Car Rental Tip #3 – Rental Insurance
travelwishtv.com
Most renters know to decline the insurance and then are often swayed at the last second by a salesperson pressuring them that the insurance will actually save you money. When renting a car, you’ll be offered a collision damage waiver (CDW) and a loss damage waiver (LDW). The first covers you in the event of a collision, while the second covers any loss to the rental company. Both kinds of coverage are a good idea, but not if they duplicate coverage already included in your own insurance policy. Most insurance policies offer liability coverage to protect you if you injure someone in an accident; some also cover rental-car damage via comprehensive and collision coverage. Check your policy or call your insurance agent to verify coverage before signing up for a vehicle. If you’re renting the car with a credit card, your card provider even cover damage to the vehicle in result off a collision. Again, check with your card company ahead of time to make sure.
This has been Lisel Hlista for travelwishtv.com with yet another travel tip. Thanks for watching.
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June 9th, 2010 at 12:58 pm
@ …
@tilltheendoftime155 unlawful in most of usa, you’d pay dearly
June 9th, 2010 at 12:58 pm
I would always get …
I would always get the CDW no matter what!!! about a year ago I rented from Enterprise and got into an accident and I didn’t have CDW. At first I thought all I had to pay was my deductible which I did in the store. After about a month, I recieve another bill in the mail from Enterprise charging me loss of use, admin fees, and the depreciated value of the vehicle. All in all, I spent almost $2000 when it was all said and done.
June 9th, 2010 at 12:58 pm
I wouldn’t mind …
I wouldn’t mind spending $9-15 a day to cover the car.. Accidents happen.. And if your insurance company covers you, it’s cool but your insurance will go up if you get into an accident , with CDW/LDW, it doesn’t
June 9th, 2010 at 12:58 pm
thanks for the …
thanks for the information
June 9th, 2010 at 12:58 pm
If you have no …
If you have no insurance at all, you could be responsible for up to the full value of the vehicle…as well as any damages to other property. It is a bad idea to rent a car without any form of coverage.
June 9th, 2010 at 12:58 pm
what if you don’t …
what if you don’t have insurance? can you still rent a car? and what would happen if you were to get into an accident? how would they determine how much you have to pay???
June 9th, 2010 at 12:58 pm
A collision …
A collision deductible is one thing that may be lost, as well as gaining a rate hike to your insurance premium, but one thing people forget about is LOSS OF USE. The rental company also needs to make up for the lost revenue while the car is in the shop…you pay that; not your insurance company. Imagine the revenue lost on a large SUV for a 20 day repair.
June 9th, 2010 at 12:58 pm
Reservations agent …
Reservations agent here.
YOu can either pay 5 quid a day or you can pay 500 when you total one of teh cars or in the case of a customer who I will always remember. – he was just about to check out his Mercedes C class at Heathrow airport when he dropped the keys with the allarm in a decorative fountain.
-500 quid seems like a lot but those keys are unique
June 9th, 2010 at 12:58 pm
My rule is this: if …
My rule is this: if you’re buying a car for only a day and it’s oversized (one of those mentioned below) or if you are taking a long trip to an unfamiliar or heavily occupied place (roadtrip, Vegas, New York)…get it. If only so you don’t have to worry. Besides that – you have your own insurance….but check the car THOROUGHLY before you leave. Know what damage is on there.
June 9th, 2010 at 12:58 pm
As for Enterprise …
As for Enterprise hiring only young people, it’s simply untrue – i had a guy that was 40 something in my training class that was retiring from the army. They do it because (let’s be honest) it’s an extremely easy job that any basic salesman can do and it pays shite. Older people usually have a more built up resume and have moved on with their lives and definitely cannot support a family on 32k a year.
June 9th, 2010 at 12:58 pm
The fact about CDW …
The fact about CDW is that, yes, it is extremely expensive and in the general sense you probably shouldn’t buy it. That having been said I think that a lot of people rent cars that they are not familiar with or are not covered by their insurance. Many people don’t realize that cargo vans, for example, are not covered by their insurance (I know Geico doesn’t for a fact) unless they specifically add it. I don’t feel comfortable in a pickup or minivan either cause its huge.
