Accident with rental car

[LeslieG]

My husband was just in a fender-bender this evening in a rental car. He didn't purchase their insurance because our insurance agent said we're covered under our auto policy.

I have a feeling this is going to get complicated. What should we expect with this? Anyone have any experience they could share?

 

[tmt martins]

Yes many years ago .

Call your Ins agent ASAP and then the rental company and give them your agents info and tell them to contact them.

This will be a pain but let the company you pay to take care of take care of it.Get details pics of the car if you can as well as the other involved if at all possible ( I understand this may not be).

 

[LeslieG]

I've been doing a little research on the web, and what I'm reading seems to indicate the big sticking point may come down to loss of use charges by the rental car agency, as regular auto policies don't cover it. I think my Visa should, but apparently rental companies don't like to provide their logs showing it could have been rented while it was being repaired, and Visa won't pay without it.

 

[bg4]

My quick research shows the following:

from http://www.ambest.com/guide/rental.html
-------------------------------
You May Need To Buy The CDW
You can safely decline the collision damage waiver if you're absolutely sure your auto insurance or credit card applies. However, buying the collision damage waiver could be the answer for some travelers. Here are the reasons why:

If you aren't covered under your own insurance or credit card then you may consider purchasing the collision damage waiver. It's a better option to pay about $8 to $11 a day than $15,000 to $20,000 to replace the rental car.

The collision damage waiver pays for "loss of use." This is what the rental car company charges you for the money and time it lost since the vehicle could not be rented. Most states do not cover loss of use under an auto insurance policy. The exceptions are: Alaska, Connecticut, Louisiana, Minnesota, North Dakota, New York, Rhode Island and Texas.

If you are involved in an accident, some rental car companies want payment upfront, meaning you'll have to wait to be reimbursed from your own insurance company. This is an expensive price to pay for some travelers, therefore some may just opt to pay the extra price for the collision damage waiver.

 

[Buzz's Buddy]

I just wanted to share what happened to my sister 5 years ago.

My sister and her husband were on vacation in Las Vegas on 9/11. Since they couldn't fly home back to NJ, they rented a car. If you remember, most car rental companies waived their fees for dropping cars off at different locations to enable people to get home.

On their way home, they hit an elk in Colorado, which did serious damage to the car. The state trooper at the accident scene told them that they were very lucky and that many people are killed in accidents with elk. Luckily for them, the elk did not come through the windshield, but instead went over the car, crushing the roof in the process.

The trooper drove them to a motel and they called the rental car company to report the accident. My brother-in-law said the person on the phone had a very belligerent attitude (because she thought they hadn't paid for the insurance), until he told her that they did pay for the insurance. Her demeanor changed immediately, she was very apologetic and told him that they would have someone bring a new car to them right away. They had a new car brought to them within 2 hours and they were back on their way home. If they didn't buy the insurance, the company would not have let them have another car until the insurance claim was paid and they would have been stranded there.

After their experience, they won't rent another car without paying for the insurance.

 

[manning]

The person had a belligerent attitude? I wouldn't rent from that company again!!!!

 

[bicker]

All companies have employees who at one time or another some customer will consider belligerent. Indeed, often it is the employee, but sometimes it could even by the customer causing the problem. It's hard to know, even going through it, because very few people can stand back and look at a situation objectively if they themselves are the one going through the situation.

OT: With regard to the a CDW.... I remember reading a thread in this forum recently that said that some of the rental car companies are excluding loss of use coverage in their CDW, if the damage is caused by a valet. Be forewarned.

 

[DVC-Don]

Most, if not all, CDW's have a bunch of exclusions in the small print. Such as if you violate any traffic law - the CDW does not apply. Handled a claim once for a client who purchased the CDW but got lost and made a illegal left turn, got wrecked and the rental company (Hertz) declined coverage due to the traffic violation even though he was not ticketed for it.

