Car insurance on a rental in Orlando?

[riu girl]

Have never rented a car before so please excuse my stupid questions:

Thanks to fellow DIS'ers have found a cheap rental in MCO for Dec. 18 - Dec. 31.
But insurance is not included.
Can you book the car on a certain Canadian credit card or something and they will provide you with complimentary insurance or something?

Can someone explain to me how I do this?

Thanks
Suzy

 

[Scratch42]

You will have to check with the CC Company themselves or find the paperwork and read thru it to see if you are covered.

Also check with your own insurance company, you may be covered.

Scratch

 

[MaryannF]

Some credit cards do give you insurance coverage if the card is used for the rental charges. Make sure you know for sure that you are covered.
If you are considering using your own insurance as coverage for a rental please consider the implications if you have a problem...
The accident would have to be reported to your insurance company and any claims would go through them. Do you want to have an accident from Florida in a rental car on your insurance record? It could follow you for a long time affecting your rates negatively.
That said, I was looking at renting a car for a couple of days while we are in Disneyworld. I always take the best insurance offered. I was stunned to see how much insurance rates for rentals have gone up since the last time I rented a car in Florida.

 

[Grumbo]

I have a Bank of Montreal Mosaik Mastercard.
For about $79 per year I get coverage of any rental of a rental car, cancellation insurance on my holiday, loss of/theft of luggage, etc.

I used it once already for prescription glasses I lost on one of our cruises. $330 paid no problem.
It is a great option and they also have an add on for health insurance if you require it.

Of course you must use that card to book and pay for these items for it to be in effect.

Cheers,
Grumbo

 

[MaryannF]

After giving this question some thought, as well as the fact that I am also looking into a car rental, I found a wealth of information on the mousesavers.com site. That includes buying insurance and which car rental companies in Orlando have the best records with regards to complaints and recommendations.

 

[spewey]

Insurance is a must, and, as said, can be pricey. I agree with the above poster that using your own policy has risks. The best option is, if you have one, paying for the rental with a credit card that picks up the cost. I mentioned on another thread that both Amex and VISA gold (and platinum) cards have offered this service. If you can, simply book the rental using the card, and when you pick up your vehicle decline the optional insurance, and let them know your credit card company will be taking care of that.

 

[hellooothere]

Not sure how your car insurance works on the east but we have a "roadstar package" through ICBC since we have never had an accident. It includes full coverage for car rental in USA. Check with your insurance company to see if they offer a similar type of product. It is available in BC to purchase for approx. $40 which is a lot cheaper than what you would pay from rental agency.

 

[riu girl]

It turns out we have coverage through our own car insurance company in Ontario. I know that this is risky since an accident will affect our rates in the future but will hope for the best.

We booked with Thrifty Dec 18 - Dec 31 using discount code AU02 and are paying a total of $241 US including fees and taxes. The discount code helped us tremendously.

Thanks a lot to everyone for your help with this. I have never rented a car before so this is all new to me (as is everything else about WDW/Orlando).

Suzy V.

 

[Xtreme]

Hi.

Been doing some research and found this:

Citi Sony Platinum

Includes car rental insurance and NO annual fee.

And of course "Sony Points".

 

[MaryannF]

Again, you really need to read the fine print. The Sony points credit card, if used to rent a car, gives you insurance up to the actual cash value of the car if it is damaged or stolen. It does not cover Supplemental liability insurance to cover liability claims for injury/death or property damage up to 1 million dollars (usual cost on average is $11.00/day) or Personal accident insurance that covers accidental death and medical expense benefits for the Renter and their passengers. It covers the Renter 24 hours a day, while in or out of the rental vehicle. PAI covers passengers while they enter, occupy, or exit the rental vehicle. Personal Effects Coverage (PEC) is included with PAI in most states. PEC covers loss or damage to most types of personal effects, such as luggage, cameras, skis, etc. PEC protects the personal effects of the Renter and those of their family members who live with them and are traveling with them, 24 hours per day, during the rental period. (usual cost on average is $5.00/day)
When I looked at the option of putting the rental on my husband's credit card I was surprised to see that we would have to pay any damages up front and then send a claim to the credit card company. If you have a insurance through the rental company then you only have to pay the deductibles.

 

[DCinNs]

I added car rental insurance to our policy for $25.00. When I read the fine print I noticed it was for a MAXIMUM of $30,000 CAD.!! Not many cars under that now. KIA ..here we come! Make sure you have a copy of your policy as thay may ask for proof of insurance.

