[openfly]

@AnthonyDunn I use the same company. I have made three claims in the last year….quick and no quibble, although they are a bit long-winded regarding the paperwork. Just renewed….same price with no loading due to the claims. Highly recommended.

[PeterCoultas]

openfly: must admit that I can’t see how these individual insurers make a profit out of these policies if people make multiple claims!
Not, of course the same with Amex as they charge quite high fees for the gold/platinum cards and there are many people with these cards that do not use the free car hire insurance. Interestingly was told (in the USA) some years back that the average cost of giving free car hire insurance as a perk was then costing Amex an average of less that $ 1 per cardholder

[handbag]

AnthonyDunn
Which insurance Co. do you use? Thanks

[MartynSinclair]

I am still a BIG fan and supporter of the Amex Platinum card at £450 pa.

Travel Insurance policy (probably the very best around and its a policy not a free benefits for up to 5 people, no need for the add on car insurance & a couple of Priority passes.

[SimonS1]

@handbag – says in his post – insurance4carhire.com

[LuganoPirate]

Openfly. ;-))

[TiredOldHack]

I take pictures of hire cars as well, before getting in them, and I’ve used those independent “full insurance” people as well – bargain.

I remember after a week’s ski trip, four envelopes plopped onto the mat, from Hertz, detailing four speed camera’s I’d tripped, and charging me 30 euros a pop for the admin fee of forwarding them.

Anticipating a huge credit card bill, I phoned Hertz in France, and they explained that no, automatically adding the speeding fines to your CC bill was a dastardly Anglo-Saxon habit that no civil liberties-loving Frenchman would ever countenance.

Their task was simply to pass my address onto the French authorities, and tell me that they’d done so, and whatever happened after then was down to the authorities.

I never heard a word.

[handbag]

SimonS1
Thank you. Sorry don’t know how I missed that. 🙂

[Charles-P]

I had Hertz in Italy send me a speeding fine with a $150 “admin fee” some eight months after I had rented from them. They were unable to charge the credit card I had used as it had expired. I put all the paperwork in an envelope and returned it saying,
“I have checked my records and was not driving the car at this time”

Never heard a thing since and that was about two years ago.

[K1ngston]

Being a big fan of the Amex Plat card in the UK I transferred my UK card to a SG card recently and the fee here is a whopping SGD 1,700 for the same annual use of!! It offers the same benefits as the UK card I am yet to understand what else I get for the annual fee!

As for my recent rental with Avis, I have just returned to Sg from UK whereby I had pre paid for a 5 day rental from Avis. I arrived into the UK from an overnight flight and immediately went to the Avis office by T5 and albeit busy I was given my keys and details and was told where the car was. When I got there I had been “downgraded” from what I had pre paid for and I went straight back to the office to complain…

The office was packed and I have to say the process per person was slow and laborious however the person eventually helped me realised the error and immediately sorted the right vehicle! Once this was done I had no problems with the car which only had 1400 miles on the clock it was well maintained and when i got back the other day they did their check and I had zero to pay on my receipt!!

Forgot however until yesterday I had travelled in the West End and had to pay for congestion charge after the fact!!

In conclusion, if I had not challenged they would have got away with a downgrade of vehicle but were quick to amend and no issues with Avis this time

[MartynSinclair]

K1ngston – did you have to change to a Singapore based card or could you have kept the UK card (and reduced fee)..?

With regards to the missed Congestion charge fee… I will let Boris know :))

Safe travels K1ngston…

[K1ngston]

MartynSinclair I had to change as all my expenses were in GBP and I am paid in SGD, it was proving difficult to reconcile, and as I am now permanently based here it is a good idea, just didn’t realise quite how much difference the fees are 🙂

Please send Boris my regards and tell him I paid as I was informed not too would have set me back over 60GBP and not the 11.50 I paid…

Thanks Martyn, was a flying visit or would have made contact look forward to seeing you here in Asia soon when I am sure you would have got over the last visit 🙂

[CathayLoyalist2]

K1ngston, I have been in Singapore for 15+ years and retained my UK Amex Plat card as well as getting a Singapore Plat Card. Be careful to check the insurance coverage/details because I believe you might find they are different . On example with the UK card is if Amex is not an option when booking car hire, travel etc then you are covered anyway whereas with Singapore Plat card you must pay with the Amex card. It will be worth checking this out, if I am wrong no harm done but if I am right it might save you unnecessary aggravation. They might both be Amex but they are different franchises plus the SMA (Singapore Monetary Authority) has different financial regulations here i.e. overdrafts illegal here.

[CathayLoyalist2]

K1ngston, I have been in Singapore for 15+ years and retained my UK Amex Plat card as well as getting a Singapore Plat Card. Be careful to check the insurance coverage/details because I believe you might find they are different . On example with the UK card is if Amex is not an option/not available when booking car hire, travel etc then you are still covered anyway, whereas with Singapore Plat card you must pay with the Amex card regardless. It will be worth checking this out, if I am wrong no harm done but if I am right it might save you unnecessary aggravation. They might both be Amex but they are different franchises plus the SMA (Singapore Monetary Authority) has different financial regulations here i.e. overdrafts illegal here.

[MartynSinclair]

@CathayLloyalist2

“the UK card is if Amex is not an option when booking car hire, travel etc then you are covered anyway”

I always back this up with an email to Insurance services/Amex, when the Amex card is not accepted and I need the travel cover….

[Author]

Posts