Rental car insurance?

[aubriee]

We are renting a car this next week while we are in Orlando. I spoke to my insurance agent a month or so ago and was told that my insurance would cover comprehensive and collision. However, I can't find my current policy, so just dropped by my insurance agent's office to have her print something out for Alamo. While I was there she told me that while my policy would cover comprehensive and collision on the rental car, that 'Loss of Use' would not be covered. She said that if something happened to the rental car, that the rental agency could charge me for loss of use (since they would not be able to have the car back in their inventory), and it could be several thousands of dollars out of my pocket. Do most people take out the rental car company's insurance? or just take a chance?

 

[rwdavis2]

Never take out the insurance. Check to see what type of rental insurance your credit card offers. They sometimes cover loss of use.

 

[DebbieB]

We are renting a car this next week while we are in Orlando. I spoke to my insurance agent a month or so ago and was told that my insurance would cover comprehensive and collision. However, I can't find my current policy, so just dropped by my insurance agent's office to have her print something out for Alamo. While I was there she told me that while my policy would cover comprehensive and collision on the rental car, that 'Loss of Use' would not be covered. She said that if something happened to the rental car, that the rental agency could charge me for loss of use (since they would not be able to have the car back in their inventory), and it could be several thousands of dollars out of my pocket. Do most people take out the rental car company's insurance? or just take a chance?

My Visa covers loss of use. I don't see how it could cost thousands. If a rental is say $40 a day, how long could it be out of service? If it's that bad that it takes weeks, it would probably be totaled.

 

[rwdavis2]

My Visa covers loss of use. I don't see how it could cost thousands. If a rental is say $40 a day, how long could it be out of service? If it's that bad that it takes weeks, it would probably be totaled.

Don't underestimate the ability of some rental car companies to put the screws to someone. When I rent I photograph every nick, ding, and scratch before I leave the lot. And then make an employee sign the paper where I identified them.

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

I agree, check your credit card terms; you probably have coverage there. When I recently rented a car in Europe, the AMEX card I used provided for free all the coverage I needed (my US insurance policy dies not cover rentals in Europe).

OP - You don't need to show a rental car company proof of your car insurance.

 

[Greysword]

You may want to Google rental car accident fees to get an in-depth knowledge of the topic.

Generally, there are four charges if in an accident:

Damage to car/theft: this is covered by the Loss & Damage waiver sold by the car companies, your personal insurance, and by some credit cards/corporate contracts. Your exposure is determined on who is primary (your insurance, the credit card, etc) and who is secondary. It is best to have a card/contract as primary, or your insurance will be billed; however, most credit cards require the renter to decline the LDW from the agency in order to be in effect. Thus, you can't usually get coverage from both Visa and Alamo to "double up". In addition, there are some limitations by credit cards on auto theft, though.

Personal injury (aka Liability): if the accident is your fault (or if you are hit by an uninsured driver) and someone is hurt, separate insurance is needed. Usually, this is covered by your personal auto policy. if you don't have liability (or insufficient for the State you are in), you may be very exposed. Some credit cards will have a liability component in addition to comprehensive coverage. You can usually purchase coverage from the rental agency. Be sure you have enough insurance here, as medical bills can be expensive.

Loss of Use: Car rental companies will charge the renter if their vehicle is "taken out of service" for repairs to make up for the lost revenue. Some credit cards will cover this (in theory), but in reality a pissing match ensues where the credit company requires proof from the rental company as to the real estimated usage of the vehicle, while the rental agency doesn't want to provide it as privileged info. Thus, the renter ends up picking up this tab. In addition, the amount is based on "rack rate" instead of the discounted rate generally offered. This gap may be hard to fill.

Administration fees: Almost all rental agencies charge administration fees to process the damage claim and insurance info. Reports indicate this could be a couple thousand dollars, depending on several variables. Ask your auto insurer for their recommendation about this.

Personally, I have USAA and use their car rental codes, instead of the super low coupon, to ensure coverage of all four. In addition, AMEX has a car rental insurance policy that card holders can buy ($25) that makes them primary (instead of secondary) for damage to the car (comprehensive/collision) and liability (damage to people) that is pretty good. A such, I have doubled (and in some areas tripled) up. Look at different combinations to get the best coverage for you.

