There are a number of peculiarities concerning the insurance aspects of renting a car and the terms can sometimes appear a little confusing.
This is especially true when it comes to the range of various insurance products.
These are designed to enable the hirer to use the vehicle with confidence and the peace of mind that he or she will not be landed with a huge repair bill if the valuable vehicle is in some way lost or damaged.
A car hire excess waiver is part and parcel of this insurance package.
The need for this particular waiver arises, in turn, from the way in which the so-called collision damage waiver (or loss damage waiver as it is also called) works.
The collision damage waiver is essentially an agreement between the rental company and the customer by which the former partially waives the right to recover the full cost of any loss or damage to the hired vehicle from the hirer.
It is a partial waiver since the rental company generally reserves the right to continue to hold the hirer personally and financially liable for some part of the cost of replacing or repairing the hired vehicle in the event of its loss or damage.
The amount for which the hirer remains liable is the "excess" and can range in value from just a few hundred pounds to well over one thousand pounds - a considerable sum, in other words.
As with any type of insurance excess, this amount is the first part of any loss or damage incurred.
If the damage to the vehicle is relatively minor, therefore, the full amount of the excess may well exceed the cost of repairs and the hirer will be expected to pay the full cost of those repairs; in the event of more extensive damage and a more expensive repair bill, the hirer's liability is limited to the amount of the excess only.
Whilst the application of an excess helps the car rental company to keep its advertised rates to a competitive price, the company also recognises that many customers will choose to minimise their outstanding liability by reducing the amount of excess they may have to bear and even reducing that cost to zero.
The former of insurance that achieves this objective is the hire car excess waiver.
The waiver can reduce the amount of excess in part or reduce it to zero, depending on the price of the premium the customer is prepared to pay.
The cost of a car hire excess waiver, however, can add a significant premium to the cost of hiring a car.
Car rental companies, after all, are in the business of renting cars and not necessarily best placed to offer the most competitive deals on insurance.
Companies that specialise in the provision of hire car insurance, therefore, can frequently undercut the price charged by the car rental company to the extent that the customer can obtain the same hire car excess waiver for up to a quarter of the price otherwise charged by the rental company.
This is especially true when it comes to the range of various insurance products.
These are designed to enable the hirer to use the vehicle with confidence and the peace of mind that he or she will not be landed with a huge repair bill if the valuable vehicle is in some way lost or damaged.
A car hire excess waiver is part and parcel of this insurance package.
The need for this particular waiver arises, in turn, from the way in which the so-called collision damage waiver (or loss damage waiver as it is also called) works.
The collision damage waiver is essentially an agreement between the rental company and the customer by which the former partially waives the right to recover the full cost of any loss or damage to the hired vehicle from the hirer.
It is a partial waiver since the rental company generally reserves the right to continue to hold the hirer personally and financially liable for some part of the cost of replacing or repairing the hired vehicle in the event of its loss or damage.
The amount for which the hirer remains liable is the "excess" and can range in value from just a few hundred pounds to well over one thousand pounds - a considerable sum, in other words.
As with any type of insurance excess, this amount is the first part of any loss or damage incurred.
If the damage to the vehicle is relatively minor, therefore, the full amount of the excess may well exceed the cost of repairs and the hirer will be expected to pay the full cost of those repairs; in the event of more extensive damage and a more expensive repair bill, the hirer's liability is limited to the amount of the excess only.
Whilst the application of an excess helps the car rental company to keep its advertised rates to a competitive price, the company also recognises that many customers will choose to minimise their outstanding liability by reducing the amount of excess they may have to bear and even reducing that cost to zero.
The former of insurance that achieves this objective is the hire car excess waiver.
The waiver can reduce the amount of excess in part or reduce it to zero, depending on the price of the premium the customer is prepared to pay.
The cost of a car hire excess waiver, however, can add a significant premium to the cost of hiring a car.
Car rental companies, after all, are in the business of renting cars and not necessarily best placed to offer the most competitive deals on insurance.
Companies that specialise in the provision of hire car insurance, therefore, can frequently undercut the price charged by the car rental company to the extent that the customer can obtain the same hire car excess waiver for up to a quarter of the price otherwise charged by the rental company.
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