Do you buy the optional car rental insurance?

[allicat]

Do you buy the insuance? If so, what type? I notice there are all different types that can be bought and Im sure at the counter they will try and convince us to get it all!

 

[maraakl]

I never purchase car rental insurance. I checked with my insurance company and they told me I did not need it.

 

[poohkinandpiglet]

Me neither. We are covered under our auto policy and with the credit card we use to pay for it.

 

[Susiesnowflake]

Same with us. Our auto ins. policy covers rentals. Check yours out before purchasing anything from the rental co.

 

[Cruisin]

Check with your insurance company before you go. If they say that you are covered then make sure you stand firm with the rental car people.

They will try their hardest to sell you more insurance, telling you that your insurance does not cover this or that. They can be downright rude about it sometimes.

 

[inkkognito]

We don't buy the insurance either. Most of the companies at MCO aren't too bad about pushing it, but Alamo seems to be the worst and sometimes tries to trick you into it by asking, "Deluxe coverage, or just the basic?" Many people instinctively say, "Basic" instead of thinking to say "None!"
Barb

 

[allicat]

Well, I'll be dealing with Alamo so thanks for the heads up!

 

[magsmom]

I always decline anyway. Thanks for the info on Alamo. I haven't used them in about 18 months, but I will be using them for a business trip tomorrow and again for our vacation next week.

It depends on the state as far as coverage for your insurance is concerned. In MA, the person is covered, as opposed to the "car". Therefore the additional coverage that the car rental companies are asking you to buy is generally not needed.

 

[maraakl]

One way to avoid the "insurance push" with Alamo is to join Alamo.com.
You make a profile listing what you want, your preferences, etc.
When you sign in on Alamo.com and make a reservation, all you info is preprinted on your confirmation. You hand this confirmation to the agent and that should be it. They may try to hard sell, but, not as hard a sell as what you would get if you just made the reservation without signing in.
The advantage to this, other than the insurance, is all the information is there. Takes much less time.
They are now modifying this particular feature and I think it reopens on the 23rd of Aug. It is free to sign up.

 

[inkkognito]

We can't do that with Alamo because we always get them via Priceline...we never reserve directly. However, we did do that with Thrifty (we use them when we can't get something on Priceline). A couple of times Thrifty didn't push, but once a got an agent who got really nasty when I asked him to stop his spiel about the insurance because I was not interested. Right after that trip, I signed up for Blue Chip on their website, and they even sent a 10 percent off coupon for my next rental. But I haven't used them since then because I haven't had a problem getting Priceline lately.
Barb

 

[CarolA]

You may also be covered by your credit card. In most cases it is secondary to your home car insurance but.... I have a Diners Club and it provides primary coverage so that if I wreck a car they pay the bills and the claim never hits my home insurance.