 

[Xtreme]

Originally posted by MaryannF
Again, you really need to read the fine print. The Sony points credit card, if used to rent a car, gives you insurance up to the actual cash value of the car if it is damaged or stolen.

It does not cover Supplemental liability insurance to cover liability claims for injury/death or property damage up to 1 million dollars (usual cost on average is $11.00/day)

or Personal accident insurance that covers accidental death and medical expense benefits for the Renter and their passengers. It covers the Renter 24 hours a day, while in or out of the rental vehicle. PAI covers passengers while they enter, occupy, or exit the rental vehicle. Personal Effects Coverage (PEC) is included with PAI in most states. PEC covers loss or damage to most types of personal effects, such as luggage, cameras, skis, etc. PEC protects the personal effects of the Renter and those of their family members who live with them and are traveling with them, 24 hours per day, during the rental period. (usual cost on average is $5.00/day)

When I looked at the option of putting the rental on my husband's credit card I was surprised to see that we would have to pay any damages up front and then send a claim to the credit card company. If you have a insurance through the rental company then you only have to pay the deductibles.

You indeed must check your coverage, but most Auto policies include the feature of your liability coverage applying to rental cars.
The PAI coverage is usually redundant if you have some form of travel health insurance and the PEC portion would be the same as most Home policies, which include coverage for personal effects lost or stolen.


For a 2wk mid-size rental from Thrifty the price goes from a very reasonable $250.00.
Up to $855.00 with LDW($21 per day)/SLI($12 per day)/PAI($5 per day)
Or $516 with just the SLI and PAI.

Of course if you don't have these coverages you don't have much choice, but if you do... that's quite a significant fee for the convenience of not having to deal with your own insurance company.

 

[hellooothere]

I Agree - Seems silly to spend double the cost of rental when you already have the insurance!



RIUGIRL

Check your car rental rates because they are dropping constantly. I just rebooked mine with Dollar for Dec 6-14 and the total is $185. US.!! YEAH!



I CAN'T BELIEVE WE WILL BE IN FLORIDA IN 12 DAYS!!

 

[riu girl]

I am booked with Thrifty Dec 18-31 and the cost is 105US/wk (economy) inc. taxes and fees using code AU02. This is a very good rate, isn't it? Or should I shop around?

Suzy V.

 

[hellooothere]

Awesome Rate! You got me beat!!





I CAN'T BELIEVE WE WILL BE IN FLORIDA IN 12 DAYS!!!

 

[riu girl]

Yes, I thought the rate was very good when I booked it. The only thing is though I have to split my car rental ressie (Dec 18-23, Dec 23-31) . That was the only way I could make the code work. Which is fine, since we are leaving WDW on the 23rd and going to Daytona for 8 nights. So I can zip by Thrifty on the 23rd, hand in my first car and pick up a second. Weird kind of, but i don't mind since the rate is great.

Have a wonderful vacation. I'm glad we are NOT leaving in 12 days. I have so much to do first. I am so not even close to being prepared for this holiday.lol

Suzy V.

 

[louisaho]

Originally posted by Grumbo
I have a Bank of Montreal Mosaik Mastercard.
For about $79 per year I get coverage of any rental of a rental car, cancellation insurance on my holiday, loss of/theft of luggage, etc.

I used it once already for prescription glasses I lost on one of our cruises. $330 paid no problem.
It is a great option and they also have an add on for health insurance if you require it.

Of course you must use that card to book and pay for these items for it to be in effect.

Cheers,
Grumbo

Grumbo
can you tell me how can i enrol? what is the name of this type of insurance?

 

[Buzzfan]

I also checked out the BOM Mosaic Mastercard coverage before we went on our last trip. I thought it was a great deal.. it was about $25.00 and they covered a rental in the U.S. Great, I thought until I found out that it only covers you and not the other car that you may be involved in an accident with or any liability. Also L&M car rental required documentation from the CC company that we had insurance purchased and Mosaic said they had no documentation to provide me with. I didn't want to risk it and paid $40.00 to add the option on to my Ontario car insurance. I didn't think of the risks involved with that.

The person who informed me about the lack of CC coverage was at the car rental place not the CC company, so maybe they were just saying that to get us to purchase the insurance through them. I'm so naive!! Our car insurance company has always been good to us so I thought they were more trustworthy.

Grumbo..did you ask Mosaic Mastercard if it does indeed cover you in any event or the other party's vehicle in the case of an accident?