How much does it cost to hire a car? What you are charged for actually using the vehicle is generally only half the story.
The price you are quoted will invariably include a car hire insurance package to cover loss or damage to the vehicle and the third party risks of causing loss, damage, injury or death to other road users.
But the story doesn't stop there, because the inclusive package is likely to offer such minimum cover that you will want to buy additional "top up" insurance.
The three basic areas of cover usually included in the rental company's quoted price are: the basic level of third party cover usually required as a matter of law in the country where the vehicle is to be used; cover against the possible theft of the car, including the loss of or damage to parts of the vehicle in an attempted theft; and a collision damage waiver (sometimes also called a loss damage waiver) which indemnifies the hirer of the car against the cost of damage to the vehicle.
So far, so good, one might think, with what appears to be a comprehensive range of cover.
On closer examination, however, the level of cover could well remain insufficient for most drivers and underscores an imperative when hiring any vehicle - it is important to check exactly what is being covered by the waivers and insurance offered by the rental company and, if it remains inadequate, seriously consider buying additional cover from an independent, specialist car hire insurance provider (since this is invariably cheaper than buying optional "top ups" directly from the rental company).
The basic car hire insurance package could be inadequate in the following areas: the cover against third party claims, for example, is often capped at a level that would not adequately potential claims from third parties suffering injuries requiring extensive or prolonged and expensive medical treatment, let alone claims arising from their death.
To improve the level of cover and drive with greater peace of mind, it is worth considering the purchase of Supplemental Liability Cover (SLI) which usually offers full protection against claims of up to $1 million.
The basic Collision Damage Waiver is the source of considerable confusion (and potential disappointment in the event of a mishap) to many drivers of hire cars.
Most crucially, perhaps, it generally includes a quite hefty excess (in different parts of the world the excess can range from a few hundred pounds to over a thousand pounds).
Any sum excluded from the waiver as an excess, of course, remains the financial responsibility of the person hiring the vehicle in the event of damage to it.
Furthermore, a particularly annoying feature of most damage waiver agreements is that they specifically exclude cover against damage to certain (nevertheless vulnerable) areas of the vehicle.
These areas include the windows and glass, the wheels and tyres and the roof and underside of the vehicle.
Separate insurance cover for the damage waiver excess and for damage to those areas excluded from the basic car hire insurance package, therefore, is frequently an important consideration.