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Insurance & Excess | Security Deposit | Local Insurance | Claiming | Suppliers | 24/7 Support
Over the last week or so, tabloids have been full of undercover investigations into some of the car hire scams that a small number of car rental suppliers have been running. We understand how worrying this news can be, with your long-awaited summer holiday just around the corner and your own car hire due to start soon. We’d like to take a few moments of your time to reassure you…
Top tip: Know your insurance cover before you arrive and have the available limit on your credit card to cover the security deposit. Photo by: michaeljung/Adobe Stock
Insurance and excesses with Zest bookings
All bookings through Zest come with Collision Damage Waiver (CDW) and Theft Waiver (TW) as standard- this is included within your rental price. These waivers cover you against damage from a third-party collision or theft. Not only do we include these, but we also bolt-on either no insurance excess or Excess Reimbursement Insurance (ERI) as standard. This means in the event of a third-party collision or theft, there is no excess to pay, or your excess is reimbursed from the insurance policy.
As with any insurance policy, there are exclusions to this cover. Single-party damage to certain parts of the vehicle such as the wheels, glass parts, roof, mirrors, undercarriage etc are not covered. For example, a chipped windscreen or a punctured tyre. To cover these parts, we offer our additional top-up insurance. Unfortunately, this is not currently available to residents of certain countries due to the terms and conditions of the third party this is supplied through.
The security deposit
Regardless of what insurance you have in place, the supplier will require a security deposit to be authorised on a credit card in the name of the registered main driver. This is shown within the terms of hire when looking at available vehicle categories on our website and throughout the booking process.
The security deposit primarily offers the supplier a guarantee that you will look after their vehicle. If you stay in a hotel room, they may also require a security deposit. When renting a property, you will be asked to put down a security deposit. It’s not uncommon for people to require this financial guarantee to cover any potential damages.
Find out more about why you must have a credit card here.
Top tip: always check over the vehicle thoroughly, internally and externally, for pre-existing damage, taking adequate photos and videos of this. Ensure the damage is recorded on the rental agreement before signing and driving away. Photo by: Photographee eu/Adobe Stock
The hard sell of local insurance
If you are able to meet the terms of the hire (such as age range and licence requirements), then you do not need to accept any locally offered insurance product. If you have taken out our additional top-up insurance, or have an annual policy through an alternative provider, you can decline the local insurance.
If you are unsure upon collection, please do not hesitate to contact us immediately for advice and assistance.
Making a claim on the insurance
We detail how to make a claim on the insurance on your rental voucher. Our Customer Support Team are on-hand to assist you with any queries you have regarding this process or for any assistance.
Monitoring suppliers
The performance of all the car hire suppliers that we work with is closely monitored. We request feedback by sending out a survey to all our customers post-rental for them to rate the quality of the vehicle and service received from the supplier. The ratings they are given based on these reviews are shown on our website when obtaining a quote.
Should a supplier continually fall below our expectations, we would cease to stop working with them. Therefore, your feedback following a rental is vital. We can’t suggest improvements to a supplier if we’re not aware of any issues you’ve had.
Top tip: Be assured that Zest are available for 24/7 emergency support if necessary. Contact us at the time of any issues/queries so we can work towards a resolution for you. Photo by: Monkey Business/Adobe Stock
24/7 emergency support
If you’re collecting the car and you’re unsure about a charge on your rental agreement, call us immediately. Do not accept the local insurance if you don’t want it. If you feel pressured, call us immediately.
If you have an accident throughout your rental, get in touch with us immediately for advice.
Whatever queries or concerns you have, contact us at the time. It can be very difficult for us to resolve certain issues if we aren’t made aware of them at the time.
Other articles of interest:
Guide to car hire insurance
Complete guide to car hire
Written by Jessica Juby.
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