35,000€/£31,400 Limit Rental Car Retail Price

Product and Features
#1

The rental car coverage exclusions include “-- rental vehicles with a retail purchase price exceeding €35,000 (or local currency equivalent);” (currently 35k€ = £31,400)

Today I’ve had a rental car delivered to my house. I booked a ford focus automatic (or similar). The rental car company have delivered a Mercedes A class AMG Premium. Clearly not so similar in terms of vehicle cost but I couldn’t refuse it as they’ve delivered it to my home and completed their end of the service.

  1. Does anyone know if the ‘retail price’ means the manufactures recommended selling/list price for a brand new car or does it mean the actual retail value for a second hand car of the same make/model/miles. It’s not definited anywhere but clearly if it is the manufactures new list price this will have a huge impact as they are always over inflated vs the cost of a similar second hand model.

  2. I know it’s been mentioned previously but can Curve not get rid of this low limit. I selected the 4th cheapest car on the rental company’s list and it would appear I’ve exceeded it. I’m not suggesting they cover supercars but a lot of mid size brand cars will exceed the current limit.

  3. This situation is a prime example of why this limit renders the Curve policy worthless. I now can’t buy 3rd party excess cover as no insurer will provide cover because the rental has already started!

  4. I did try calling AXA today to ask the question in point 1 but as it’s the weekend they’re now closed so I thought I’d turn to this forum to see if anyone has asked it before?

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#2

That’s why I’m always using my AMEX Platinum for rentals as it covers up to €65k which is enough to rent a Mercedes E-Class from Sixt for example.

The retail price of the actual car matters IMHO, so call the rental company and ask them about the retail price for the car they delivered.

#3

Agree that it’s the rental companies view of the value that matters.

Unfortunately as you’ve now accepted delivery of the car it’s too late for you to get separate cover suitable for a high-end vehicle.

Drive carefully :slight_smile:

#4

Undoubtedly Amex has a high coverage but it’s considerably more expensive per year (over £500) and for me personally I can’t justify it. Plus I’ve never liked that for the Amex travel insurance to be valid you need to pay for the trip via the card.

It’s a shame Curve can’t increase the cover limit to something more sensible like £40/50k. I did call the hire car company (europcar) today but both their branch and central reservations telephone line basically they said they don’t have any information on the retail value of their cars which doesn’t help.

#5

Agree the need to pay on the card is quite annoying (esp for anything in non-GBP currencies!). However some elements (such as medical cover, car rental cover) don’t require this.

#6

I phoned AxA today. They told me that for the purposes of the rental car coverage the “Retail Value” would be the cost of purchasing the exact same car as the one you are hiring. Specifically it would effectively be the replacement value of the same make/model of car purchased second hand with the same miles, colour and spec etc. This is obviously better than using the massively over inflated manufactures recommended list price for a new vehicle.

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#7

The daftest thing about this price limit is that as I understand it the AXA cover is just for the insurance excess isn’t it? What can it matter what the price of the car is, when it’s the rental company that covers the replacement if the car is totalled.
Doubling the limit or removing it completely should not result in any increased costs to AXA.
In the meantime it’s certainly putting me off getting Black. I’m sticking with my trusty Insurance4carhire policy. 40 quid for a year.

#8

Agreed it appears daft and the cover is only for the excess but even the Amex Platinum card which has massive yearly fees apparently comes with a 65k limit. I’m assuming the insurance companies must be reluctant to cover expensive cars or view them as a higher risk for accidents/claims. I think a limit of between 40-50k would be much less restrictive though.

To be fair to curve I’ve just read the conditions of the Revolut metal ‘hire car excess cover’. Revolut’s cover is absolutely garbage with an endless list of exclusions and small print hidden in the policy document. It basically covers nothing and their definition of “damage” extends only to the tyres or windscreen. Any other form of damage e.g. dents, paintwork damage or an accident is excluded. Makes me appreciate the cover Curves has that bit more!

#9

It’s not that daft - higher value cars may be more likely to be involved in accidents (especially when driven by drivers unfamiliar with the car, ie renters) hence a greater risk of paying out (a higher excess…).

So it’s just another risk variable, even if the amount is capped by the policy.

Also I imagine rental companies are a little less relaxed about minor scuffs and scrapes on their higher end cars, again increasing the chance of excess insurance being claimed.

#10

Sorry to reopen this thread. AxA told me via telephone that the ‘retail value’ referred to would be the second hand purchase price for an identical replacement. I decided to email them to get this confirmed in writing. After several weeks the reply completely contradicts the initial position. Their new position is that the ‘retail price’ for the 35,000€ limit refers to the manufactures list price for a brand new car. The exact reply was:

" What it mean in regards to the non-coverage of - rental vehicles with a retail purchase price exceeding €35,000 (or local currency equivalent); Is that even though you do not rent a brand new car we will consider the car manufacturers recommended selling price of the same make and model".

So next time you rent be aware of exceeding this limit and remember it’s the inflated manufactures list price not the real/actual price of the car that is used for the limit.

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