Travel insurance customers warned to pre-book car hire

You've booked your flights, accommodation and got your travel insurance documents all packed and ready to go. So what have you forgotten? Your hire car.

If you're used to just turning up at your destination and arranging car hire on the spot, you could find yourself without any wheels this year as there are reports that rental firms on the Continent are running out of vehicles.

Hit by the credit crunch, many local car hire companies ?which have traditionally offered lower rates than international companies like Avis and Hertz - have not been able to secure the funds to expand their fleets in line with demand, leaving them with too many customers for too few cars.

As a result, holidaymakers who don't pre-book are being charged up to 100% more than a year ago, with some paying up to £400 a week for a standard vehicle in popular Spanish resorts.

The problem is being compounded by the fact that the big names in car rental are deliberately reducing their fleet sizes in anticipation of a fall in demand.

As the number of the cars available goes down, rental prices are going up.

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