Car Insurance?

[June78]

Could anyone please help me with the answer to this question :

We have booked our holiday with car hire, but no insurance. We will be taking the car hire firm's insurance. What exactly do I need? Must I take CDW and LDW? I'm getting into a bit of a panic - don't want to be sold what's unnecessary!

thanks,
june

 

[rob@rar.org.uk]

There are two main policies, plus a few local taxes and surchrages. The main policies are Collision Damage Waiver (sometimes called Loss Damage Waiver) and Supplementary Liability Insurance. CDW covers you in case you damage your hire car. SLI is insurance in case someone else sues you (a frequent occurance in the US!) in the event that an accident is your fault. Although there is no law which forces you to take both these policies most people consider them to be essential.

In addition to CDW and SLI you will also have to pay a couple of minor taxes and surcharges levied by either the state of Florida or the airport itself. These normally come to about $8 per day. You will probably be offered an inclusive package which includes CDW, SLI and the local taxes for a set rate per day. You might also be offered a premium package which includes cover for additional drivers plus a tank of gas. If you are going to buy an inclusive package I think the 'standard' rather than premium is better value for money, although they are both far too expensive in my opinion.

At the risk of repeating myself, there are alternatives to buying CDW and SLI cover from the car hire company. American Express' Premium Annual Travel Insurance includes CDW and SLI cover for car hire in North America, and Natwest have a policy for their credit card holders which also offers this cover (you will need to have booked your car hire of flydrive with the Natwest credit card to be eligible to buy their policy). The subject of car insurance is often discussed here, so try using the search facility on this board to call up some of the recent threads.

Regards

Rob

 

[athurstance]

June,

You do not have to take CDW but if you don't you will have to leave a massive deposit (usually $1500 or more) in case you damage the car. CDW covers you for any damage that happens to the car you are driving. Without it you are liable up to the full retail cost of the car should it be in an accident even if it's not your fault. Definitely worth having.

SLI - this should cover you for up to $1 million at least. If you injure someone and they sue then you could end up with an enormous bill. You don't have to take this and of course we all hope not to have an accident or worse hurt someone but its a bit like medical insurance really if you don't have it the consequences can be just awful. It should also cover you against under-insured motorists which is a big problem in the US.

The various taxes, fees etc you don't have any choice about so they have to be paid.

Personally we always take the Virgin Platinum package - if you want more than 1 driver it is actually better value than the fully inclusive package.
You also are in a position where you will be wizzed through both check-in and check-out of your car at the airport because you are fully prepaid. Not everyone would agree that it is worthwhile of course but still better to be fully covered in my opinion.

Angela