Is your van hire company laughing all the way to the Bank Holiday?
Hiring a van for the Jubilee weekend could put consumers out of pocket by up to £500 if the vehicle is damaged, even if it’s not the driver’s fault, as most rental companies do not allow customers to reduce their insurance excess to zero which is standard practice when hiring a car.
According to research by iCarhireinsurance.com, a leading supplier of van and car hire excess insurance protection, hiring a van for the Jubilee ‘DIY’ weekend could be a costly exercise for some.
“When 65%* of van hirers are driving a van for the first time,” said Ernesto Suarez, founder and CEO of iCarhireinsurance.com, “proper insurance cover to protect them against the first part of any claim, known as the excess, is absolutely essential. Even a small chip to a windscreen can cost hundreds to fix.”
Buying insurance direct from the van company to protect against the first part of any claim, known as the excess, can cost up to £13 a day, which might still only reduce the excess, leaving customers with a sizeable liability of between £250 and £500 still to pay out of their own pocket.
Specialist provider, iCarhireinsurance.com, sells daily van hire excess insurance from only £7.99 a day and reduces the excess liability to zero.
iCarhireinsurance.com looked at the costs of hiring a short wheel base transit from Birmingham from 2 June to 6 June, the Jubilee holiday period, and discovered the following:
- Hiring a van from Sixt: A consumer would need to pay an additional £7 per day hire, on top of the hire charge, to reduce the standard excess from £1000 to £500 making a grand total of £28 for the four day hire period and still leaving them vulnerable to a charge of £500 if the van is damaged.
- Hiring a van from Thrifty: Again the standard excess is a hefty £750, which can be reduced to £250 for an additional £13 a day. This is an extra cost to the hire charge of £112 and still does not reduce the excess to zero.
- Hiring a van from EuropCar – To reduce the excess from the standard £800 to zero costs an eye-watering £34.01 a day with the company’s ‘Risk Reduction Cover’. A customer taking this out would spend over £136 for the four day hire period.
“Driving a van is very different to driving a car therefore we urge DIY enthusiasts and anyone using a van to transport Jubilee celebration materials to check their excess liability if they don’t want to end up with a large bill they were not expecting,” said Ernesto Suarez, Founder and CEO.
* YouGov Plc survey. Total sample size was 2007 adults. Fieldwork was undertaken between 1 - 4 April 2011. The survey was carried out online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all GB adults (aged 18+).