One of the main things travellers need to look out when renting a car overseas is how much excess they need to pay in the event of a claim. iCarHireInsurance provides an affordable way for travellers to reduce this risk. In this iCarHireInsurance review, we’ll cover what exactly is excess insurance, how iCarHireInsurance’s offering compares to most car rental companies and show how simple it is to actually take out a policy.
What is Excess Insurance?
Before we delve into this iCarHireInsurance review, it’s worth defining what exactly is excess insurance and why you should consider purchasing it when renting a car abroad.
When hiring a car, the rental company typically includes a range of insurance coverage as part of your package. This insurance may include things like third party insurance, collision damage insurance and theft insurance.
Whenever you take out any type of insurance policy, whether it be as part of a car rental or other types of insurance like travel or medical insurance, there is usually an excess associated with making a claim. An excess (also known as a deductible) is the amount that the user will need to pay when making a claim before their insurance policy covers them.
In the case of insurance provided by car rental companies, it isn’t uncommon to see excesses in the thousands of dollars. This can really become an unexpected burden if you need to make a claim when renting a car, particularly in destinations in Iceland, where damage to your car from gravel or sand isn’t uncommon, usually at no fault of your own.
So what’s the best way to prevent getting stuck with an unexpected bill when you make a claim? Purchase an excess insurance policy!
And while many car hire companies, allow you to purchase an excess insurance policy as part of a package when renting a car, there is an actually a much more affordable option. Buy an excess insurance policy from iCarHireInsurance!
What does iCarHireInsurance Offer?
iCarHireInsurance allows you to buy an excess insurance policy that is separate from your car rental policy which comes at a fraction of the price of what many car rental companies would typically charge for similar coverage.
Their policies offer coverage for excesses of up to £6000 which means you’re covered even if taking out a policy from one of the most greedy car rental companies! This includes coverage for a number of possible types of damage including to the car body, tyres, windscreen and even theft.
The standard policies also cover up to 9 drivers on the one vehicle, contain no restrictions in terms of how far away from your home you need to be and offer good claim support with their most recent statistics suggesting claims are paid within an average of 17 days.
It’s worth keeping in mind that they cover only drivers aged 25 to 80 years old and cars that are up to 20 years old.
Policyholders also have the option to include a few extras such as coverage for lost keys and personal accident insurance. Click here to read more details about policy inclusions.
Finally, iCarHireInsurance also offers a separate type of excess insurance policy for travellers that are looking to hire a van. You can click here to read more details about their van excess insurance policy product.
How does iCarHireInsurance Work?
Taking out a policy with iCarHireInsurance is quite straight forward and you have two main options – a daily policy or an annual policy.
A daily policy is meant to cover you for a short trip abroad, with prices starting at only £2.99 per day. An annual policy has prices starting at £42.99 which is great value if you rent a car abroad a number of times per year. It allows you to take an unlimited number of trips throughout the year which each trip allowed to have a maximum of 65 consecutive days.
These starting rates are valid for travel within Europe. If you are looking for worldwide coverage then the rates start at £4.49 per day or £69.99 for an annual policy. There are also options for broader coverage that not only includes excess coverage but also collision damage waivers in North America or worldwide.
To determine an exact quote for your trip, click here and head to the iCarHireInsurance website.
You will be required to enter your country of residence, where you are heading and whether you want an annual or daily policy. If you opt for the daily policy, you can switch to an annual policy once you get a quote if you find it to be a better value proposition. Once you have your initial quote, you can also add optional extras such as coverage for your keys and personal accidents.
Make sure to read in detail the policy documents once you have a quote to ensure that you’re covered for everything you expect to be – that’s always important when buying any type of insurance product!
Why Take Out an iCarHireInsurance Policy
While we’ve already covered a lot of the great benefits in this iCarHireInsurance review, it’s worth reiterating some of the main reasons why you should take out a policy with iCarHireInsurance.
1. It gives you peace of mind
While nobody ever plans to get into an accident when renting a car abroad, the last thing you want to experience if you do have an accident is being stuck with an unexpected bill of several hundred or even thousand dollars!
By taking out an excess insurance policy with iCarHireInsurance, you can have the peace of mind on your vacation that you won’t have to pay any deductible if you end up making a claim on your insurance.
2. It’s more affordable than buying from the car hire company
If you’re travelling to a more expensive destination such as Iceland or Scotland, you don’t want your hard-earned dollars going to insurance rather than amazing experiences abroad!
iCarHireInsurance is significantly cheaper than buying the equivalent insurance from a car rental company and allows you to put your money into more exciting things!
3. Their annual policies are great value
If you travel regularly throughout the year then taking out an annual policy with iCarHireInsurance is incredibly good value. It allows you to take unlimited trips throughout the year and any single trip can be up to 65 days.
How to Find the Best Car Rental
Now that we’ve covered the benefits of excess insurance in this iCarHireInsurance review, you might be wondering how as a traveller to find a good deal on a car rental.
Typically, the best offering on car hire varies dramatically between cities and countries which means loyalty to one particular brand can cost you a significant amount of money. We, therefore, suggest travellers use Rentalcars.com to find deals for the destination that they’re travelling to.
Rentalcars.com aggregates results across a number of car suppliers available in the area you are travelling to so you can quickly determine the best value deal.
Their easy-to-use website also allows you to quickly filter based on your booking preferences and the quote process allows you to easily see what is included in your booking. Click here to browse car hire availability on RentalCars.com.
iCarHireInsurance gives travellers peace of mind when renting a car abroad, at a fraction of the price of buying excess insurance directly from a car hire company. Click here to get a quote a from iCarHireInsurance
Did you find this iCarHireInsurance review useful? Have you taken out an excess insurance policy before? Let us know in the comments below!
Hi Michael, looks like icarhireinsurance do not cover for hiring cars in Georgia 🙂
Thanks for the article.
Hi Kit, depending on your country of residence you might not be able to buy a Single Trip cover for Georgia, however, driving in Georgia is covered under their Annual Worldwide plans.
Do hire companies all accept outside insurers I am looking orlando for June this year and all cars on rental cars .come seam o include insurance