In a first for the car rental industry, Europcar has launched a unique new customer service initiative for renters who become involved in an accident. Designed to provide drivers with one point of contact in the event of an accident, First Call is a 24/7 number available free of charge to all rental customers covered by Europcar’s insurance.  It provides a single freephone number to call in the event of an accident, making the reporting process as easy as possible. 

“Whilst fortunately very few of our customers are involved in accidents, if you are unlucky enough to have a collision it’s stressful enough, without having to worry about who to inform and what to tell the third party involved. These are questions that usually arise when a rental car is involved in an accident” confirmed Catriona Lougher, Consumer Marketing Director for Europcar.  “That’s why we have introduced First Call to reduce unnecessary stress for both our customer and any third party involved in an accident, simplifying what could previously have been a complicated process.”

 First Call provides a single 24/7 freephone number to use in the event of an accident.  Once a driver contacts First Call, insurance experts can start the claims process.  Crucially, First Call is also available for the third party involved.  Included in the pack provided to renters when they pick up their car is a business card with the First Call number. This number can then be passed on to any third party involved in the accident.

The rental industry is unique in that it has to rely on the renter to report an accident.  This can have a significant impact on the renter’s experience, with recent research of customers who were involved in an accident in a rental vehicle, revealing that many wait until the end of the rental period to report minor accidents. The primary reason cited for this delay was the driver felt there wasn’t a simple process to contact their rental company in the event of an accident. 

First Call simplifies the whole process for the hirer, making it easy for them to pass on the number to any involved third party irrespective of who is at fault.  And the team of insurance experts taking the calls have the experience and systems in place to be able to distinguish claims that will follow a fast track process from those that might require further investigation.

“First Call is the latest innovation from Europcar” confirmed Catriona Lougher.  “It demonstrates our leadership of the rental market, both in meeting the demands of customers and reducing costs to the industry as a whole.

“Third party claims management companies continue to plague the industry, resulting in high costs and slowing down the whole claims process. By creating First Call we can maintain control, ensuring our customers benefit from a fast, efficient service when they need it most.”

Notes to Editors

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Owned by the French private equity firm Eurazeo, Europcar is the European leader in passenger car and light utility vehicle rentals. Since March 2007 with the acquisition of Vanguard EMEA (National & Alamo brands), its network comprises over 5,300 rental outlets in 160 countries. Europcar serves business and leisure customers throughout Europe, Africa, the Middle East, Latin America and the Asia-Pacific region. Excluding franchise operations, in 2007 Europcar signed more than 10 million rental contracts, with 7,700 employees and a fleet exceeding 215,000 vehicles. For more information: www.europcar.com