Has anyone ever bought the excess insurance for excess charges when you rent a car in Europe? I've rented with Nova car in Scotland because they seemed to have the best prices and no extra charge for an additional driver. I bought the Collision Damage Waiver(CDW) & Theft Protection (TW) covering accidental damage
to and loss of the rented vehicle,but there is an Excess Liability with a £588 deductible. I got a pop ad from cars4hire.com offering to cover that excess liability for a year comverage of £49. Since we are also renting a car in Ireland the previous week I wondered if it would be worth doing. Has anyone used them and had to make a clain? How did it go. Thanks for and advice on this.
Marsha

I'll repeat what I've mentioned before here. We always bought the full and/or extended coverage when renting in Europe, usually through AutoEurope. Last year when renting from them for London pick up, the guy on the phone quesioned why I was "wasting" all that money on insurance and didn't my credit card cover it. I did a lot of calling, and found that yes, my Citibank Visa would provide full coverage right down to a zero deductible providing I decline CDW and all "alternative" insurance choices on the contract. So we did. As luck would have it we "totalled" the car in Wales. Since we remained in Europe for a couple of months beyond that the paperwork was a little extensive, but the bottom line was that the credit card coverage ended up paying everything, right down to the bill for towing and for storage of the wreck. And yes it was a zero deductible -- and it didn't cost us a penny for any insurance, it was automatic with my credit card. I suggest you call your credit card company and find out exactly what they will cover.

Patrick, interested in if your accicdent involved another vehicle. the last time I left it to my AMEX in the states and backed up into a parked car the AMEX paid for all damage to my rental, but they had my own insurance co. pay for the damage to the other car. I don't want to have that happen which is why I'm considering alternatives to leaving it up to my credit card. Thanks for the followup.

My understanding, perhaps incorrect, that with some credit cards your "primary" auto insurance will be billed first and then, and only then, will the CC "insurance" cover anything remaining.

One very important thing to remember is to check with your credit card and insurance company for every country you rent in. I know you're talking about the UK now. The reason I mention this is because Italy is different than other countries. AMEX and my inusrance don't cover in Italy because CDW is mandatory. That doesn't cover you with all of the other things. That's why AutoEurope covers everything else in their fee, but other companies don't and you have to buy the additional insurance. So it's important to check everytime with your insurance company and CC company.

Interesting question, although in my advance planning Visa made clear that coverage was for damage I caused to property or other vehicles as well as our own.
We did very little damage to the metal utility trailer being pulled by a Range Rover that we slammed into the back of in a roundabout. All it did was break the tail light on the trailer, while our Peugeot 206 was completely crumpled clear back to and including both the driver and passenger doors. The owners never submitted a bill despite our providing them with the insurance information (as well as their having the police report with the information as well).

Thanks so much for responding one and all. So it sounds like no one has used cars4hire. Hate to spend the extra £49 but hate to increase my insurance rate back home if the unexpected accident happens. I'm going to investigate if they'll cover both the Ireland and Scotland excess, sounds like they should since it's good for one year.