro. Insurance companies in the UK insure you for this excess at a very reasonable yearly rate. We use Insurance4carhire and pay £40/year.
Last year we did a small amount of damage to the bumper of a car (scraping against the curb in Uzes when parking). We had rented from Thrifty (via AutoEurope). It was just a small scratch. When we returned the car they wanted to charge us 150Euro! He asked if we had insurance, I said "no, so he lowered it to 95Euro. I did not bother claiming it on our insurance.
This year someone scratched the front of our car while it was parked in Forcalquier. We did not see it happen and are not even sure where or when it happened. This time we rented from Citer/Enterprise. They charged us 850Euro (!!!) for the damage. I will post a photo of the damage - just a scratch along the front side of the car. I put in a claim with Insurance4carhire. I had to fill out a form, send them the paperwork from the car rental company and send them a photo of the damage (all done by email). Within a few weeks they reimbursed us.
But, it seems to me there is some kind of scam going on here. These are very high charges for small amounts of damage. Years ago you would not be charged for damage to a bumper! Frequently when you pickup a car in France, it is damaged. One time we really did damage the car - scraped it along a wall in a narrow parking garage - but since the car was already damaged on that side, we did not have to pay anything. I will admit, we did not mention our additional scratch.
For our rental in Italy, I took out zero excess coverage from AutoEurope. You pay more, but you are completely covered - or so you would think. When we got the car, they tried to sell us even more coverage because with zero excess you are not covered for damage to windows, under carriage or roof!! Now that is a scam, IMO. We didn't take the extra coverage and we didn't damage the car.
Anyone else with experience damaging a rental car in Europe? What happened? Were you covered?
Photo of an 850Euro scratch.
Now we live in the UK and book through AutoEurope.co.uk. You do not have a "no insurance" option here. All rentals include insurance, BUT there is a large deductible (they call it "Car Hire Excess") - usually 1000 Euro. Insurance companies in the UK insure you for this excess at a very reasonable yearly rate. We use Insurance4carhire and pay £40/year.
Last year we did a small amount of damage to the bumper of a car (scraping against the curb in Uzes when parking). We had rented from Thrifty (via AutoEurope). It was just a small scratch. When we returned the car they wanted to charge us 150Euro! He asked if we had insurance, I said "no, so he lowered it to 95Euro. I did not bother claiming it on our insurance.
This year someone scratched the front of our car while it was parked in Forcalquier. We did not see it happen and are not even sure where or when it happened. This time we rented from Citer/Enterprise. They charged us 850Euro (!!!) for the damage. I will post a photo of the damage - just a scratch along the front side of the car. I put in a claim with Insurance4carhire. I had to fill out a form, send them the paperwork from the car rental company and send them a photo of the damage (all done by email). Within a few weeks they reimbursed us.
But, it seems to me there is some kind of scam going on here. These are very high charges for small amounts of damage. Years ago you would not be charged for damage to a bumper! Frequently when you pickup a car in France, it is damaged. One time we really did damage the car - scraped it along a wall in a narrow parking garage - but since the car was already damaged on that side, we did not have to pay anything. I will admit, we did not mention our additional scratch.
For our rental in Italy, I took out zero excess coverage from AutoEurope. You pay more, but you are completely covered - or so you would think. When we got the car, they tried to sell us even more coverage because with zero excess you are not covered for damage to windows, under carriage or roof!! Now that is a scam, IMO. We didn't take the extra coverage and we didn't damage the car.
Anyone else with experience damaging a rental car in Europe? What happened? Were you covered?
Photo of an 850Euro scratch.