Rental car insurance

[tina Jucius]

Budget (at MCO) insisted I had to purchase insurance because FL is a no fault state and my state's insurance wouldn't cover any damage. So, my $202 rate for the week wound up being $465.
Not happy.

 

[gmeh1]

Budget (at MCO) insisted I had to purchase insurance because FL is a no fault state and my state's insurance wouldn't cover any damage. So, my $202 rate for the week wound up being $465.
Not happy.

Oh, they tricked you. You can decline any coverage. Most of the time your credit card company has coverage for rentals. I would not be happy either and I sure would make my unhappiness known.

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

Unfortunately, this is your own fault for being a misinformed consumer.

 

[tina Jucius]

I tried to decline it, and was told I couldn't have a car.
Nice.
Will never rent from Budget again!

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

I tried to decline it, and was told I couldn't have a car.
Nice.
Will never rent from Budget again!

Next time ask for a manager. If you can't get satisfaction, walk to another rental company counter.

 

[tina Jucius]

Unfortunately, this is your own fault for being a misinformed consumer.

I thought I was. But she said Florida is different from the other states, so it didn't apply.
Late, tired, hungry, long lines(due to people being told they had to buy some insurance that is way beyond the rate they even have posted, I'm sure.)
I just called and got it refunded. Hopefully that agent will lose her job.

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

I thought I was. But she said Florida is different from the other states, so it didn't apply.
Late, tired, hungry, long lines(due to people being told they had to buy some insurance that is way beyond the rate they even have posted, I'm sure.)
I just called and got it refunded. Hopefully that agent will lose her job.

Good for you. That agent was a liar.

 

[seashoreCM]

Unless the rental company has a written policy to the contrary, the agent can rant and preach all he wants but you can keep saying no to the insurance and he still has to rent you the car.

If he refuses to rent to you then you go to the pay phone at the back of the customer waiting area (or use your cell phone) and call the national headquarters of the rental company.

A small number of local agencies do have a written policy whereby they reserve the right not to rent to you if you do not have equivalent coverage on a car you own back at home and you also decline their coverage.

 

[Chief Powhatan]

I hate dealing with the idiots at the car rental counters. I had an Enterprise agent tell me one time my Allstate insurance would not cover me in a rental if my personal car was being repaired at the time (***?).

 

[MillauFr]

I hate dealing with the idiots at the car rental counters. I had an Enterprise agent tell me one time my Allstate insurance would not cover me in a rental if my personal car was being repaired at the time (***?).

Exactly. This is why I try to rent from a company that lets me check-in at a kiosk and bypass the salespeople.

 

[Bensuave]

Budget (at MCO) insisted I had to purchase insurance because FL is a no fault state and my state's insurance wouldn't cover any damage. So, my $202 rate for the week wound up being $465.
Not happy.

Just for future reference, "No fault state" means regardless of who is at fault each parties insurer is responsible for paying their medical bills. "No fault state" has nothing to do with who was at fault in the accident or getting the vehicle repaired. So many people (like the rental car agent) dont understand what that means.

Also it is actually a good idea to buy the rental coverage, because in the event something does happen to the vehicle

• You will not be responsible for any type of deductible. If you use your current auto insurance you will be resposible for that deductible
• You will not be filing a claim against your record, becuase of that you will not be surcharged on your insurance policy and see a rate increase. Even if you are not found liable in the claim with your insurer, your rate can still increase. And that can last from 3-5 years
• Most insurance policies do not cover what is called "Loss of use" charges. Those are the charges that the rental car company seeks do to them not being able to rent the car to someone else. If you purchase their coverage that is not an issue because it is covered. Personal Automobile insurance policies typically dont cover that. So that would result in another out of pocket expense

I know the $263.00 extra they were charging you is not chump change by any means. But in the event something does happen, $263.00 is a steal of a deal that allows for you to walk away from the incident without any recourse. Of course if nothing happens to the vehicle while you have it you look at the $263.00 as wasted money. But if something does occur I am pretty sure you would be looking at all the additional charges and hassle and wish you could pay $263.00 to get rid of it.

By NO means am I saying your decision was wrong. Just providing a little insight. I am an Insurance agent and have been for the past 11 years, this is one of the topics most people dont understand unless they have been through it with damaging a rental car.

 

[Lewisc]

• You will not be responsible for any type of deductible. If you use your current auto insurance you will be resposible for that deductible
• You will not be filing a claim against your record, becuase of that you will not be surcharged on your insurance policy and see a rate increase. Even if you are not found liable in the claim with your insurer, your rate can still increase. And that can last from 3-5 years
• Most insurance policies do not cover what is called "Loss of use" charges. Those are the charges that the rental car company seeks do to them not being able to rent the car to someone else. If you purchase their coverage that is not an issue because it is covered. Personal Automobile insurance policies typically dont cover that. So that would result in another out of pocket expense

I know the $263.00 extra they were charging you is not chump change by any means. But in the event something does happen, $263.00 is a steal of a deal that allows for you to walk away from the incident without any recourse. Of course if nothing happens to the vehicle while you have it you look at the $263.00 as wasted money. But if something does occur I am pretty sure you would be looking at all the additional charges and hassle and wish you could pay $263.00 to get rid of it.


I am an Insurance agent and have been for the past 11 years, this is one of the topics most people dont understand unless they have been through it with damaging a rental car.

