Who pays for a hire car after an accident?
If someone else caused the crash, their insurer is generally liable for the cost of a replacement car while yours is being repaired, and you should not be paying for it. If you caused it, you get a hire car only if your own policy includes one, and many do not.
Not your fault
Losing the use of your car is part of the loss the at-fault driver caused. That makes a replacement vehicle recoverable from their insurer, in the same way the repair is.
In practice this is arranged for you rather than by you. The car is delivered, you use it while yours is off the road, and the cost is recovered from the other party's insurer directly. Done properly you never see an invoice.
You do not have to wait for the other insurer to admit liability before a replacement car is arranged.
Your fault, or fault not yet clear
Here it comes down to your own policy. Some comprehensive policies include a hire car after an at-fault accident, usually capped at a number of days or a daily rate. Many do not include one at all, and some offer it as a paid extra.
Check the policy wording for hire car or replacement vehicle before you assume. If it is not included, any replacement is at your own cost, and the daily rate should be agreed in writing before the car is delivered.
What like-for-like means
A replacement should be reasonably comparable to what you lost, not identical. A mid-size SUV would usually be replaced with a mid-size SUV, and a dual cab with a dual cab, because the point is to keep you doing what you were doing.
If you tow a trailer for work, or need seven seats, say so at the start. It is straightforward to arrange up front and awkward to change once a car has been delivered.
How long you keep it
For as long as your car is genuinely off the road as a result of the accident. That includes the time waiting on an assessment and on parts, not just the days the car is physically being worked on.
It is not indefinite. If your car is written off, entitlement generally runs until settlement is offered rather than until you have found a replacement.
Questions worth asking before you accept one
Whoever provides the car, get these answered before you take the keys.
- Who is being billed, and will I ever receive an invoice?
- What happens if the other insurer disputes liability?
- What is the daily rate, if one applies to me?
- What is the insurance excess on the hire car itself?
- Who collects it, and when?
Common questions
Do I have to pay for the hire car up front?
Not where the accident was not your fault and the other driver is identified. The cost is recovered from their insurer. If you are being asked for a credit card deposit, ask exactly what it would be charged for.
What if the other driver's insurer refuses to pay?
This is why how the crash happened matters. Where liability is genuinely disputed, the cost may fall back on you, so be straightforward at the start about what happened rather than after a car has been on hire for three weeks.
Can I get a hire car if my car is still driveable?
Usually only for the period it is actually off the road being repaired. If you can keep driving it safely until the workshop is ready, that is generally what is expected.
Is a hire car the same as a courtesy car?
Not always. A courtesy car is usually a small car a repairer lends free of charge, subject to availability. A hire car in a not-at-fault claim is a comparable replacement paid for by the at-fault insurer.