Posts Tagged ‘car rental’
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Renting a Car Can Prove More Expensive Than Originally Budgeted For
Author: Philip Suterbr
Source: articleage.combr
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Most of us need to hire a car at some time or other. Going on holiday, making a business trip or your own vehicle is in for repairs.
We will often book a rental car, more and more people do this on the Internet and arrive at the airport or rental dealer and discover there are extras there that you had not taken into account when you made the booking.
You realise that you need an additional driver so there is often a daily charge for the extra driver/s. You are told that the car comes with a tank full of fuel. You are charged an amount to cover this and when you get into the car discover that there is a sticker saying, return empty. If you do this you could most likely find that had you filled the car up it would have cost less than the amount the rental company charged for the fuel.
What about the insurance?
You are told that the insurance cover will not cover you if the car is broken into, a wing mirror broken. You will be responsible for the Excess. At most European, South African, New Zealand and Australian car rental locations, the customer is responsible for the excess this can be the first ฃ500 and up to ฃ1,600 on the rental vehicle in case of an accident or if the vehicle is stolen. As you are not willing to take on this responsibility you immediately agree to pay additional insurance – It can mount up particularly if you regularly hire a car.
You can of course purchase car rental excess insurance. There are policies available on a daily rate, annual and for families covering a fair proportion of the worlds countries. These policies work in a similar way to an annual travel insurance policy. It doesnt matter how many times a year you rent a car, you are still covered.
When you go to collect your rental car remember the following:
ท Most car rental locations require a credit cardท Most car rental locations will not accept debit or switch cards
ท You must have held a valid driving licence for one year
ท There is often a minimum and maximum age to hire a car
ท Always ask what is included in the rates quoted
ท Never initial or sign an agreement without asking about each item
ท Do not over insure. If you have travel insurance you do not need personal effects or personal accident insurance
ท Pre-purchase or Pre-reserve your car rental
ท Purchase from agents within your own country in case you need refunds or assistance
ท When you pick-up your vehicle determine where the drop off point is for your return
ท Ask if the return area has an attendant. If not, who do you return the car to and who will check it over for damage?
When you actually get to the vehicle – even if you are tired after your trip remember the following:
ท If you leave the vehicle without check-in, examine it for damage and photograph it from every angle.ท Check the vehicle for damage
ท Check the spare tyre
ท If the fuel tank is meant to be full, make sure that it is
Do take great care, as the reasonable car rental rate you originally found could be a lot more than you expected.
Philip Suter is a Director of JML Property Services http://www.jml-property-insurance.co.uk, a UK based company offering Insurance Products on line, property rentals in Berkshire and Buckinghamshire, England and an International self catering vacation home advertising service http://www.jmlvillas.com. He is also involved with management training companies operating in the UK and Internationally.
He is a very experienced property consultant with over 30 years work in the Residential letting business and served in the national council of The Association of Residential Letting Agents (ARLA). He is a Fellow of the National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA) and a Member of The association of Residential Letting Agents.br
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A short guide to travel insurance
Author: Exquisite Traveller
Source: articleage.comTravel Insurance ?- A Need to Know guide?
Travel insurance protects holiday expenses against adverse events such as cancellation and interruption and also reimburses medical expenses, the loss or damage of property and transit delays.
Many millions of travellers and holiday makers purchase some form of insurance every year, but few people know really what it is and how it can be defined. If you know what is included, and what is not you will be able to make the most of your protection, and get reimbursed fairly.
There are four main categories of travel insurance:
1. Health and Medical reasons
Emergency evacuation: This garuantees emergency transportation to either a local hospital in the event that the traveller is unable to get there by themselves or back to a hospital near the traveller?’s home town. If family members are covered on the same policy they can travel back home also.
Medical reasons: This reimburses emergency medical and dental costs. Nearly all holiday insurance plans work by reimbursing the traveller after they have paid locally for treatment. Claims are usually paid within 7 ?- 10 working days. Pre-existing medical conditions are covered by most policies if the policy is purchased within (at the most) 21 days from the date the traveller made the first payment or deposit.
2. Delays and cancellation or curtailment
Cancellation: Re-imbursement comes into effect if travellers have booked and paid for a holiday, but are unable to embark because of personal illness or injury, death (of the individual or of a family member), adverse weather conditions, transport strikes, terrorism, bankruptcy, sudden unemployment, jury duty or by sustaining serious damage to their home causing it to be uninhabitable due to fire or flooding.
Delay: This reimburses travellers for hotel, food or clothing expenses in the event of a flight delay. Some plans also cover costs associated with catching up with a cruise should another delay cause the traveller to miss embarkation.
Interruption: Insurance companies pay money to policy holders abroad if they have to cut short their trip due to illness, death (of the traveller or a family member), terrorism, weather, airline strikes, bankruptcy, sudden unemployment, and other adverse conditions which mean that, due to events outside the control of the holiday-maker, a trip has to be curtailed.
3. Death:
Accidental death ?- covers death or dismemberment at any time of your trip. Usually garuantees the lowest amount of coverage due to a higher risk
Air Flight accident ?- this covers death or dismemberment during an air flight only. Usually garuantees the highest amount of coverage due to fairly low likelihood of this occurring.
Common carrier ?- Covers death or dismemberment while travelling on public transport such as a plane, ferry, train bus or taxi.
4. Loss or damage of property:
Baggage loss ?- reimburses travellers for lost, stolen or damaged personal items. This coverage is usually restricted to the duration of the trip and not confined to baggage damaged or lost by the airline. There are two policy limits, total claim and per item maximum. Some policies also place limits on the type of items that can be claimed for ?- such as precious jewellery, laptops and sporting goods
Hire Car damage ?- This reimburses travellers for damage or loss to a rental vehicle. It is designed to allow the traveller to decline collision damage waiver (CDW) coverage offered by the car rental companies. Liability coverage should still be purchased through the car rental company. Rental Car Damage coverage is also often included with the credit card used to pay for the car rental which is often matches the coverage provided in the policy.
Assistance services ?- garuantees a 24-hour collect telephone advice and assistance service to travellers. This service can be used anytime a traveller needs advice. Make sure you keep a copy of this number in several places in your luggage or on your person when you move around.
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Hiring a car can be more expensive than you bargained for
Author: Philip Suter
Source: articlesbase.comFortunately I only rent a car approximately four times a year, as taking a city break, the beauty of such a trip is not having to drive, find your way about or park.
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