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Rental cars and insurance - cheaper options than CDW/LDW?



 
 
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  #1  
Old February 20th, 2004, 12:40 PM
Dominic Kelly
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Default Rental cars and insurance - cheaper options than CDW/LDW?

Some more rental car questions. Some of these are probably directed more at
the non-US residents than the Americans. In our upcoming trip to the US we
will have three different rentals, totalling about 9 weeks. The thing I am
trying to sort out is the insurance situation. That seems to work quite
differently in the US than it does here in Australia. In Oz you are
generally covered for damage to the car, loss of use etc apart from a
deductible of $250 or $500. Guess the insurance is built into the rate they
charge, rather than being shown separately. In the 'States it seems your
liability is for the full value of the vehicle plus the company's loss of
its use, unless you specifically purchase LDW etc at the time of rental.

I have read that the rental companies' rates for CDW/LDW are quite expensive
as they add a big profit margin. I checked whether my own car insurance here
will cover me for any damage or losses to rental cars in the US - it does
not. Nor does my AMEX card give me any insurance if used to pay for the
rental. I have travel insurance but it only covers the first $2000 of rental
car damages. For a fee, that can be increased to a maximum of $5000 - still
nowhere near adequate. Does anyone know whether there is any practical way
for a non-US resident to buy coverage for rental car losses while in the US
that is more cost-effective than simply paying the rental company's rates?

The other thing is public liability and property damage protection. The
rental companies say that they 'include coverage for the renter or
authorized driver up to the financial responsibility limits of the
applicable jurisdiction at no additional charge'. Presumably this covers
injury caused to people or damage to property other than the rental car
itself. What are these 'Financial Responsibility Limits'? It seems they
vary from state to state. Are they adequate or would a person be crazy not
to purchase Additional Liability Insurance in some form? AVIS' website
talks about various exceptions for Texas, California, NY etc. Do these
exceptions apply only if the vehicle is rented from those states, or does it
depend on the state where the accident occurs or maybe where the vehicle is
registered?

Sorry for all the questions - I've tried to investigate this myself as much
as possible but I am stuck on a few of these issues. Any advice would be
greatly appreciated!

Dom


  #2  
Old February 20th, 2004, 01:39 PM
Keith Willshaw
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Default Rental cars and insurance - cheaper options than CDW/LDW?


"Dominic Kelly" wrote in message
...
Some more rental car questions. Some of these are probably directed more

at
the non-US residents than the Americans. In our upcoming trip to the US

we
will have three different rentals, totalling about 9 weeks. The thing I am
trying to sort out is the insurance situation. That seems to work quite
differently in the US than it does here in Australia. In Oz you are
generally covered for damage to the car, loss of use etc apart from a
deductible of $250 or $500. Guess the insurance is built into the rate

they
charge, rather than being shown separately. In the 'States it seems your
liability is for the full value of the vehicle plus the company's loss of
its use, unless you specifically purchase LDW etc at the time of rental.

I have read that the rental companies' rates for CDW/LDW are quite

expensive
as they add a big profit margin. I checked whether my own car insurance

here
will cover me for any damage or losses to rental cars in the US - it does
not. Nor does my AMEX card give me any insurance if used to pay for the
rental. I have travel insurance but it only covers the first $2000 of

rental
car damages. For a fee, that can be increased to a maximum of $5000 -

still
nowhere near adequate. Does anyone know whether there is any practical

way
for a non-US resident to buy coverage for rental car losses while in the

US
that is more cost-effective than simply paying the rental company's rates?


Yes there are at least two options

1) Arrange your rental through an agency that provides its own cover
Trainfinders, Expedia and Holiday Autos all offer this as do some of the
major rental companies IF the rental is booked overseas. In other words
if you book your rental through Thrifty Australia you may find it covers
CDW/LDW

2) Some travel insurance policies offer full SLI/CDW on US car rentals
My policy from AMEX does


The other thing is public liability and property damage protection. The
rental companies say that they 'include coverage for the renter or
authorized driver up to the financial responsibility limits of the
applicable jurisdiction at no additional charge'. Presumably this covers
injury caused to people or damage to property other than the rental car
itself. What are these 'Financial Responsibility Limits'? It seems they
vary from state to state.


They do

Are they adequate or would a person be crazy not
to purchase Additional Liability Insurance in some form?


In general I'd advise getting the SLI


Keith


  #3  
Old February 20th, 2004, 02:24 PM
Keith Willshaw
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Default Rental cars and insurance - cheaper options than CDW/LDW?


"127.0.0.1" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 20 Feb 2004 11:40:39 GMT, "Dominic Kelly"




no, I think that you are trapped, If you ask the rental agency about
coverage for the states you'll be in they'll tell you what you need,
it's going to cost you, but you haven't much choice


Nope see my other post in this thread.

Keith


  #4  
Old February 20th, 2004, 03:06 PM
Mark Hewitt
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Default Rental cars and insurance - cheaper options than CDW/LDW?


