(Beware - Sat nav, child seat, extra driver and excess waiver fees can quadruple cost!)
Winter sun seekers can snap up some bargain car hire rates during November, according to a study into the costs of five well-known car hire companies.
A medium-sized compact car in the hot spots of Cyprus, Tenerife or Faro, in Portugal, costs from £70 to £90 for a week's hire, but 'extras' at the rental desk could see the final price being over four times this.
iCarhireinsurance.com, a leading provider of stand-alone car hire excess insurance, compared the car hire costs from 7 - 14 November 2015 with the five rental companies of Sixt, Hertz, Avis, Budget and Europcar.
- In Tenerife, for instance, the car rental price averaged £71, but adding a child's car seat (at £39), an extra driver (at £40), a Sat Nav (at £54) and paying for the rental company's excess waiver insurance at £124, takes the total bill to £328 - over four times the original hire price, a 363% increase
- In Faro, the car rental price averaged out at £82, but adding a child's car seat (at £55), an extra driver (at £41), a Sat Nav (at £72) and paying for the rental company's excess waiver insurance at £114, takes the total bill to £364 - over four times the original hire price, a 341% increase
- In Larnaca, the car rental price averaged out at £91, but adding a child's car seat (at £26), an extra driver (at £18), a Sat Nav (at £47) and paying for the rental company's excess waiver insurance at £34, takes the total bill to £240 -almost three times the original hire price, a 165% increase
Travellers can avoid paying the high costs at the rental desk by bringing their own child's seat and sat nav; avoiding putting any extra drivers on the policy; and purchasing a car hire excess insurance policy from a specialist insurer, like iCarhireinsurance.com, before they travel.
iCarhireinsurance.com's comprehensive policies cost from £3.99 a day in Europe, £31.92 for the week or £45.99 for an annual policy - this is almost three times cheaper than buying this from the rental desk and it also covers vulnerable parts of the car, including the windscreen and tyres, which are frequently excluded from rental desk policies.
Without an excess policy, travellers are responsible for the first part of any insurance claim, even if the damage was not their fault including if the car is stolen. The average excess for the destinations in this study was almost £700 on average.
There are some great car hire deals for winter sun seekers, but do make sure that you've done your homework and can confidently turn down any 'extras' that are offered to you at the rental desk when you're picking your car up,
said Ernesto Suarez, CEO and founder of iCarhireinsurance.com. Hundreds of pounds can be saved with some careful planning.
The average costs to hire a medium sized, compact car from five rental companies (Sixt, Hertz, Avis, Budget and Europcar) from 7 - 14 November
| Destination | Car Rental Price | Child Car Seat | Excess Waiver insurance | Extra Driver | Sat Nav | Starting Excess Value | Total cost rental + extras | % Increase vs rental cost |
| Average | £81.30 | £40.12 | £90.64 | £33.17 | £57.53 | £682.76 | ||
| LARNACA | £90.62 | £26.10 | £34.40* | £18.00 | £47.46 | £520.64 | £239.70 | 165% |
| FARO | £82.46 | £55.11 | £113.51* | £41.18 | £71.50 | £931.82 | £363.75 | 341% |
| TENERIFE | £70.84 | £39.14 | £124.01* | £40.33 | £53.63 | £595.81 | £327.94 | 363% |
* Only two out of the five rental companies provided this cost on their websites.
Notes to Editors
Halo Insurance Services Ltd is a ground-breaking online insurance broker which was founded in 2009 by Ernesto Suarez, a leading insurance expert specialising in non-standard motor insurance. Its products include car hire insurance, van hire insurance and car club excess insurance all of which have been designed to offer more cover for a better price than the excess waivers offered at the rental desk.
Halo operates the retail brands iCarhireinsurance.com in the UK, Insuremyrentalcar.com in the USA, leihwagenversicherung.de in Germany, Aseguramicochedealquiler.es in Spain and Huurautoverzekering.com in the Netherlands. It also provides insurance solutions to a number of commercial partners involved who provide software and booking services to car hire operators.
Awards won:
- FINALIST – 2014 British Insurance Awards – Personal Lines Broker of the Year Award
- WINNER - 2013 British Insurance Awards – Insurance Start-Up Award
- FINALIST - 2012 British Insurance Awards – The E-Business Award
- WINNER - 2011 Insurance Times Awards – Broker Innovation of the Year
Halo Insurance Services Limited is registered in England number 6929208. Authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Register No. 504629 for the sale and administration of general insurance products in the United Kingdom and throughout the European Economic Area (EEA).