 

[seashoreCM]

You need to notify anyone who might be needed to help pay for the damage. This includes the credit card company if they offer a rental car collision benefit. This includes the other party's insurance company if you are able to get that information. You could send copies of anything you send to anyone to everyone possibly involved.

It is one thing to make a driving error and get sent out of your way.
It is another thing to get frustrated as a result.
It is yet another thing to make an illegal move to get back on track after all this.
It is still yet another thing to make a driving error and get sent out of your way and get frustrated and make an illegal move to get back on track and get into an accident as a result.

There is no excuse whatsoever for the fourth situation. You deserve to have the rental company decline to cover you even though you bought their expensive CDW coverage.

 

[CarolA]

I've been doing a little research on the web, and what I'm reading seems to indicate the big sticking point may come down to loss of use charges by the rental car agency, as regular auto policies don't cover it. I think my Visa should, but apparently rental companies don't like to provide their logs showing it could have been rented while it was being repaired, and Visa won't pay without it.

And all you have to do is get Visa to write them and tell them so. They will provide this if you DEMAND and PUSH. LOL! (I have wrecked a few rental cars and my company has never paid this idiot fee because the rental car companies can't or won't provide it!)

However, if you haven't already call both Visa and your Insurance Company. Find out NOW what they want to know and get it. Problems arise when folks wait to contact THIER insurance to defend thier case immediately.

Also, having been in a wrecked a rental car in the middle of nowhere (don't ask, I wasn't driving and I still have no idea how the driver got into this accident, there were only two cars within 10 miles....) Our rental car company came and dealt with us and gave us a new car. (And no we didn't buy thier insurance, the company self insured) I have no idea which car rental company the poster used who wanted to strand folks, but I wouldn't use them again...

 

[delilah]

We had an interesting experience once involving CDW, and as a result, we always pay for it whenever we rent a car. Specifically, we rented a car in Fort Myers at the airport in the evening. It was dark, and we didn't notice any problems at the time we rented. The next morning, when the car was parked at the hotel, I noticed that the one bumper skirt was asymetrical compared to the other. There was no paint, just a little shallow dent in the Foolishly, we did nothing about it. Then, about six weeks or so later, we got a letter from the rental agency asking about the "accident" we had.

We learned several lessons. One is that we carefully inspect any rental car and report any little ding in the paint at the time we pick the car off. We are picky to the point of being a major PITA. I surely don't want to be the one to pay for a $3000 paint job for something I didn't do. Secondly, my brother, who is an attorney, told me that there may actually have be a subsequent accident involving the car, and that we should just report that we didn't know of any accident or even make any mention of the dent that I had noticed. Finally, he told us that the rental agency would likely not have bothered to contact us at all if we had purchased the CDW. So, we always do. It is worth the peace of mind to us.

 

[disneyleslie]

My husband was in orlando this past spring for business for one day and rented a car and failed to take the insurance - he went into a meeting and came out to the parking lot and noticed someone had back into him - hit and run - fortunately, his company paid for it - I had called my insurance company and they said we were responsible for the deductible. Also, the rental co. sent a claim in the mail to us a couple of weeks later with the amount due and it was only 250 -- I was a bit surprised as I thought it would be much higher - Don just turned it into the company. Now, he always takes insurance on biz. trips.

Leslie

 

[Lewisc]

Sounds like $250 is your auto deductible and the rental agency will get the balance from your insurance.

Did you pay with a credit card that covers rental cars?

My husband was in orlando this past spring for business for one day and rented a car and failed to take the insurance - he went into a meeting and came out to the parking lot and noticed someone had back into him - hit and run - fortunately, his company paid for it - I had called my insurance company and they said we were responsible for the deductible. Also, the rental co. sent a claim in the mail to us a couple of weeks later with the amount due and it was only 250 -- I was a bit surprised as I thought it would be much higher - Don just turned it into the company. Now, he always takes insurance on biz. trips.

Leslie