Car Insurance Question - General Holiday Enquiries, Hints and Tips, Holiday Forums

Car Insurance Question

Willapp

2006-08-25 11:00:27

Hi, I know a similar question has been asked on this forum, but it didn't really get any satisfactory answer. What I would like to know is which insurance extras are worth having when hiring a car in America.

We've booked 2 weeks hire with Enterprise, which is already costing a fortune as I'm under 25 so get hit with a $15 daily surcharge. However, I want to make sure we have the required cover should the worst happen (an accident, damage, or stolen vehicle).

Enterprise websites provides the following details:

COLLISION DAMAGE WAIVER (CDW) FOR THIS BRANCH RANGES BETWEEN $13.99 AND $17.99 PER DAY. - DAMAGE WAIVER (DW) IS OFFERED AT THE TIME OF RENTAL FOR AN ADDITIONAL DAILY CHARGE. IF THE RENTER ACCEPTS DW, ENTERPRISE WAIVES OR REDUCES THE RENTER'S RESPONSIBILITY FOR LOSS OF, OR DAMAGE TO, THE RENTAL VEHICLE SUBJECT TO THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF THE RENTAL AGREEMENT AND APPLICABLE LAWS. DW IS NOT INSURANCE. THE PURCHASE OF DW IS OPTIONAL AND NOT REQUIRED TO RENT A CAR. THE PROTECTION PROVIDED BY DW MAY DUPLICATE THE RENTER'S EXISTING COVERAGE. ENTERPRISE IS NOT QUALIFIED TO EVALUATE THE ADEQUACY OF THE RENTER'S EXISTING COVERAGE; THEREFORE THE RENTER SHOULD EXAMINE HIS OR HER CREDIT CARD PROTECTIONS, AUTOMOBILE INSURANCE POLICIES OR OTHER SOURCES OF COVERAGE THAT MAY DUPLICATE THE PROTECTION PROVIDED BY DW.

Continue Reservation

Personal Accident Insurance (PAI)

PERSONAL ACCIDENT INSURANCE (PAI) FOR THIS BRANCH RANGES BETWEEN $3.40 AND $6.80 PER DAY. - PERSONAL ACCIDENT INSURANCE (PAI) IS OFFERED AT THE TIME OF RENTAL FOR AN ADDITIONAL DAILY CHARGE. IF ACCEPTED, PAI PROVIDES THE RENTER AND PASSENGERS WITH ACCIDENT MEDICAL EXPENSE, ACCIDENTAL DEATH AND AMBULANCE EXPENSE BENEFITS. BENEFITS ARE PAYABLE IN ADDITION TO ANY OTHER INSURANCE COVERAGE THE RENTER OR PASSENGERS MAY HAVE. THIS IS A SUMMARY ONLY. PAI IS SUBJECT TO THE PROVISIONS, LIMITATIONS AND EXCLUSIONS OF THE PAI POLICY UNDERWRITTEN BY EMPIRE FIRE AND MARINE INSURANCE COMPANY OR EMPIRE INDEMNITY INSURANCE COMPANY DEPENDING ON RENTAL DATE AND LOCATION. THE PURCHASE OF PAI IS OPTIONAL AND NOT REQUIRED TO RENT A CAR. THE COVERAGE PROVIDED BY PAI MAY DUPLICATE THE RENTER'S EXISTING COVERAGE. ENTERPRISE IS NOT QUALIFIED TO EVALUATE THE ADEQUACY OF THE RENTER'S EXISTING COVERAGE; THEREFORE THE RENTER SHOULD EXAMINE HIS OR HER PERSONAL INSURANCE OR OTHER SOURCES OF COVERAGE THAT MAY DUPLICATE THE COVERAGE PROVIDED BY PAI.

Continue Reservation

Supplemental Liability Protection (SLP)

SUPPLEMENTAL LIABILITY PROTECTION (SLP) FOR THIS BRANCH IS $15.45 PER DAY. - SUPPLEMENTAL LIABILITY PROTECTION (SLP) IS OFFERED AT THE TIME OF RENTAL FOR AN ADDITIONAL DAILY CHARGE. IF ACCEPTED, SLP PROVIDES THE RENTER AND AUTHORIZED DRIVERS WITH UP TO $1,000,000 COMBINED SINGLE LIMIT FOR THIRD PARTY LIABILITY CLAIMS. IF THE RENTER ACCEPTS SLP, ENTERPRISE PROVIDES THIRD PARTY LIABILITY PROTECTION UP TO THE APPLICABLE MINIMUM FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITY LIMIT AND EMPIRE FIRE AND MARINE INSURANCE COMPANY PROVIDES EXCESS THIRD PARTY LIABILITY INSURANCE COVERAGE FROM THE APPLICABLE MINIMIM FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITY LIMIT TO $1,000,000. THIS IS A SUMMARY ONLY. SLP IS SUBJECT TO THE TERMS, CONDITIONS, PROVISIONS, LIMITATIONS AND EXCLUSIONS IN THE SUPPLEMENTAL RENTAL LIABILITY INSURANCE EXCESS POLICY UNDERWRITTEN BY EMPIRE FIRE AND MARINE INSURANCE COMPANY OR EMPIRE INDEMNITY INSURANCE COMPANY DEPENDING ON LOCATION. THE PURCHASE OF SLP IS OPTIONAL AND NOT REQUIRED TO RENT A CAR. THE COVERAGE PROVIDED BY SLP MAY DUPLICATE THE RENTER'S EXISTING COVERAGE. ENTERPRISE IS NOT QUALIFIED TO EVALUATE THE ADEQUACY OF THE RENTER'S EXISTING COVERAGE; THEREFORE THE RENTER SHOULD EXAMINE HIS OR HER PERSONAL INSURANCE POLICIES OR OTHER SOURCES OF COVERAGE THAT MAY DUPLICATE THE COVERAGE PROVIDED BY SLP.

