liability, collision, and comprehensive insurance

The insurance is effective in the following countries: Andorra, Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Netherlands (Holland), Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom. For other countries, the client must obtain special permission from Avis Car-Away.

The customer is required to contact the rental company (see below) for authorization of any repairs estimated to cost over EUR100.

Important note: As far as we know, the typical coverage which most credit card contracts provide against collision-damage or comprehensive-damage to a rental vehicle paid for using such card does not apply to motorhome or campervan rentals.

You are welcome to transport your rented vehicle by ferry and/or the Channel Tunnel.

Any damage intentionally or negligently caused by a rental vehicle tenant (i.e. member of the rental party) or other welcomed occupant of the vehicle — especially as a consequence of said person's consumption of drugs or alcohol — is not covered under the terms of the insurance. The same exclusion shall hold for all damages caused to the roof (e.g. damages caused by tree branches) or damages caused by ignoring height-of-passage warning signs. Further, the renter shall be fully liable, despite the agreed limitation of liability, for all damage caused by the driver's or another tenant's failure to observe the vehicle dimensions (especially vehicle height and width), by improperly heavy or large loads in/on the vehicle (i.e. exceeding the engineered or legal capacity of the vehicle), by improper loading and unloading actions performed to load the vehicle, or by driving the vehicle backwards without being appropriately directed by someone outside the vehicle. Regarding the aforementioned "failure to observe vehicle dimensions" exclusion especially, please understand that damages to the sides, the front or the rear part of the vehicle are of course not generally excluded from the included insurance coverage. Rather, said exclusion pertains to the following situations, among others. In road construction areas on most highways in Europe the left lane is regularly limited to a vehicle width of 2 meters or less (indicated by signs). If the client ignores that limitation and uses said lane, he/she may be liable for the full damage of the rental vehicle; damage to other vehicles is covered by said third party insurance. Similarly, some road toll plazas (in Italy and France especially) have certain lanes for passenger cars only; there are signs indicating the maximum width; the the client is fully liable for damages if he/she ignores those signs. … In the case of a renter who has unlawfully left the scene of an accident or neglected his or her duties (as described below under "in the event of an accident"), he or she is also fully liable. The renter is also liable to an unlimited amount for any damage caused by an unauthorized driver operating the vehicle, for allowing the vehicle to participate in forbidden purposes, and for decidedly cruel or unusual driving practices.

The rental company will provide damage-repair invoices to the customer upon request.

breakdown and theft-of-vehicle coverage

The fleet of vehicles is modern, secured, and continually upgraded — no vehicle being more than two model years old, and 80 percent of the fleet being renewed each year. Thus breakdowns and thefts are kept to a minimum. Repairs necessitated by breakdowns or accidental damages to the motorhome are naturally at the expense of the vendor — subject of course, in the case of accidental damage, to the applicable insurance deductible/excess, and subject to vendor approval of any repair estimated to cost over EUR100. (The client should call the vendor to obtain such authorization.) The client may be held responsible for mechanical damage or theft of the motorhome resulting from negligent use of the motorhome or from failure to effect normal maintenance. Moreover the vendor is not, strictly speaking, obligated to secure the repair of the radio, air conditioning, refrigerator, propane gas units, and 12V appliances in general during a client's use of the motorhome; which is to say, the client accepts the risk that the motorhome's appliances may become and remain inoperable during the rental — although, naturally, in many cases such repairs are indeed effected with the assistance and, ultimately at least, with the funds of the vendor. Likewise the client accepts the risk that the motorhome itself may become and remain inoperable — due to breakdown or to theft of the vehicle — during the rental; and this is to say the vendor does not guarantee to pay for the towing of the motorhome, nor to replace a motorhome with another motorhome nor with a car nor minivan nor other vehicle nor tent — although in particular cases the vendor may nevertheless effect such solutions.

For an extra EUR8 per day (maximum EUR300) the client can purchase the vendor's special assistance package which guarantees in the event of breakdown or theft of the vehicle the cover of towing costs, lodging (up to EUR38 per person per night), and alternative transportation — i.e. motorhome rental, or automobile rental or rail tickets, depending the client's preference and depending upon availability. (If no motorhomes are available for rental — as is often the case in, say, July — the client who has purchased said special assistance package would choose relative to a set of alternative forms of transportation and accommodation.) This optional assistance package is strongly recommended by IdeaMerge and is effective in all the above-listed countries in which the default insurance is effective; but like the default assistance, it does not apply to the motorhome's radio, air conditioning, refrigerator, propane gas units, and 12V appliances in general.

authorized drivers

Regardless of who is driving the vehicle, the renter is liable for the operation of the vehicle.

The minimum age limit for renters and other drivers is only 20 years, and there is no maximum age limit. However, a driver must have held a valid drivers license for at least the year-long duration immediately previous to the pick-up date. Most domestic licenses suffice for operation of the vehicles presented on the Ideamerge Website. Where this statement is questionable, our online software will elaborate. Presently all the vehicles available for pick-up in France weigh less than 3500 kg and therefore all common automobile drivers licenses suffice for operation of these vehicles.

However, if your drivers license is not from a European country, the rental company requires you to have an international driving permit. See our resources page for a discussion of this permit.

forbidden use

The vehicle is to be handled in a careful and proper manner and must be properly locked. The relevant instructions for use, the technical specifications, as well as the maintenance periods must be observed. The renter is obliged to check regularly whether the vehicle is in a roadworthy condition.

in the event of an accident

The headquarters in Paris can be reached at the following numbers: tel. (+33) 01 47 49 80 40, fax 01 47 49 80 50. (Drop the country code and leading zero if calling from within France.)

In all cases of damage, the renter must immediately inform the said rental company headquarters in Paris by phone and submit a detailed written report, including a sketch of the accident situation(s). The accident report must include the license numbers of the vehicles involved, the names and addresses of the persons involved (including any witnesses), and it must be signed by both parties.

If the renter expects that the cost to repair the damage will exceed the relevant deductible, or if the vehicle is not fully roadworthy as a result of the accident, the renter must immediately inform the rental company of this (or these) fact(s).

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