The whole story for me started as a small side moment of my trip. I booked the car on QEEQ and picked it up in Rome at the NOLEGGIARE counter on around May 11 in the morning. They gave me a big nine seat Hyundai Staria with automatic gear. When I first sat in the driver seat I was pretty excited. The car felt new and high and I thought this drive in Italy would be very chill and easy. I drove north for the next days and around May 18 in the morning I returned the car near Milan. The drive itself was fine. The car was easy to handle and my friends and I felt relaxed. The real trouble only started when I later saw a big charge on my credit card for car damage. At that moment my mind went blank. When I handed back the car the staff at the rental counter checked the body and pointed out some scratches and damage. His face was very cold and he just said they needed to issue a final bill. I already felt nervous but I also kept telling myself that I had bought AXA Full Coverage so I should be protected. Still when money really left my card I was scared that everyone would just push the problem away. A few days later I saw a charge of more than three hundred euro. Then I heard there might be extra cost. My heart started to beat faster. I only had one damage invoice of about 350 euro. It was in Italian and not very clear. I opened my phone and tried to translate every line. The more I read the more stressed I felt. One night I was lying in bed thinking if the insurance did not pay then I would have to cover this big amount by myself. I could see myself again driving super carefully on the highway in my head. I could also see the cold face of the rental guy when I returned the car. It really made me feel bad. I contacted their customer support and sent a photo of the 350 euro invoice. I also explained that part of it was tax around 80 euro. During those days I was quite anxious. It felt like if the case kept dragging on it would just get more and more messy. A few times I thought everything was done already. Then I found out there was still some paper missing. I went through my email inbox and my phone gallery and even checked the trash folder to find any record. I was scared that I forgot one important page. Later when I talked to support again I understood that the insurance side needed a full and clear damage invoice of around 430 euro with all items listed. So I went back and asked the rental company for a complete invoice. Standing at the counter I felt a bit small. The person there looked busy and a bit annoyed. My English is just normal daily level so I could only speak in short simple sentences. I checked every line with him because I did not want to ask for the wrong thing. When I finally got the proper paper I felt so relieved. I stepped outside on the street and took many photos of the invoice from different angles because I was scared the picture would be blurry. Then I sent all of that to customer support and told them this was the full amount including tax. For the next days I kept my eyes on my email. Every time there was a new message I opened it right away. Later I learned that the insurance company was checking the claim and they had a question about the payout currency if it should be in euro or in INR. When I read that I got nervous again. I did not want any problem with exchange rate or some strange advance payment. I just wanted the refund in euro because it is clear and simple for me. So I said very clearly that I wanted euro. After a short while they told me that the insurance had approved the claim under AXA Full Coverage and the refund would be paid in euro. At that moment it felt like I finally got through a long tunnel. My mind jumped back to many small moments. The first day in Rome when I joked with my friends that having full coverage made me feel safe. The moment in Milan when I heard I had to pay a big amount and felt my stomach drop. The endless photos and emails after that and each tiny correction on the documents. When the support told me the money would go to the bank account I had filled in the form I felt the heavy stone in my chest drop away. Later I scrolled through my phone and found the very first picture of the damage invoice. It looked a bit funny to me and at the same time a bit scary. I kept thinking that if I did not buy AXA Full Coverage I might still be worrying about this bill now. For me this whole experience made the insurance feel like a real safety net. When the bad thing happened it was not just a few words in a contract. It turned into a real payment that pulled me out of a very stressful situation and let me enjoy my memories of the trip again.
