Rental Car insurance question..HELP!

[karters*mom]

So we rented a car at an amazing rate ($9 day) through Hetrz. I booked through my TD Gold card and have insurance through that..BUT apparently now I was just told...5 days before we leave that we need to call our insurance company and get liability insurance or something?????

Anyone one know what they are talking about???

 

[dancin Disney style]

The insurance from your visa will only cover physical damage to the car. Visa does not cover liability. Most often the insurance you have on your car at home will cover that. You just need to have the policy to prove it...should something happen. If your policy does not cover you on a rental they can add it on for just a few dollars. Adding it on your exsisting policy is far less money than paying at the rental counter.

Call your insurance company it is very easy to find out if you are already covered or to add the extra insurance.

 

[Newcastle]

Just to add to dancin Disney style's comment...any time we need to rent a car, our insurance company will print up a standard form letter indicating that we do indeed have the required coverage and we just show it at the rental counter when we go to pick up the vehicle.

 

[dancin Disney style]

Just to add to dancin Disney style's comment...any time we need to rent a car, our insurance company will print up a standard form letter indicating that we do indeed have the required coverage and we just show it at the rental counter when we go to pick up the vehicle.

I tried that once and they wouldn't give me anything because they said it was in the policy documents. They did tell me what page it was on and exactly what to look for. I just copied the pages that I needed and also my pink card to have with me. I was never even asked at the rental counter. They tried to sell me their insurance and I explained that I was covered, and how, then they dropped it.

 

[tgropp]

]t costs me $40.00 a year for a rider on my insurance that will cover me while I have a rental car in Florida. I also pay the rental car with my CC that also has coverage just in case it is a small accident, then I do not have to report it to my insurance company, just let the CC company look after it. No need to report it to your insurance company and have your rates rise. Many years ago a rental company was pushing there insurance when I was in Florida and at that time Florida residents did not need car insurance. After a few minutes of her hard sell and I kept on refusing the insurance she looked me in the eye and said "Sir, have you seen the people in Florida drive"? I looked her in the eye and replied "Maam, have you ever seen me drive"? That was the end of the hard sell. In all my years I have been lucky and never had a scratch on any car that I have rented.

 

[Saratoga Souris]

WE just went through this...

My mother and brother have State Farm.. their agent looked up their policies and told them that they were both fully covered. They took copies of their insurance with them (the little pink slip).When they got to Florida, they had to sign a document saying they were already covered and acknowledge that if they were stopped, it wasn't the rental company's fault if they didn't have insurance. The guy at the counter was trying to "up sell" and told them that their insurance didn;t cover and blah, blah, blah. When we got home, we called again.... they are covered!! The Florida guy is wrong!

For me, I have CAA. When I called, I needed to buy a rider for my policy (about $3o for the year). CAA faxed me the form right away. It is a special form (I am at work and can't remember what it is called). That is the form the rental car company wants to see. I showed that form, and there were no further questions and nothing to sign

 

[SandraC]

I worked for an insurance company 100 years ago and the rider was called SPF44.

 

[Northstar]

You definitely need liability insurance. As everyone says, it's way cheaper to buy it through your auto insurance policy than to buy it through the rental car company for the rental.

But as for the rental car company requiring it.... nah. They may tell you they require it, but it's actually none of their business. They just really, really want you to buy it from them, because they make a lot of money on it. They do require you to sign a waiver that says yes, you were offered the insurance, but declined it. That's their out if anybody tries to sue them based on the fact that you were driving their car when you caused an accident. The waiver establishes firmly that it's your liability, not theirs, so you better have coverage if you decline theirs.

I've rented a lot of cars down south and each and every time they try to sell me the insurance and I decline it. How hard a fight they put up varies a lot... I've had some agents who accept my firm refusal and say, Just initial this waiver... I've had other agents who tell me various lies, horror stories, tell me that the rental company requires the insurance. I just keep saying "I am covered. I decline the liability insurance."

And then, when they give up and do the paperwork, I check very carefully to make sure they haven't sneaked the coverage onto my bill... that's happened twice. I made them go back and re-do the paperwork. Not sure how it would play out if I were in a hurry on one of these occasions where I hit a hard-sell agent, because it can eat up a lot of time, but so far I've won.

 

[OntFamily]

The rental car agent is paid a commission whenever he/she upsells you to a higher grade vehicle, or convinces you to buy insurance. This is why some of them will try to hard sell you on the coverage.

If they tell you, your insurance doesn't cover this or that, you know they are lying. Why? How would the car rental agent have any idea what your insurance covers or doesn't?

However, congratulations to the OP for checking to ensure what coverage they had with the rental car (in Ontario you usually have two types of car insurance - collision and liability. Liability insurance is critical as it is the insurance that is used if someone sues you). It's always important to understand your coverage. I haven't seen any credit card cover liability so it's important to have SPF44 on your own policy (by the way, make sure the liability insurance is a good amount -- lawsuits can be expensive. I have $2MM in coverage).

Also, some credit cards do cover collision damage, but many are secondary insurance (ie the credit card insurance only kicks in when all other insurance you have ends). Take the easy route -- get SPF44 for about $35 - $40 per year, and you are covered for both collision and liability.

 

[minnie56]

I don't take a copy of my insurance with me..I do however call my Broker and tell her I am renting a car yada yada..and she notes it on my file. I have complete coverage whilst away and they are in the loop!!