My sister is coming from the UK and wants to rent a car here. She tells me she's having a hard time getting liability insurance on the rental car because she has no car in the UK. My insurance agent in BC says they can only insure BC residents, not UK ones.

Does anyone know how to solve this problem.

Hello Heather49,

I wonder if your sister has tried the following companies:

http://www.kasbah.com/

http://www.yes-canada.com/

http://www.uk-carhire-company.co.uk/

http://www.wheelsabroad.com/

http://www.auto-europe.co.uk (Believe it or not, although their name is Auto EUROPE, they arrange car rentals in Canada too.)

http://www.carhiredirect.co.uk/

If your sister rents through one of the above mentioned companies, she'll take delivery of the car from one of the mainstream, multi-national car rental companies here in Canada. However, she'll present a voucher that has been issued by the UK-based booking company.

If she does go that route, however, she should make absolutely sure that she knows what she's getting and that the terms and conditions are stipulated in writing. That is, insurance arrangements should be specified, and one-way drop off fees, if any, also should be specified.

A company that operates on the same basis as the above mentioned companies, but about which I have heard negative reports, is Cheap Car Rental:

http://www.cheapcarrental.com/

If all else fails, your sister could ask the same question in the Lifestyle & Culture - Canada section of the British Expats forum at:

http://britishexpats.com/forum/

Hope that helps.

I am confused by the original post.

The implication is that if I were to get up and fly to BC and then rent a car at, say, Vancouver, that I couldn't get liability insurance on the rental car for not being a BC resident????

That sounds completely absurd and erroneous.

It sounds like sis is trying to get liability insurance from a UK insurance company to COVER the vehicle rental in BC, and that she can't do that.

Instead of doing that, of course she should accept the liability coverage offered by the car rental company upon arrival. In such case it doesn't matter whether you have a car, as long as you have a license to drive one.

Most any rental car company of decent reputation offers "Supplemental Liability Coverage" for the drivers of said rental cars. at a cost of from $10 to $17 per day of the rental.

Please clarify the confusing parts for us.

Thanks, Judy. She'll check out your suggestions.

I'm confused by this problem myself. She travels constantly for business and is not prone to misunderstanding this type of transaction. Clearly people from out of the province/country rent all the time. She seems to be caught in some sort of loop hole.

I'll post a clarification when I get it.

Thanks Judy, one of the companies you mentioned helped solve my sister's problem.

Apparently the problem arose because she rented directly from the Canadian company as a Canadian citizen. The company offered her collision insurance but not liability and for a Canadian resident typically household insurance covers it. However, her UK household insurance does not cover it.

Anyway problem solved and she enjoyed a worry free trip.