"The money has been paid back." When I saw this message, I finally let out a long breath. I felt like a tight string in my head suddenly broke. I booked my car on QEEQ for my trip to Milan in Italy. I rented a Ford Focus automatic from NOLEGGIARE, four doors and five seats. I picked up the car on May 26 in the morning around nine, one day later than my original plan, and I returned it on May 29 around one in the afternoon in Milan. At first everything was fine. The trip was going pretty smooth. Near the end something bad happened. On the last day I was driving the car back to the return place. The streets in Milan are quite narrow. When I turned a corner, I did not control the car well. The right front wheel hit a stone block by the road. The wheel and the front bumper got clear scratches. My heart went cold at that moment. I thought I was going to lose a lot of money to the rental company. When I returned the car, the staff at the counter checked the car very carefully. He saw the damage and called me over to look at it. He took photos and wrote notes. My English is not very good. I could only understand that he would make a damage form and they might take money from my card. My hands were sweating. In my head there was only one thought. I am in trouble. Later he gave me a paper with some fees and damage details. I remember it said something about the tire and the car body. I signed it and walked away, feeling really heavy. At the same time I was also thinking that it was lucky I bought AXA Full Coverage when I made the booking. Without it the cost would be too hard for me to pay as a student. After I went back home, I soon saw the charge on my card. When I saw that money was taken, I felt nervous and sad. So I went to contact the customer service and asked about the claim. From my side I just felt they kept asking me for different documents because they needed them for the claim. I tried to prepare everything one by one. They needed the rental agreement, my passport, my bank details and the damage paper from the rental company. I was a bit stressed, because some files were not around me. I had to search my email and my photos. The good thing was that they explained clearly what I should give, so I just followed the list. At one point I thought I already sent all the files. After some days they told me there was still one thing missing. It was the damage invoice from the rental company. So I looked for the paper they gave me at the return, took a clearer photo and uploaded it. That period of time I felt a little annoyed, but I did not dare to delay. I was afraid the claim would be affected if I was slow. Then there was another problem. The insurance side asked to check my bank card. They said my card looked like a credit card and it would be better to use a debit card to get the claim money. So I had to整理 my bank information again. I changed the bank name, card number and branch address to the correct ones. I also filled everything in English, because I was worried they could not read Chinese. After I updated that, I kept watching the progress. Every time I saw a message that they had reported my case to the insurance or that they were checking my account, I felt a bit more relaxed. Those days I opened the messages almost every day to see if there was any new reply. When there was no update, I told myself that claims always take some time. One night I finally saw a message saying that the claim was confirmed. The English meaning was that they agreed to pay and they were going to settle it. I was really excited. I felt that all the effort was worth it. Later the money came into my debit card. I checked the bank record again and again. Only then I believed that the damage cost was really paid back. When I think about the whole thing, I am really glad that I bought AXA Full Coverage. At first I only thought it was just extra protection. I did not expect I would really need it. The process of sending documents and changing bank information was a bit tiring, but in the end my loss was covered. It did not become a heavy burden on me. After this, I understand more about why this kind of insurance matters, especially when renting a car in another country. The roads are new and the rules are not so familiar, so small damage can happen easily. With this insurance, I feel more safe in my mind. When something happens, I am not alone in front of the rental company. There is a whole claim system behind me to help handle it. Now when I remember that narrow street in Milan and how I did not dare to look into the staff's eyes when returning the car, I feel that the experience was scary, but it turned out okay in the end. At least the money came back and the story has a clear end for me.
I will say the main point first. If I did not buy AXA Full Coverage when I booked with QEEQ I would probably still be crying about that one thousand euro bill now. At the start I really thought I would need to pay around 1150 euros by myself and it felt pretty hopeless.
In the middle of April I rented a Ford Focus estate with Wheego in Malaga. I picked up the car around April 27 in the early afternoon and planned to return it in Malaga around May 6 in the afternoon. The car was manual and everything was fine at the beginning. I drove it and felt okay.
The problem came one day before I returned the car. I was driving in the city on a narrow street and turned a bit tight. The right side of the car hit a stone block. I heard the sound and my whole body went stiff. I got out of the car and saw clear scratches on the side of the car and some damage near the wheel. My first thought was that I was done and that I would lose a lot of money. I took many photos with my phone and in my head I kept thinking if AXA Full Coverage would pay for this or not.
On the return day I went to the Wheego counter in the afternoon and gave the keys back. The staff walked around the car to check it. I was very nervous. He saw the scratches and his face changed. He said he needed to record the damage and there would be a cost. I asked how much. He did not give me a clear number and only said it might be high.
