Frequently Asked Questions

Car hire excess is the amount you will pay towards any repair costs should you damage your rental vehicle or the excess your car rental company charges should the vehicle be stolen or written off. The excess charged varies between rental companies, however it can be up to £2000.

No - this care hire excess policy will reimburse the excess should you be charged this.

CDW is the rental company agreeing to waive the costs any damage you cause to the rental vehicle. However this 'Waiver' doesn't mean you do not have to pay anything. Typically you have to pay the excess. Furthermore, there are a number of items which are not covered by the CDW such as tyres, windscreens and undercarriage. Our policy will cover these items.

LDW means the car rental agreement covers CDW and also covers the cost of replacing the car if it is stolen or written off due to an accident, fire or vandalism. The Excess payable following the theft of a vehicle are normally the same if not higher than the excess applied on the CDW.
When renting a vehicle the rental company will often refer to Collision Damage Waiver (CDW) and Loss Damage Waiver (LDW).

Our policy will not provide cover for CDW/LDW and you do need to purchase the CDW/LDW from your rental company or a specialist provider of CDW/LDW. If you are hiring a car in Europe CDW/LDW insurance is normally included as standard by the rental company, but you will need to check this with the rental company. All you need to worry about is protecting against the excess on the CDW/LDW cover which is what our car hire excess policy provides.

If your rental car is damaged, written off or stolen, your rental company will charge you an excess which will be taken from your credit card. Your LowerHire car hire excess insurance policy will then reimburse you the amount of the excess that you have paid, subject to the cover limits of the policy.

Yes, in most cases the rental company will require a credit card to pre-authorise the damage deposit/Excess amount. Be aware, if you do not have a credit card some rental companies insist that you pay for their excess protection to bring it down the excess down to £nil even if you have a LowerHire policy. You will need to check this with your rental company before travelling.

Our policy is provided by Allianz Worldwide Partners (AWP) who are part of the Allianz Group, one of the world's largest insurers and leading financial services companies.

Yes, currently we only cover residents of the UK.

At present we only provide cover for cars. This policy will not provide cover for the rental of a motor home, trailer, caravan, van, truck, non-passenger carrying vehicle, vehicle that carries more than 9 people including the driver, motorcycle, moped, motorbike or off-road vehicle.

No. You must purchase your LowerHire car hire excess policy before you have signed the rental agreement.

You must be aged between 21 and 74 inclusive at the date your policy is issued to be eligible for cover.

A single policy is designed for a single trip involving a 'one off' car rental which can be for a maximum of up to 62 continuous days cover.
An annual policy will cover you for 12 months for an unlimited number of car rental agreements. However, please note each trip must last no longer than 31 continuous days.

The quickest and easiest way to make a claim, is to visit the website www.allianz-protection.com. This will lead you to our online claims notification service where you can fill in a claim form online. You can also get a claim form by Phoning: 020 8239 3925 or Emailing: lowerhireclaims@allianz-assistance.co.uk.

Writing to: Allianz Assistance Claims Department, PO Box 7807, Bilston WV1 9QS.

You should fill in the form and send it to us as soon as possible with all the information and documents we ask for. It is essential that you provide us with as much detail as possible to enable us to handle your claim quickly. Please keep photocopies of all information you send us.

You will need to obtain some information about your claim while you are away. Below is a list of the documents we will need in order to deal with your claim.

For all claims

• Your original policy schedule, rental agreement and booking/travel documents showing the dates and times of travel.

• Original receipts and accounts for all expenses you have to pay.

• Original bills or invoices you are asked to pay.

• Details of any other insurance you may have that may cover the same loss.

• As much evidence as possible to support your claim.

• A copy of the driving licence of the person driving the insured vehicle at the time of the accident.

Excess / Deposit reimbursement

• Detailed account of the circumstances surrounding the event, including photographs and video evidence (if this applies).

• Full details of any witnesses, providing written statements where available.

• Detailed account of the circumstances that led to the accident / damage to the insured vehicle, including where appropriate a written police report.

Personal possessions and Rental car key cover

• Report the theft, damage or loss to the police within 24 hours of discovery and ask them for a written police report.

• If appropriate, you should also report the theft, damage or loss to your courier or hotel / apartment manager and ask for a written report.

• Original receipts, vouchers or other suitable evidence of purchase / ownership / value for lost, stolen or damaged personal possessions.

• Keep any damaged items as we may need to inspect them. If we make a payment, or we replace an item, the item will then belong to us.

• Obtain an estimate for repair for all damaged items.

We aim to provide you with a first class policy and service. However, there may be times when you feel we have not done so. If this is the case, please tell us about it so that we can do our best to solve the problem. If you make a complaint your legal rights will not be affected.

• For complaints relating to the sale of the policy:

In the first instance write to:
Customer Service Manager, Campbell Irvine Limited, 52 Earls Court Road, London W8 6EJ
Telephone: 02045 994003
Email: info@campbellirvine.com

• For complaints relating to a claim or the administration of the policy:

In the first instance please write to:
Customer Service, Allianz Global Assistance, 102 George Street, Croydon, CR9 6HD
Telephone: 020 8603 9853
Email: customersupport@allianz-assistance.co.uk

Please supply us with your name, address, policy number and claim number where applicable and enclose copies of relevant correspondence as this will help us to deal with your complaint, in the shortest possible time.

If you are not satisfied with our final response you can refer the matter to the UK Financial Ombudsman Service for independent arbitration.

Visit www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk or write to:
Financial Ombudsman Service, Exchange Tower, London E14 9SR
Telephone: 0800 023 4567 or 0300 123 9 123
Email: complaint.info@financial-ombudsman.org.uk