This article is about how to report damages, what happens if the car gets damaged, traffic damages.
Can the car be driven safely after the damage?
First of all, the renter needs to make sure that the car can be driven safely after the accident. If the damages are severe so that the car could suffer worse damages by driving on, ask the renter to contact our roadside assistance immediately.
If the damages are only cosmetical (scratches and dents to the outside of the car) it's okay to keep driving and report the damage at the checkout. We strongly advise the renter to notify you directly that a damage has occured. We ask them to take pictures of the damage as soon as possible and save them on their phone for future reference.
Reporting damages
Damages need to be reported through the app. After the rental period, the renter and you will add new damages by adding photos and a short description of what happened, in the last step of the checkout. When new damages are added at checkout, they will be sent to Allianz or If automatically. You will later be contacted by the insurance company on how the process works.
For damages in Germany or Sweden you as the owner will receive a link where you can send in a report with all the necessary information, contact our support if you need help with this process.
If you did not add the damage in the checkout please contact us as soon as possible through our contact form, as a reporting deadline applies. Claims reported late will be rejected in all cases.
Roadside assistance without vehicle damages
Did the renter use the roadside assistance but the car doesn't have any visible damages? Read this article about how to handle any outstanding payments or fuel for the booking, after a towing has been made. What happens if my car breaks down during the rental?
Damages involving multiple vehicles
If the accident included another vehicle, make sure to ask the renter to gather the name and drivers licence number of the counterpart, as well as the licence plate of the car and contact information to potential witnesses.
Depending on which country the rental was booked in there are different processes on how to report the damage and get the SnappCar repaired (if there were any damages to the rented car).
For Netherlands and Germany: You are required to fill in a European damage form. Read more here.
For Sweden: You as the owner need to report it to SnappCar in the check out and also your own insurance company for Traffic damages. This process might take longer since several insurance companies need to get involved.
What happens after the damage is reported?
From the moment that the damage has received a claim number the insurance company will be your first contact in terms of the damage process. If you have substantive questions about the claim handling we advise you to contact the insurance company directly. For other general questions about your booking our Support team can answer your questions.
Step 1: The damage is reported at check-out as mentioned above. The insurance company will reach out if they are missing information needed to proceed with the claim case.
Step 2: The renter and owner will be informed of the case number by the insurance company or by SnappCar via email. If you have any questions regarding your case after this point, use this number in your communication with the insurance company.
Step 3: The insurance company will inform the owner whether or not the damage will be covered by their insurance. If the damage will be covered, SnappCar will then inform the renter about the deductible for this booking, and deduct the costs. THe deductible is decided from different factors and one of them is the price of your car.
Step 4: If there are additional damages that are not covered by the insurance, this has to be settled between the renter and the owner in private.
What if my damage is not covered?
In cases where the damage is not covered by our insurance agreement, they will let you know by email either in Step 1 or 3 depending on how much information they have in the first place. Reasons as to why they don’t cover a damage are one of the following:
- This type of damage is not included in our insurance agreement. All insurance policies have limits, and in ours it is for example (but not only); mechanical failure, stolen or damaged interior. It might vary depending on which country you are renting in as well.
- The insurance company receives contradictory information and their experts cannot connect the damage to the event that occurred.
- The damage was reported too late.
- The car owner has broken the terms of the agreement.
Depending on the reason for the damage there are different solutions.
The root cause of the issue is considered a wear and tear damage. These are usually mechanical failures, issues with the engine, battery, clutch or similar. This is not caused by the renter and is therefore not covered by our insurance. If this happens the owner must pay for the repairs by him-/herself.
The damage was done by the renter or his/her passengers. Examples could be stains or tears on the seat or other part of the interior, stolen or damaged parts belonging to the car.
Since this is not covered by our insurance we are not responsible for helping the owner get his/her money back for this. For cases that are not covered by the insurance we will try as much as we can to help the owner get the money back from the renter but we can never guarantee that the owner will get it reimbursed. Make sure to take clear pictures of the damage to be able to show proof of damage.
Read the full terms and conditions here.