Good luck!

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

^^^Good explanation ^^^

I use USAA as well!

 

[gmeh1]

Don't underestimate the ability of some rental car companies to put the screws to someone. When I rent I photograph every nick, ding, and scratch before I leave the lot. And then make an employee sign the paper where I identified them.

We are absolutely forbidden to sign anything the customer presents us. We will mark everything in the computer, but, sign, BIG NO, we could get fired for that.

 

[gmeh1]

^^^Good explanation ^^^

I use USAA as well!

Me too on the USAA.

 

[rwdavis2]

We are absolutely forbidden to sign anything the customer presents us. We will mark everything in the computer, but, sign, BIG NO, we could get fired for that.

When you record the car defects at Dollar they at least initial the sheet.

 

[gmeh1]

When you record the car defects at Dollar they at least initial the sheet.

Interesting, but, at Alamo and National we cannot do that. The most we can do is log it into the computer. If you actually think about it, it makes sense.
What if Joe Doe has an agent sign a piece of paper stating that there are dings, marks and scratches on the vehicle and Joe Doe manages to get a HUGE scratch during his rental. That agent's initials totally frees him from any responsiblity for the damage incurred while in his possession.
At Alamo/National we have a guage we use to assess the "damages". If the scratch or ding is under the guage measurment, we don't log it unless the customer totally insists. We know that almost every car has marks by the trunk, we know that almost every car has small chips from road pebbles, we know that small scratches happen and if they are under approx. 6" we don't worry about it. Small dents, smaller than a silver dollar, are not worried about.
Dollar/Thrifty has their rules and we have ours. It will be interesting to see what their rules/procedures will be when Hertz takes them over.

 

[rwdavis2]

Interesting, but, at Alamo and National we cannot do that. The most we can do is log it into the computer. If you actually think about it, it makes sense.
What if Joe Doe has an agent sign a piece of paper stating that there are dings, marks and scratches on the vehicle and Joe Doe manages to get a HUGE scratch during his rental. That agent's initials totally frees him from any responsiblity for the damage incurred while in his possession.
At Alamo/National we have a guage we use to assess the "damages". If the scratch or ding is under the guage measurment, we don't log it unless the customer totally insists. We know that almost every car has marks by the trunk, we know that almost every car has small chips from road pebbles, we know that small scratches happen and if they are under approx. 6" we don't worry about it. Small dents, smaller than a silver dollar, are not worried about.
Dollar/Thrifty has their rules and we have ours. It will be interesting to see what their rules/procedures will be when Hertz takes them over.

That makes sense. I subscribe to elliott.org and the car rental horror stories on this issue are pretty regular. Some companies use "car damage" as a profit center.

 

[gmeh1]

That makes sense. I subscribe to elliott.org and the car rental horror stories on this issue are pretty regular. Some companies use "car damage" as a profit center.

I cannot say if we do or don't as I don't have that information, I can say we do try to accomodate the renter to the best of our ability. When I was on the exit booth and logged in vehicle "damage" for the customer, I would invite them to view the screen before I saved it. When they were happy with the information logged in, I saved it and then brought it up again so they could see it was part of the perm. record. They were happy and I satisfied the customer. It was a win/win.

 

[mwmom]

I don't typically take the insurance offered and rely on my auto insurance. I did have an incident this summer while in California where the car I rented from Dollar had a rock hit the windshield from a truck in front of me and it caused a big ding in the windshield. It had "spider veins" coming out from it, so Dollar charged me to replace the whole windshield. I was told if it was a simple ding without the veins, they wouldn't have charged me. I researched the prices on the internet to determine a fair price and found when Dollar billed me a week later that their charge to me was less than what I found on the internet. I was glad to see that they were fair about that as I was expecting them to stick it to me!

For all of the times I have rented a car, this was the first charge I have experienced, so the cost of the rental insurance for all of those rentals would have been far more than the cost of that windshield. For that reason, I don't regret not taking it. BUT, it does make me take pause and think about whether I would want to in the future.