(Sorry for the capitals, thats how it appears on their site!).

However, this doesn't explain whether you actually need all of these things or not. Is it easy to check my current UK insurance policy to see if it covers me abroad, and if so what for?

On the one hand I don't wanna be ripped off by the rental company by taking ALL their extra cover, but then I don't want to miss out on something I genuinely need. Hopefully people who've done this before might be able to advise on which ones they took and why?

Thanks in advance

fwh

2006-08-25 11:32:21

CDW in simple terms covers the excess - For example you may be required to pay the first £100 of a claim on your own car insurance. Basically it is the same. With the tales we hear about being charged for scratches etc we had not seen then this should cover you.

PAI is what it says. If you should require medical treatment then you would claim against that. I would assume that you have arranged proper insurance cover and so you would in effect be insuring yourself twice. You can however only claim against one policy.

SLP as I read it covers the things that the normal and CDW do not. The wording is not clear.

Whilst I understand your concern at the cost you should consider how much it may be without. One little bump could cost you lots more than you save without it.

Without reading the full terms and conditions I cannot tell you more.

Spend a little time reading the stories of problems with car hire here on HT to give you some idea of the pitfalls.

fwh

Willapp

2006-08-25 13:20:32

Thanks for the response fwh. With regard to:

With the tales we hear about being charged for scratches etc we had not seen then this should cover you.

We have also heard these kind of tales. However what we're planning to do is use our camcorder and actually film the car when we collect it (in the presence of an Enterprise rep if possible) and when we return it. If they try and claim damage that we can prove wasn't there when we returned the vehicle then we'll take whatever action necessary to get our money back.

If that's the only reason for having CDW then I doubt we'll bother, depending on what cost they offer it to us at - the website says between $14 - $18 a day, which would add almost $200 to the rental cost. :shock:

Personal accident cover I'm pretty sure will be covered in the holiday insurance, though I will check this out.

I also have no idea what the SLP is for, does anyone know?

More feedback really wanted

fwh

2006-08-25 13:47:52

You are missing the point with CDW - Park your car and come back to find damage then you are liable. Your video will just confirm the dent was not there when you got it.

When I ran a car hire op then I would have charged for it.

The point people tend to forget is that hire cars are not driven into the ground and scrapped. They have a limited life based on time/mileage. Mine were typically 3 months 3,000 miles. They are then refurbished and put into the secondhand/pre owned market. All those dents, bumps, scratches have to be sorted out first. I can assure you that it is often an expensive process.

We are all tempted to avoid paying for extras. If you are concerned at the additional costs then arrange a private policy to cover. There was some info on this a while back.

These additional charges are not a way for the hire company to make extra money. They are to save you problems. You are not only paying for the repair but the downtime when a car is off the road for the repairs to be carried out. One case I had was a car that took two days to repair - fine but the problem was the parts were not available. It was three weeks before I could put the car back on the road. The customer paid for that. He was responsible for the damage - not me.

fwh

johnp

2006-08-26 07:54:57

Willapp.
It's all a question of choice against risk. My advice is to shop round for the best all inclusive package paid for up front, you will find some good deals.
The alternative is to cut corners, save a few quid and spend your holiday worrying every time you use or leave the vehicle about what will happen to it.
I'd rather just use the car drop the keys back at the end and fly home.
America is the litigation capital of the world so if any thing does go wrong it will do so big time.

Willapp

2006-08-30 15:11:58

Thanks for the help everyone. I've now decided against Enterprise for our car hire, as with the CDW and other insurance extras, they suddenly became rather expensive.

Now booked via HolidayAutos (hire actually provided through Alamo) who provide CDW etc as part of the package, so we're saving about £50 on what Enterprise would've charged us.

We didn't want to be without the requisite cover, it was simply a question of avoiding being conned by the hire company into taking out cover that we didn't need - I'd read lots of stories about people taking out cover when they didn't need it and did not want to suffer the same fate.

Fingers crossed it will all go smoothly now

General Holiday Enquiries, Hints and Tips

Post a Reply

Get the best deals!

from our cruise, ski and holiday partners