Waivers – what you need to know
CAR-RENTAL waivers
remain a mystery to
many travel agents.
The myriad options available
through different companies
can be overwhelming, making
it difficult to determine which
option is best for clients. Here,
companies share their tips on
how travel agents can best
navigate the options for their
clients.
Waivers aren’t insurance
It’s important for travel agents
to understand that car-hire
companies do not offer
insurance, they offer waivers,
says Melissa Storey, executive
head: Strategy, Development
and Marketing of First Car
Rental. “This is a significant
difference because many
renters are under the illusion
that they are purchasing
insurance that will cover them
for anything and everything,
including all wrong-doings.”
The main difference,
according to Melissa, is that
an insurance company might
offer car owners full cover
in the event of an accident,
whether they are at fault or
not, and pay for the full car
damage and that of third-party
vehicles. “Waivers do not.
They are legal, compulsory
agreements between the
rental company and renters,
and generally limit the claim
against a renter in the event
of loss of or damage to the
vehicle.”
Melissa warns that waivers
are not honoured by car-rental
companies in the case of
gross negligence, such as
driving under the influence of
alcohol, illegal substances,
and not adhering to traffic,
road and driving regulations.
“This means that the renter
could then be held liable
for the full cost of damage,
similar to an excess payment
required by insurance
companies.”
Client responsibility
Most rate options offered
by car-rental companies
include theft protection,
collision damage waivers
and personal accident
benefit or similar, with a
tiered renters’ responsibility
amount subject to the
option selected at time of
reservation.
“The agent really needs
to understand the level
of risk that their client
is prepared to accept
when renting a vehicle,
i.e. the liability they will
be responsible for in the
event of the vehicle being
involved in an accident or
being stolen,” says Lance
Smith, executive Sales of
Avis Rent a Car, Southern
Africa.
While the consumer
press often paints super
covers as a rip-off that
clients should avoid at all
costs, car-rental companies
say that a super cover
considerably diminishes the
client’s liability.
“All’s well with taking out
the lowest priced waiver
until something goes wrong
and the client is suddenly
faced with a massive bill
for repairs,” says Martin
Lydall, chief commercial
officer of Imperial Car
Rental Division.
Lance agrees: “We always
recommend that individuals
take our super waiver
product as it significantly
reduces their liability in
the event of an accident
from approximately 10%
of the value of the vehicle
to 2% of the value of the
vehicle.”
Lance cites an example
of the liability on an Avis
Group B vehicle (such as
a Ford Fiesta); a super
waiver would reduce the
client’s liability from
R21 000 to R4 500 for as
little as R80 per day.
“The super waiver is
best suited to the more
cost-conscious customer
who would rather manage
their costs and possible
costs throughout the rental
period, i.e. a slightly higher
daily charge but a much
more manageable liability
charge in the unfortunate
event that something
goes wrong,” agrees
Gaynor Von Loggenburg,
executive: Sales and
Marketing Bidvest Car
Rental. “We endeavour
to share all eventualities
with our customer to avoid
any unforeseen charges
after a traumatic event or
incident.”
“Renters should always
have cover,” says Melissa.
“If they are happy to
go with standard cover
at a much lower daily
rate and a high renter’s
responsibility amount
held on their credit card,
then that is their choice.
Alternatively, they could
opt for our super cover
and have a smaller driver’s
responsibility amount
held on their credit card,
irrespective of method of
payment.
Which extras?
Melissa says: “If the vehicle
is driven by someone other
than the renter, and that
person is involved in an
accident, the renter would
be fully responsible for
all damages incurred. Be
sure to book an additional
driver should you intend to
have multiple drivers, as
the car-rental company’s
risk increases with multiple
drivers, like insurance
companies applying a
surcharge to a policy for
cover on multiple drivers.”
For Martin, the tyre and
windscreen cover is a “no
brainer”. “Don’t forget that
a windscreen
can easily
cost up to
R7 000. That’s
an expensive
exercise,” he
says, adding
that often
clients don’t
realise that tyre
and windscreen
cover are not
included in
standard or
super waivers.
“The risk of a
windscreen being shattered
or a tyre or wheel being
damaged is extremely
high,” agrees
Gaynor, adding
that the tyre
and windscreen
cover provides
peace of mind.
Lance says it
is important that
travel agents
understand
customers’
requirements
with regard to
the distance
of their trip
to be able to
suggest the best option
from a kilometres travelled
perspective.
2017 – a boom year for the car-rental industry
DOMESTIC tourism rentals
in South Africa’s R5,2bn
car-rental sector continue
to grow, despite depressed
local sentiment, according
to the latest statistics
presented by Avis.
Lance Smith of Avis
says, despite negative
economic indicators,
locals continue to travel
domestically. “Growth in
the early part of 2017 is
already pointing to a level
of resilience and sound
performance from the
leisure market this year.”