Many credit cards cover your deductible. Do you sell your customers a zero deductible plan? Do you at least recommend the lowest deductible policy offered by your carrier? Most experts suggest saving premium by taking a higher deductible policy. Your advice should be consistent.

Why are you more likely to get into an accident during the few days at Disney then at home? A good agent, and good carrier, shouldn't ding you for one accident, not your fault.

Loss of use. Some personal policies cover it. Some credit cards cover it. You can buy less expensive coverage which only covers loss of use. Assume you're stuck paying loss of use. How much then $263 will it be. Certainly a risk many people would be happy self insuring.

The premium, for one week, was $263. That's an annualized premium of almost $14,000. In what world is that a good deal?

Buying the insurance might make some sense if you're renting in a foreign country.

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

Many credit cards cover your deductible. Do you sell your customers a zero deductible plan? Do you at least recommend the lowest deductible policy offered by your carrier? Most experts suggest saving premium by taking a higher deductible policy. Your advice should be consistent.

Why are you more likely to get into an accident during the few days at Disney then at home? A good agent, and good carrier, shouldn't ding you for one accident, not your fault.

Loss of use. Some personal policies cover it. Some credit cards cover it. You can buy less expensive coverage which only covers loss of use. Assume you're stuck paying loss of use. How much then $263 will it be. Certainly a risk many people would be happy self insuring.

The premium, for one week, was $263. That's an annualized premium of almost $14,000. In what world is that a good deal?

Buying the insurance might make some sense if you're renting in a foreign country.

I completely disagree with the poster who said you should buy the insurance.

Your US car insurance usually doesn't cover foreign car rental (mine doesn't). However, I use my AMEX Gold card for foreign rentals, which does provide insurance.

 

[aubriee]

I completely disagree with the poster who said you should buy the insurance.

Me too! I actually went into the office and spoke with my insurance agent, prior to renting a car the first time. I told him I was flying into Orlando and planned on renting a car and asked what my insurance would cover. He told me I would be covered, except for loss of use, which most credit cards covered but advised me to check with my credit card to make sure (which I did and it does). He even pulled up the info on my policy about rental cars and printed it off for me. He told me that most rental car agents will try to push their overpriced insurance off onto their customers and for me not to fall for it, as I did not need it. At MCO I have rented from both Alamo and Budget. At Alamo I now use the kiosk to avoid the insurance spiel and at Budget I just politely but firmly tell them when I walk up that I don't want to upgrade and that both my private insurance and my cc cover the rental car, including loss of use, so I don't want theirs. They usually laugh and just skip the spiels. It's never been a problem (and I rented from Budget this past May and also again in Sept).

 

[MillauFr]

Just for future reference, "No fault state" means regardless of who is at fault each parties insurer is responsible for paying their medical bills. "No fault state" has nothing to do with who was at fault in the accident or getting the vehicle repaired. So many people (like the rental car agent) dont understand what that means.

Also it is actually a good idea to buy the rental coverage, because in the event something does happen to the vehicle

• You will not be responsible for any type of deductible. If you use your current auto insurance you will be resposible for that deductible
• You will not be filing a claim against your record, becuase of that you will not be surcharged on your insurance policy and see a rate increase. Even if you are not found liable in the claim with your insurer, your rate can still increase. And that can last from 3-5 years
• Most insurance policies do not cover what is called "Loss of use" charges. Those are the charges that the rental car company seeks do to them not being able to rent the car to someone else. If you purchase their coverage that is not an issue because it is covered. Personal Automobile insurance policies typically dont cover that. So that would result in another out of pocket expense

I know the $263.00 extra they were charging you is not chump change by any means. But in the event something does happen, $263.00 is a steal of a deal that allows for you to walk away from the incident without any recourse. Of course if nothing happens to the vehicle while you have it you look at the $263.00 as wasted money. But if something does occur I am pretty sure you would be looking at all the additional charges and hassle and wish you could pay $263.00 to get rid of it.

By NO means am I saying your decision was wrong. Just providing a little insight. I am an Insurance agent and have been for the past 11 years, this is one of the topics most people dont understand unless they have been through it with damaging a rental car.

The first paragraph of your post is helpful, but calling $263 a "steal of a deal" is flat out wrong. It is a complete ripoff which is the reason why the rental car agents push it so much. It is also probably duplicate coverage to what most people already have with their auto insurance and credit card. If someone really doesn't have the time or interest in researching whether they are covered or not they should just buy the $25 policy from American Express. $25 is a far better steal of a deal than $263.


https://www295.americanexpress.com/premium/car-rental-insurance-coverage/home.do?extlink=ps-cardserv-suAB0QYyF_dc&pcrid=32959619465&pmt=b&kw=+amex%20+car%20+insurance&gclid=COWr77qwxroCFQmCQgoduDMACg

 

[dmunsil]

Also it is actually a good idea to buy the rental coverage.

One of the basic principles of buying insurance is, "Don't insure against losses you can afford." Insurance companies are in business to make a profit, so in the long run you are much better off being "self insured" for small losses. And while most people would have a hard time affording the loss of an entire car, they can certainly cover the deductible on their insurance. $263 for insurance that only covers the deductible on your own personal auto insurance is not merely expensive, it's craaaaaaazy expensive.

Another principle is "avoid buying things that can only be had from one provider." The only provider of no-deductible insurance on Budget vehicles is Budget. You think that might be a profit center for them?

Both of the same principles apply to extended warranties. Warranties are insurance. If you can afford to self-insure, do that.