The picture on the left is taken from a key fob on a French car rental vehicle. The warning stating a two hundred € Euro cost is printed in French and English.

If you happen to lose those keys it can be rather expensive as unlike with your own car you can have several sets, with the rental car you only get the one.

In many cases (unless it is a very small one branch car hire company) the duplicate keys are not held by the local car hire depot, particularly as cars are often picked up at one location and are dropped off at another location in a different part of the country. Quite often a new set will have to be made.

On average it will cost GBP£250 or more for a replacement set.

One way of safeguarding this situation is to take out a car hire excess insurance policy. Companies like Insurance4carhire.com - Questor Insurance - Odyssey - iCarhireinsurance.com - Protectyourbubble incorporate CAR RENTAL KEY COVER into policies for costs incurred for a claim. Please check details with all advertisers on this site HERE

You must check with the individual insurance provider for their specific terms and conditions

CAR RENTAL KEY COVER in policies can cover costs incurred up to a maximum of £500 (or equivalent in local currency), for each and every claim, subject to a maximum of in any one year, for replacing a lost or stolen rental car key, including replacement locks and locksmith charges. Again, you should naturally contact the appropriate company for their terms and conditions.

You might have rented a car hundreds of times, however it is easy to lose those car keys and that could be a very expensive loss.