"Dominic Kelly" wrote in message
...
Some more rental car questions. Some of these are probably directed more

at
the non-US residents than the Americans. In our upcoming trip to the US

we
will have three different rentals, totalling about 9 weeks. The thing I am
trying to sort out is the insurance situation. That seems to work quite
differently in the US than it does here in Australia. In Oz you are
generally covered for damage to the car, loss of use etc apart from a
deductible of $250 or $500. Guess the insurance is built into the rate

they
charge, rather than being shown separately. In the 'States it seems your
liability is for the full value of the vehicle plus the company's loss of
its use, unless you specifically purchase LDW etc at the time of rental.


That's right. Mostly because most Americans seem to have hire car insurance
built into their credit cards (why this is I do not know but seems to be the
way of things).

Fortunately some hire companies do seem to realise this. e.g. Holiday Autos
will provide you with their own full cover for hire companies they deal
with, as will other brokers. If you book directly with some companies e.g.
Alamo and select that you are a resident (of the UK in my case) then it will
automatically include insurance for you, sometimes at no extra cost.



  #5  
Old February 20th, 2004, 04:42 PM
Mark Brader
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Default Rental cars and insurance - cheaper options than CDW/LDW?

Mark Hewitt:
... Americans seem to have hire car insurance built into their credit
cards (why this is I do not know ...).


Simple. It was invented as a marketing device for premium credit cards,
which became so popular that other card issuers copied it (also in Canada,
where the same conditions exist).
--
Mark Brader, Toronto | "I asked you for a *good* reason,
| not a *terrific* one!" --Maxwell Smart (Agent 86)
  #6  
Old February 20th, 2004, 07:34 PM
Frank F. Matthews
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Default Rental cars and insurance - cheaper options than CDW/LDW?

Mark Hewitt wrote:

"Dominic Kelly" wrote in message
...

Some more rental car questions. Some of these are probably directed more at
the non-US residents than the Americans. In our upcoming trip to the US we
will have three different rentals, totalling about 9 weeks. The thing I am
trying to sort out is the insurance situation. That seems to work quite
differently in the US than it does here in Australia. In Oz you are
generally covered for damage to the car, loss of use etc apart from a
deductible of $250 or $500. Guess the insurance is built into the rate they
charge, rather than being shown separately. In the 'States it seems your
liability is for the full value of the vehicle plus the company's loss of
its use, unless you specifically purchase LDW etc at the time of rental.


That's right. Mostly because most Americans seem to have hire car insurance
built into their credit cards (why this is I do not know but seems to be the
way of things).


Actually as most US residents discover to their horror this is rarely so
today. For US rentals by US card holders the coverage is subsidiary to
your personal auto coverage. Oops their go your rates.

Fortunately some hire companies do seem to realise this. e.g. Holiday Autos
will provide you with their own full cover for hire companies they deal
with, as will other brokers. If you book directly with some companies e.g.
Alamo and select that you are a resident (of the UK in my case) then it will
automatically include insurance for you, sometimes at no extra cost.


You can also find inclusive rates from some consolidators. Search a lot.

You might find it possible to get coverage included with your travel
health policy Dominic. I remember a policy from several years ago with
Travelers Advantage that included about $25,000 or $30,000 for damage to
the vehicle. That should do for a small car. FFM

  #7  
Old February 20th, 2004, 09:23 PM
souls canuck
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Default Rental cars and insurance - cheaper options than CDW/LDW?


a lot of times when I have gotten a rental in the states I was asked
about 3rd party liability.. found out later I would have been covered
with my own insurance from back home.. however, it did add about 10
bucks a day to the insurance..

good luck


--
Posted via http://britishexpats.com
  #8  
Old February 22nd, 2004, 07:57 AM
Dominic Kelly
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Default Rental cars and insurance - cheaper options than CDW/LDW?

Thanks to all who responded - some good advice and much appreciated!

Dom


  #9  
Old February 25th, 2004, 05:28 PM
Brian Wasson
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Default Rental cars and insurance - cheaper options than CDW/LDW?

Most US credit cards (including AMEX) offer secondary liability
coverage, meaning, if you have auto insurance on your personal
vehicle, that pays up first. If you do not have personal auto
insurance (you don't own a car or whatever), then it is primary. The
only card I've found that offers PRIMARY rental car coverage,
worldwide, is Diner's Club. This means that a claim does not go
through your personal auto insurance. Although Diner's Club is around
$100 a year, and not widely accepted, if you rent cars even a few days
a year it will pay for itself (all rental agencies accept it). Plus,
you can get points towards miles when using it. I've had mine for
about a year and have been very happy with it (for comparison, I also
have an AMEX and a Platinum Visa that offer secondary rental
coverage).

A side note on auto rentals in the USA, especially in the west: make
certain that you know what areas you are allowed to drive your rental
vehicle to. Some of the smaller francise-operated rental agencies in
the west limit their vehicles to the immediate state (like, only
California), even though they are rented with "unlimited miles."
Taking it outside the state could result in very high per-mileage
charge.

Brian W.
Philadelphia, Pa./USA
 




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