Later the amount from the rental company was around 1150 euros. When I saw that number my head hurt. I started to count in my mind how many hours of work that would be for me. When I got back to where I was staying I contacted their customer service right away. I told them what happened and sent all the damage photos. They explained that I had bought AXA Full Coverage and told me not to panic. They would talk with the rental company and confirm the final cost and also need some documents.
I could feel they were talking with the rental company again and again because sometimes they updated me and said the rental company sent a file but the amount was not final yet. Those days were not easy for me. I had to wait for the final bill and I was also scared that something might go wrong. The only thing I could do was give them all the files I had and wait.
After some time the customer service told me that the rental company had confirmed the final damage cost. It was about 1150 euros and they also checked the currency and amount with me. I got nervous again because I thought maybe I still needed to pay first. Soon they told me that it could be claimed under AXA Full Coverage and asked me to confirm my details again. At that moment I felt a big stone fall from my heart.
For a young person like me more than one thousand euros is a really big cost. If I had to pay it by myself my whole budget for this trip would be broken and I would worry about it for a long time after I went home. With this cover it was very different. The claim went smoother than I expected. I could feel that they kept watching this case and they told me when there was progress. When I got the message that the claim was approved and paid I finally relaxed. I felt that the extra money I paid for AXA Full Coverage was totally worth it. It was not complicated either. I just needed to give the right files.
Now when I think about this story the worst part is not the scratch on the car. The worst part is when you do not know how much you must pay and what you should do. This cover made that fear much smaller and saved me from a very heavy bill.
I booked my car in Nagoya through QEEQ and at first I felt the extra insurance was just for peace of mind. I did not think I would really use it. The problem happened about two days before return around May 31 in the afternoon. I was driving a Toyota Aqua and I was backing up on a narrow street in Nagoya. The rear side hit something on the side. I heard a small sound and my heart dropped. My first thought was that I would need to pay a lot of money.
I got out and checked the car. There was a clear scratch on the back and some paint was gone. In Japan I knew this kind of thing would not be cheap. At the return counter the staff checked the car very carefully. They took photos and wrote notes. They told me the damage could be many tens of thousands of yen. I stood there while they checked and I kept doing the math in my head to Singapore dollars. My mood for the whole afternoon was very heavy.
After the return the rental company later confirmed the cost was around 80,000 yen. There was repair cost and also loss of use fee. I felt quite stressed because 80,000 yen is not a small amount for me as an overseas visitor. At that moment I really understood how important the AXA Full Coverage was. I kept all the papers from the rental company and then I contacted their customer service. I explained what happened and sent them the repair invoice and other documents.
In the next days I was still a bit worried. I kept thinking maybe they only pay part of it or maybe it will take very long. They also asked me again to confirm my bank account because I live in Singapore and the transfer was international. I was also afraid there might be some problem with the bank so I even gave another account. One morning I woke up and saw messages and email saying the claim amount of 80,000 yen was confirmed and sent. I opened my banking app and saw the money really arrived. In that moment I felt a big weight was gone.
When I think back now I feel that without this insurance my memory of Nagoya might become only bills and pressure. There was some anxiety in the process but the full 80,000 yen from the rental company was covered and paid back. For someone like me who had an accident for the first time in Japan this was a big relief.
Is it a little crazy that more than three hundred euros of car damage ended up coming back to my account without a cent missing? I booked my car with QEEQ and I added AXA Full Coverage. To be honest at first I only wanted some peace of mind. I even thought I might never use it.
I picked up the car in Malaga on May nineteenth in the afternoon. I arrived one day earlier than my original plan so I changed to around three pm on the nineteenth at the SIXT counter. It was a Volkswagen T cross automatic. For someone like me who flies around a lot for work it was easy to drive. I drove all the way to Madrid for business. Everything was fine until the day before I returned the car. On a narrow street in the city my sense of distance on the right side was not so good and the side of the car scraped a low stone block. My heart just dropped. I knew this would cost money.
