Hire Car Insurance!

[Frances999]

Hi

We have a SUV reserved with Dollar for our holiday this August. Do I need to take all of their insurance extras such as LDW etc? I read that they are very overpriced.....

If I don't have to, where can I get the insurances etc. from elsewhere? Our car insurance here doesn't cover USA rentals and I don't think my credit cards do either. Anybody got any tips on how to get the cheapest insurance rates?

Thanks!

 

[alisonbestford]

Try insurance4carhire.com.
We used them this year and it cost £103 for an annual policy for the US. It does say, on the home page, something about it not being suitable for flydrives.
I rang them and they said that it would be fine (ours wasn't technically a flydrive I guess).
Apparently other US car hire companies are more used to alternative ins policies but Dollar makes most of their money from selling them to you so , of course, they'd rather you took theirs
I was prepared for a hard sell at the airport but the guy just glanced at the policy note, smiled and said have a great time.
The only other thing I had to pay was about £60 in airport / state taxes and they took a $1500 credit card imprint for security. Apparently you can buy the extra bits from Dollar at the airport if you wish - saying that I think the only thing insurance4carhire doesn't cover is if you are in an accident with an uninsured motorist. Again, from what Virgin told me, this can be added on
There have been some postings that taking alternative insurance means you have to pay up front if you're in an accident - this, I was told over the phone, isn't so with this policy. You just claim when you come home. Fortunately I can't comment on this
Good luck.
Alison

 

[Peebee]

We've booked via insurance4carhire for our upcoming fly-drive and the covering letter with the policy states the following:

'Car rental companies which participate in fly-drive programmes do not readily accept this insurance as such programmes are generally structured so the company makes its money from add-ons such as insurance. For example, both Dollar and Alamo will withdraw or block US$ 1500 from your credit card when you do a fly-drive through them, using our insurance.'

Is sounds exactly the same as the other 3rd-party car insurance policies that we've used many times in the past such as AmEx and Natwest, so i've got no concerns.

Paul

 

[Frances999]

We've booked via insurance4carhire for our upcoming fly-drive and the covering letter with the policy states the following:

'Car rental companies which participate in fly-drive programmes do not readily accept this insurance as such programmes are generally structured so the company makes its money from add-ons such as insurance. For example, both Dollar and Alamo will withdraw or block US$ 1500 from your credit card when you do a fly-drive through them, using our insurance.'

Is sounds exactly the same as the other 3rd-party car insurance policies that we've used many times in the past such as AmEx and Natwest, so i've got no concerns.

Paul

Thanks. Insurance4CarHire looks great. I have not booked a fly-drive, we have booed flights directly with Virgin Atlantic, and the car directly with Dollar. Will I still need the $1500 credit card imprint?

Thanks!

 

[paulh]

when i checked out there sit it states that its not for flydrives we are using www.yescarhire.co.uk as they are cheapest a moment if you dont want to use them holidayautos will price match them as they did for inlaws when you get car hire with booking thats free the insurance is not free so thats what you have to pay for yourself
Paulh

 

[alisonbestford]

As I posted earlier it does have the note about fly drives but I rang both ins4carhire and Dollar and they both said ok.
I was given the option to cancel the ins if I so wished (the fly drive note wasn't on the site when I bought it )
I decided to go with my initial decision as I know many DIS members have used them and we had no problems at all.
If you've already booked your car with Dollar I'd seriously consider them - we saved £250 which is a lot of spending money
If you want to go and book the whole thing with another company I'd say you could probably make similar savings but, to be honest, I don't have a clue
Alison

 

[DisneyBB]

We use the Natwest one at £75 if you have their credit card or £99 if you don't. Use it three times now with no problem and no hassle at the airport.

 

[alisonbestford]

I believe that the ins4carhire one is actually the same as NatWest. (Am prepared to admit to being wrong on that one tho )
It's £99 with some sort of tax on top which takes it up to £103, or thereabouts.
I do have the NW credit card but got confused (not difficult sometimes ) as it said you had to have paid for your car with the card - which I hadn't
Alison

 

[Frances999]

We use the Natwest one at £75 if you have their credit card or £99 if you don't. Use it three times now with no problem and no hassle at the airport.

We have a NatWest airmiles credit card, which number do I need to call to enquire about this insurance?

Alison-
We have booked the car through dollar.com using a code and the rate is the lowest I have come across. However; it excludes all insurances, but I was told that they are "optional extras" which I can "choose" to purchase when collecting the car. Knowing how expensive they are, I wanted to know about where I could get these "optional extras" from elsewhere. Insurance4carhire seems good, but I would still like to know whether a $1500 imprint will be taken.....anybody know?

Thank you!

 

[alisonbestford]

Yes it will be taken. I used an old credit card that I no longer use. There was nothing taken off it - just held for security.
The link I had for Natwest is:
http://www.thedibb.co.uk/jpeg/nwback.jpg
It was given to me by someone else on the boards. If the link doesn't work I'm sure someone will be able to help out. The number to call is 01273 765340 - quote NWCRI.
Hope this helps.
Alison

 

[Frances999]

Yes it will be taken. I used an old credit card that I no longer use. There was nothing taken off it - just held for security.
The link I had for Natwest is:
http://www.thedibb.co.uk/jpeg/nwback.jpg
It was given to me by someone else on the boards. If the link doesn't work I'm sure someone will be able to help out. The number to call is 01273 765340 - quote NWCRI.
Hope this helps.
Alison

I just e-mailed Dollar support and this is what the reservation agent replied with -

------------------------------------------------------------
Thank you for your email:

Insurance is totally optional and is purchased at the counter at the time of rental. You may decline the insurance when you get to the counter. You will only need to have the amount of the rental plus 15% available on your credit card for the deposit. That comes to $xxx. You will not need to show proof. Let us know if we can help you with anything else. Thank you!

Please contact us if you need further assistance.
------------------------------------------------------------

So, I guess it looks like as long as you don't have a fly-drive and do book directly with Dollar then the $1500 imprint will not be taken.

Yay!

I will cal NatWest about the insurance tomorrow. Thanks for the link!

 

[alisonbestford]

Cool
I'd, personally, take a copy of that e-mail from support in case someone tries to tell you otherwise when you pick up the car.
Have a fantastic time.
Alison

 

[Frances999]

Cool
I'd, personally, take a copy of that e-mail from support in case someone tries to tell you otherwise when you pick up the car.
Have a fantastic time.
Alison

Good idea Alison, I will make sure I print it off. Thanks again for all your help.

 

[alisonbestford]

For the first time ever I copied just about everything when we went this time
It certainly made the case lighter when we were able to ditch it all before we flew home
Alison