Car Insurance Policy Exclusion Clauses - Loss of Use

Here we examine the "loss of use" exclusion clause in your motor insurance document.It lays out what alternative transport your insurer will offer to you if your own car is inoperative because of accident or theft. In most cases the answer is in the negative !!

Certain insurers have a team of approved repairers who will offer you a courtesy car if one happens to be available. A small number of insurers have a hire car scheme as part of their policy whereby they will provide a car for you from their chosen hire car company. However, most insurance companies do not offer either of these options.

Most insurers offer a rental car extension to their comprehensive policies. The extension is expensive and the cover offered is fairly limited. You should decide if you feel it essential that you purchase this particular add-on. It is not an essential 'add on' for everybody. Ask yourself these questions:

If my car was off the road would it be possible for me to :
- get to work (by train, bus, cycle, walk)?
- get the children/grandchildren to school?
- go shopping
- go on holiday?
- pursue my hobbies, social interests, sports etc?

If you could manage without a car for a while, you do not need to purchase this additional cover. If you can't then you should pay the additional premiums.

Remember, if an accident is your fault or your car is stolen, you won't be able to claim any hire car costs from a third party. You can't use a 'credit hire' company. You can't rely upon the prospect of a replacement car from the repair shop. So this extra cover becomes worthwhile for you.

Equally, if you do not wish to use your insurance company's recommended repairer, or your car is a total loss, your hire car additional cover will save the day. Let us look at what you can hope to see in an average policy.

You can only hire a car if yours is off the road for more than two days, and the maximum hire period is 14 days. If you need it for more than this you will have to pay the additional cost to the car hire firm. There has been many an argument between car owner,insurer and repair shop when repairs have overrun often down to non-availability of parts and no party wants to pay the additional car rental costs.

You can't have a hire car for a glass only or windscreen claim.

There is normally a delivery maximum so if you live away from the major cities and the hire company is some distance away from you, be prepared for an additional charge if you arrange for them to deliver it to you. Is it possible for you to get to the local branch yourself?

Your existing motor insurance policy will cover the hire car as if it were your own car. That helps your insurer to keep down the cost of the hire car cover but if you are involved in an accident whilst using the rental car, the claim will be on your policy.

The car can only be hired from the date your car goes in for repair if the damage to your car is such that it is still legal and safe to drive. If your car is not safe to drive you can hire the car from the date of the accident.

Policies will very likely define a maximum hire period, such as 14 days. If your car is restored prior to that date, you have to return the hire car as soon as you have your car back.

The rental car supplied is likely to be a small, manual gearbox vehicle no more than a year or two old. If you need a larger model you will probably have to pay a supplement. If you need an automatic they will try to find one for you within the vehicle groups specified in the cover. The hire car will normally come supplied with a full tank of fuel. It must be returned with a full tank of fuel. If you don't you will be charged by the hire company for a fill up. And they charge a very high price per litre!

Some hire companies will ask for an imprint of your credit card, insuring against the possibility of having to top up the fuel in your car or bumping it whilst out and about.

Article Source: http://www.123article.org

This article detailing the loss of use exclusion clause of a motor insurance policy was written by Terry Cod. He has several years of experience working as a claims adjuster with a number of UK insurance companies. His website www.instant-online-insurance.co.uk offers Over 60 holiday insurance.

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