Around ten rental cars have been significantly damaged due to the storm which has been raging across parts of Iceland over the last few days. The tourists who rented the cars are liable for the damage.
Archive photo: Páll Stefánsson/Iceland Review.
Gunnar Valur Sveinsson, project manager at the Icelandic Tourist Industry Association (SAF), told Fréttablaðið that he knows of one case where a tourist has to pay over ISK 1 million (USD 8,230, EUR 6,165) due to the damage caused to his rental car. Rental cars are not ensured against damage caused by bad weather.
According to Gunnar, some rental car companies offer additional coverage against damage caused by bad weather. He says that cases of travelers returning their cars damaged has increased greatly, particularly with the increase in the number of tourists to Iceland. Improvements need to be made to road signs, Gunnar stressed, and the provision of good information to tourists is essential.
Bergþór Karlsson, head of the Icelandic Tourist Industry Association’s rental car committee, said that he would like to see roads closed in the kind of conditions that have been prevailing across Iceland in recent days.
Damage to rental cars due to stormy weather can easily run into the ISK tens of millions, Fréttablaðið reports.
Fréttablaðið published a photo of one of the damaged cars, which had been ‘sandblasted’ during a sand storm, on its front page today.
Related:
16.09.2013 | Storm Wreaks Havoc across Iceland
ZR
