Is the additional $90 insurance necessary at Alamo?

[jade1]

Got talked into $90 insurance last month on our Alamo rental. Claimed since the hurricane if the car goes out of commission for any reason they can bill me daily rental indefinatley (at long as it takes to repair) and insurance does not cover that. Is that true or even if it is do most folks risk it?

 

[JELBoggio]

We never get the insurance - we are covered if we pay using our American Express card. It's one of AMEX's perks, I believe. If you have an AMEX, it's worth a call to their customer service. DH deals with this - I'm sorry that I don't know all the details.

 

[seashoreCM]

Depending on your circumstances you may decide that spending the extra $90. is desirable but it is not necessary at Alamo.

Yes you can be held liable for continueijg to pay rental while the car is in the repair shop, and most insurance people have on their own cars do not cover that and some rental coverages offered by credit card companies d onot cover that. Yet most people don't buy the rental company coverage anyway and chance it.

Yes you can try to make the rental company prove that alll the other cars in the fleet were out on the road before charging you for the "loss of use" but this gets complicated.

Disney hints:
http://members.aol.com/ajaynejr/disney.htm

 

[JuneChickie]

I don't understand the question ? But it sounds like something I need to know,,
are you saying if a hurricane causes the car to go out of commision , we would be
responsible for number of days to get it fixed ??

 

[kitty44]

If you read the small print on the disclosure that comes with the Disney Visa card, it states that it will pay 'loss of use' charges when you use the Disney Visa card to pay for your rental. I never buy the coverage offered through the car rental company. In some states, if you buy coverage from the rental company it supercedes the coverage that you you carry on your owned vehicles, which in most cases is better coverage. So you could pay extra for reduced coverage. If you have auto insurance on vehicles that you own, call them and find out what they cover for a rental vehicle. Then read the fine print for the charge card that you will use to rent a car. Between the two you will probably have better coverage that what the rental company offers.

 

[jade1]

I don't understand the question ? But it sounds like something I need to know,,
are you saying if a hurricane causes the car to go out of commision , we would be
responsible for number of days to get it fixed ??

Well what he said was during the hurricane over 78% (or some predetermined number by law) of the cars went out of commission so the rental companies had it changed to "any percentage of cars" and you have to pay. It basically meant that if they had enough cars to rent you where OK, now they made it you are liable no matter what.

Remember-thats what he told me-I am far from an expert and am looking into credit card coverage to be safe as mentioned above.

 

[CarolA]

It's called Loss of use and they can only bill it if ALL of the rental cars in your class are rented. (My corporation got billed for it once we asked for the rental records and "opps" it went away)

This line about you being billed because "other rental cars" went out of commision strikes me as a line of you know what. Since you weren't even there during hurricane season somehow the chances of 90% of their cars going out of commission were slim and none and slim left town.

Here's my suggestion. If a hurricane comes to town return the car and let it be thier problem. If you have insurance via your CC or home car policy (I have both) then don't worry about it otherwise.

 

[SuzanneSLO]

I just got a notice from American Express that loss of use is now covered when I charge a car rental to my card. It was previsouly excluded. Check the card you use for rental and see if it is included in your coverage. Good luck -- Suzanne

 

[jade1]

I've been had!

Just spoke with Worldperks Visa (I used for the rental) and indeed they cover "reasonable loss of use" so I should just decline next time. Sounds like any Visa related card has this but everyone should check for sure. Could use that $90, live and learn.

 

[we3disneygo]

hey thanks for the info. ! you might have saved someone else 90.00

 

[pppiglet]

Thanks to the OP for posting the original question!

 

[manning]

Rental companies are getting nasty about that. Hertz just added that you are responsible for act of god damages. The only way to avoid it is to move to California and Wisconsin. They have laws that prevent it.