Certain insurers have a team of appointed repairers who will supply you with a courtesy car if one should be available. A small number of insurers have a hire car scheme written in to their policy whereby they will book a vehicle for you from their chosen hire car company. However, most insurance companies do not offer either of these options.

Many insurers offer a car hire extension to their comprehensive policies. The extension is far from cheap and the cover offered is fairly limited. You need to decide if you feel it essential that you purchase this particular add-on. It is far from an essential 'add on' for everybody. Answer these questions:

If my vehicle was off the road would it be possible for me to :

- get to work (by cycle, train, bus, walk)?

- get the children/grandchildren to school?

- go shopping

- go on holiday?

- follow my social interests, sports, hobbies etc?

If you could manage without a vehicle for a few days, you don't really need to purchase this extra cover. If you're sure that you can't then you should check that you have this cover.

Bear in mind, if your car is stolen or an accident is your fault, you won't be able to recover any car hire costs from a third party. You can't use a 'credit hire' firm. You can't rely upon the prospect of a courtesy car from the repair shop. So this extra cover becomes worthwhile for you.

Equally, if you do not want to use your insurance company's recommended repairer, or your car is a total loss, the hire car extra cover will come to the rescue. Let's take a look at what you can expect from an average policy.

You may only hire a car if yours is disabled for at least two days, but the maximum period of hire is 14 days. If the hire car is required for longer than this you will have to pay the hire firm yourself. There has been many a disagreement between car owner,insurer and repairer when repairs have overrun often down to non-availability of parts and no party wants to pay the extra hire car costs.

You cannot claim a hire car for a glass only or windscreen claim.

There is normally a delivery maximum so if you live out in the country and the hire firm is a fair distance away from you, be prepared for an extra charge if you arrange for them to deliver it to you. Is it possible for you to get to the local branch yourself?

Your existing car insurance policy will cover the hire car as if it were your own car. That helps the insurer to keep down the cost of the hire car cover but if you have an accident in it, the claim will be on your policy.

The car can only be hired from the date your car goes in to be repaired if the damage to your car is such that it is still legal and safe to drive. If your car is not roadworthy you can have the car from the day of the accident.

Policies might impose a maximum period of hire, such as 14 days. If your vehicle is restored prior to this date, you have to return the hire car as soon as your vehicle is returned.

The hire car supplied will almost certainly be a small, manual gearbox vehicle no more than a year or two old. If you need something a bit bigger you might have to pay extra. If you require an automatic efforts will be made to locate one for you within the price range specified in the policy. The hire car will normally come complete with a tank full of fuel. You must return it with a full tank of fuel. If you don't you will be charged by the hire firm for a fill up. And they charge a ridiculously high price per litre!

Some hire companies will ask for an imprint of your credit card, guarding against the chance of needing to fill up your car or bumping it whilst using it.