Lance says Avis’s local
leisure rentals have seen
an impressive 12% growth
so far this year. “This
reaffirms that domestic
tourism is resilient in
the face of economic
uncertainty.” Car-rental
figures have grown in all
provinces of South Africa,
but the Eastern Cape saw
a phenomenal increase of
local leisure travel, with a
growth of 14%.
Martin Lydall of Imperial Car Rental
Division, agrees with these statistics
and says the overall car-rental market
has been very strong.
Although under pressure,
the leisure market keeps
growing. The corporate
and government markets
have been under serious
pressure as well but,
despite this, the market
remains strong.
First Car Rental has
also seen a strong
first half of 2017. Says
Melissa Storey: “We have
been very fortunate on
both leisure and corporate
fronts in terms of market
share growth – the only
negative at the moment
is the decline in average
rental days as corporates
tighten their belts and
curb travel spend.”
“We have grown in the
corporate and leisure
markets compared with
last year, with the biggest
growth in the corporate
market,” says Bidvest
Car Rental’s Gaynor Von
Loggenburg. She says
the leisure market remains consistent
throughout the year, with exceptional
growth in season.
The biggest challenge, says Gaynor,
is the price recovery on rates. She
says increases in prices for vehicles
from motor manufacturers have been
high over past 10 months and have
impacted bottom lines in the car-rental
industry.
For Lance, the main challenge of
2017 is the slowdown in the South
African economy and the impact
from both a business and individual
perspective and the concern that this
may slow even further.
Martin adds that car-sharing
models, such as Uber, have had an
impact to a certain degree, but says
the service levels of Uber have not
been consistent, with cars often not
being available and clients waiting for
hours at the airport. However, Martin
sees the car-rental industry working
positively with the car-sharing industry.
“They will focus more on short-term
business, while we focus on longerterm
rentals.”
Data on the go!
EUROPCAR has introduced
a new data solution for
renters – a mobi broadband
router with 1GB per day.
The router is a highspeed
packet access
mobile hotspot, through
which customers can
create their own
secure WiFi
hotspot and
simultaneously
connect up to 10
devices, be it laptops,
mobile phones or tablets.
The product is available
for R99 per day at major
airports, including OR
Tambo International, King
Shaka International, Cape
Town International, Port
Elizabeth and George
airports. The data
offering is
capped to
1GB per day.
A card with
the connection
password is issued
with each device.
SA car-rental prices – second cheapest in the world
SOUTH African car rental offers
some of the best value in the
world, according to a 2016
survey by Deutsche Bank.
The survey shows that
South African prices were,
in fact, rated the second
cheapest in the world, just
behind China in terms of a
like-for-like dollar-adjusted rateper-day
benchmark.
Lance Smith of Avis
says South Africa is also
shown to be one quarter of
the price of a comparable car
rental in New York. “Thanks to
exchange rate shifts, the dollar
price of SA car rentals has
halved in the past four years –
from $69,30 (R915) per day in
2012 to $35 (R462) in 2016.”
Lance says car-rental
providers have done their level
best to keep prices down in
order to offer the local market
the best deals possible.
“When one looks at the
rates international travellers
pay, South Africa is almost
unbeatable.
Premier Lounge access with First Car Rental
FIRST Car Rental and
airline partner, FlySafair,
now offer customers the
option to visit Premier
Lounges at any of the
major airports across
South Africa.
First Car Rental Platinum
Show&Go card holders
have free access to all
Premier Lounges for
two hours prior to the
departure of their flight.
For families travelling
together, children under
the age of two are
granted free access to the
lounges, while children
over two need their own
access voucher and will be
charged the full adult rate.
A new Premier Lounge
has just opened at
Lanseria International
Airport, offering visitors
an all-inclusive buffet
and bar. The facility
can accommodate 75
travellers and includes
an outside area for up
to 16 people. Facilities
include free WiFi, private
restrooms, charging
facilities and device
charging stations.
A unique feature of the
Lanseria Premier Lounge
is that it is situated
landside.”
Van rentals now bookable on GDS
AGENTS can now book Avis
Van Rental on the GDS.
“We are excited to
announce the integration of
the GDS, which combines
both the Galileo and
Amadeus platforms. Travel
agents are no longer
required to navigate out of
the GDS to the Avis website
or call centre which makes
the booking process more
streamlined, accessible and
convenient for travel agents.
This system has also enabled
us to open up more Avis
branches for bookings and
provide a wider fleet range
selection,” says Leon Fourie,
gm of Avis Van Rental.
In addition, agents with
van rental bookings will
be rewarded with extra
guaranteed Roses through
the ClubRed programme. All
rate codes earning five Roses
will now increase to 15 and
rate codes earning 20 Roses
will increase to 30 Roses.
Roses can be redeemed or
converted to eBucks. This
once-off incentive will run
until June 14.
