Home Exchange and Swapping Cars
As I advise members all the time, offering to exchange the family car as part of the home exchange deal is one of the best incentives you can include. Car rentals are currently very expensive - on a recent trip to the UK my husband paid more to rent a car than he did for his flight across from Dallas. Also, in a weeks time we have family visiting so I’ve rented a 7-seater van to accommodate everyone. The cost for 7 days is $450.00 and that’s in the US. In Europe expect to pay significantly more!
With a little additional planning, vehicles can usually be exchanged very amicably. Never be afraid to stipulate restrictions such as no driver under the age of 25, not to exceed 1,000 miles (just an example here), and always stipulate that the car should not be driven outside of your home country.
Most insurance companies don’t object, once the situation is explained to them, because often the person you are dealing with has never heard of home exchange.
Be sure to make it absolutely clear that you require coverage for a guest or friend to drive your car, NOT someone who is renting your home.
Over the years I’ve heard of just a couple of instances where an insurance company has flat out refused to cover their clients home exchange partners. The most common occurrence is that they will charge an administration fee to add a name to the policy. Members have also run into difficulties if their home swap is for more than 30 days. As a rule of thumb, 30 days is usually the limit before insurance companies do wave a red flag.
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That is a good idea. Including the car is a great way to save alot of money on your vacation. I’m glad you also mentioned to not be afraid to stipulate restrictions. 25 years is the age where car insurance companies start charing lower premiums. Anything under 25 is way to high.
June 8th, 2007 at 5:41 am