Avis car rental - 3rd party liability insurance

[Manxman in exile]

My wife and I are looking at renting a car for a week in the Isle of Man.  One of the firms we are considering is Avis.

 

Looking through both their General Conditions and their Location Specific Conditions we are both a bit concerned about the third party liability cover they offer.

 

Their T&Cs appear to say that, while they will provide the minimum third party liability cover demanded by the law, they may pursue the hirer to recover their losses if the third party injury arose from an accident caused by the hirer’s negligence or recklessness.

 

Can anybody tell me if this is a standard condition for car rental 3^rd party cover?  It’s years since we’ve hired a car and neither of us are particularly keen on the prospect of driving a car around the Isle of Man knowing that, although any victims of our inadvertent negligence will be covered by our insurers, our insurers may be entitled to recover those losses from us. 

Surely one of the points of 3^rd party cover is to protect the insured from the potential financial consequences of their own negligence?  We could understand the stance taken by Avis if it only covered third party losses caused by deliberate acts or gross recklessness of the hirer, but not negligence.

 

(I can’t copy or link to their T&Cs for some reason but the relevant bits are “Section 10), Damage, Loss or Theft”, top of page 12 “Without Additional Cover” in the Avis General Conditions of Rental EN;  and “Are there any times when 3^rd party liability cover would not apply”, top of un-numbered page 6 in the Location Specific Conditions UK.)

Edited October 10, 2022 by Manxman in exile

[unclebulgaria67]

Yes, the negligence and recklessness exclusion does appear to be a feature of hire car Insurances.

 

Don't think it is to deny normal claims for accidents that might occur on a public highway, if the person driving is in compliance with all relevant laws. 

 

Recklessness means the person knew (or should have known) that his or her action were likely to cause harm.  I guess that this is trying to deal with claim events, where the driver of the car is doing something, they probably would not have done in their own vehicle.  They are taking risks in a hire car, putting in danger third parties. e.g.   Driving on beaches with sand dunes where it is known there may be members of the public walking. Drink driving would be another, endangering passenger and other third parties. Driving at high speeds beyond the speed limit to test top speed of the hire car.

 

Negligence means that the person acted in violation of a duty to someone else, with the breach of that duty causing harm to someone else.  This is carelessness or incompetence.  This is more arguably an issue, as people on a holiday may not act in the same way as in normal life.  For example, they may try to drive wearing a pair of flip flops that were not suitable to be driving while wearing.  But some people may arguably drive their own car in the same careless way during the summer months while at home. 

 

Have a look at other car hire policies, but I think you will find similar exclusions.

 

 

[Manxman in exile]

Thanks @unclebulgaria67

 

Issue resolved I think.  I've gone to a local rental firm and am happier with their T&Cs.

 

They're actually the agents for Avis and explained to me that even with an Avis rental the applicable T&Cs are their's, not Avis's.  I should have realised that in the first place.

 

Thanks again