On the return day I reached the Madrid drop off spot a little after seven in the morning a bit earlier than the planned eight o clock. The SIXT staff checked the car and pointed right at the scratch. He did his check with a small board and some notes. I started to feel nervous and I also needed to rush to a meeting. He told me the damage fee would be a bit over three hundred euros and that I had to pay it on the spot by card. In my head my first thought was this is why I bought the insurance and my second thought was wow three hundred euros really hurts. But they said I had to pay first so I paid.
On the way out I started to check how to claim with the insurance. To be honest when I read the emails in English at the beginning I could not really tell which part was about the account and which part was about the claim. I even thought the insurance company would pay the rental company directly and I did not need to pay first. So I felt pretty bad and a bit confused. Then I contacted customer service and told them my situation. They explained things more clearly. I learned that I should pay the damage to the rental company first and then use those papers to make a claim. The account stuff was not very important for me. I thought to myself I should not guess so much on my own and think I was being tricked.
After that I started to prepare all the documents. I sent the bill from the rental company the card charge record and the personal details they asked for. Since I am from the US they also needed my bank SWIFT code. I gave the wrong one the first time and only wrote the routing number we use in the US. Later they told me it was not correct so I went back to my bank to confirm it and sent the right one. The whole thing went back and forth a bit but still under control. I also felt it was a little annoying but it was mostly my own mistake.
A few days later I got an email saying the claim amount was 347.35 euros and it was fully approved. I almost did not believe it. I logged in to my online banking to check and saw the same amount already in my account. The exchange rate looked normal too. At that moment my mood went from this unlucky scratch to okay this was scary but fine. I felt a big relief and I was really glad I had paid extra for AXA Full Coverage. For a business traveler like me who is always on the move it is great that I do not have to fight with the rental company for a few hundred euros. It saved my time and my energy. This whole experience showed me that this kind of insurance is not only for mental comfort. It can really cover your loss in a real case.
"Your claim is approved." When I saw this line in my email I was still in Auckland and I suddenly remembered that unlucky tire from a few days before. I felt so relaxed at that moment. In my head I only had one thought. Good thing I bought AXA Full Coverage.
If I go back in time it was around the evening of May 25. I was driving the EZU Toyota Aqua back from Auckland city. The sky was a bit gray. The road side was wet and a little empty. The car suddenly shook. I pulled over and checked. The tire was really bad and flat. I kind of froze. I was in a foreign country and my English is not that good. I kept thinking that the rental company would charge me a lot.
I slowly changed to the spare tire by myself. My hands were dirty and the wind felt cold on my face. After I finished I felt tired and stressed. I searched for a tire shop on my phone and also opened my insurance details. When I saw that tire damage was covered under AXA Full Coverage I felt a lot calmer. I felt I was lucky I clicked that option when I booked.
Around noon on May 26 I went to a nearby tire shop. They changed a new tire for me. I paid with my card and they gave me a small receipt. When I walked out of the shop the sky became clear and the cars on the street looked bright in the sun. In my mind I was still not sure if this money would really come back. I was worried there might be some strange reason to refuse it.
After I went back I started to put all the proof together. I took photos of the receipt and checked my bank payment record. In the next days I kept talking with the customer service. They told me they still needed more documents. I felt a bit annoyed sometimes. It was like doing homework. But when I thought of that more than 170 NZD I kept going. For the repair invoice I even went back to the tire shop and asked them. They printed a proper invoice for me.
A few days later I got another email. It said the insurance was checking and asked me to confirm the amount. It was about one hundred and seventy plus NZD. I counted it and saw it almost covered all the tire cost. At that moment the bad feeling from the flat tire was kind of fixed in my heart.
When I finally saw the confirmation of payment I was still planning to return the car in Auckland around June 12. I thought that without AXA Full Coverage I might feel sad about that tire money for the whole trip. Now when I think of myself changing the tire by the road I still remember how messy it was but it also feels a bit funny. It became a real memory for me and it was the first time I clearly felt that extra insurance can really help in real life. QEEQ made that whole thing end in a good way for me.