June 9th, 2010 at 12:58 pm
Its ok..I see where …
Its ok..I see where you are coming from I am just looking at it from a real perspective….if its short term and I screw up the rental….as long as I am in means of what the contract calls for its good. Not to say they arent gonna try to hold you accountable which is why it is important to know contract law….signing solidifies that agreement that makes the renter and all authorized drivers not respnsible for damages to the rentalIf i am renting for long term of course i would use my insurance
June 9th, 2010 at 12:58 pm
I worked for …
I worked for Enterprise for 11 years. I know the industry as well. and probably better than you. look, lets be honest, for every one person that you know that was “ruined” by a rental car tragedy, you know of 10,000 that weren’t. If it were so amazing, they would FORCE renters to take it. But the only reason they don’t force it is because it is a corporate money-making scheme and not actual insurance. Do some research on ELCO… you’ll see my friend.
June 9th, 2010 at 12:58 pm
and, as i cited …
and, as i cited before, even if you HAVE the CDW, the rental agencies Loss Control department will still work to hold you accountable to your deductible and file a claim with your insurance company. That whole department has been devised to “save the company money” by finding loopholes in rental contracts.
June 9th, 2010 at 12:58 pm
then you probably …
then you probably shouldn’t be ANY car at all considering you don’t have enough savings to cover a deductible. I figured that would go without saying. Look, you probably work for a rental agency, and thus why you are taking this personally. Just wait, one day you will move on from the rental world and you’ll begin to see just how silly all this CDW/LDW stuff is. Why do you think NO rental agencies employ adults to do their sales. It’s all fresh-out-of-college kids.
June 9th, 2010 at 12:58 pm
So what if the …
So what if the vehicle came back with damaged? and you did not have your deductable/ extra money to pay for the damages..what then super star
June 9th, 2010 at 12:58 pm
If you decline the …
If you decline the rental insurance be prepared to pay up your collision deductable (100-1000…either way money that you really dont want to give up) whether the damage was your fault or not and even if you knew it was there or not. Oh yeah and make sure you expect your premium to go up with your company in the next cycle
June 9th, 2010 at 12:58 pm
In the rental …
In the rental agrement you authorize the rental company to charge you “what is necessary” in case of damage or theft. So you HAVE to pay
They are not obblying you. You have already authorized penalties signing the contract.
Another non-sense tip.
this time even dangerous.
spending few bucks a day you can have a coverage and avoid surprises.
pls stop giving people dangerous and stupid tips.
I work in car rentals as an employee.
I’ve seen lot of people ruined from these stupid suggestions!
June 9th, 2010 at 12:58 pm
wslaton, i know …
wslaton, i know what you are trying to say. and you are saying this because you probably work at a rental car agency. but if you go to your corporate office and you really dig into the inner-workings of your loss control department, you’ll see just how little the coverages you sell are actually worth and how powerless your company is to pursue a not-at-fault renter. It’s not your fault, you’ve just been receiving biased and ill-informed training.
June 9th, 2010 at 12:58 pm
…and if you read …
…and if you read the fine print (and there is a lot of it) on the back of the contract, it specifies that you “assume responsibility for the full condition of the rental vehicle.” But a rental agency is not an insurance company, therefore they have no stake in your deductible. furthermore, since you are not required to have auto insurance to rent a car, they cannot demand a deductible be paid because not everyone has insurance and therefore not everyone has a deductible.
June 9th, 2010 at 12:58 pm
actually by law …
actually by law they can since you enter into a contract.
June 9th, 2010 at 12:58 pm
Ask any regular …
Ask any regular renter. Anyone who rents more than 1 or 2 rental cars per year. None of them take the rental insurance. What you’d spend in rental insurance would surpass your deductible in no time. And by law, a rental agency can’t force you to pay your deductible if you aren’t at fault. The rental agency will TRY to make you pay it, but if it’s not your fault then you don’t owe them crap. Go to court if you have to, but if someone hits you, then you don’t owe the rental company a cent.
June 9th, 2010 at 12:58 pm
yes buy the …
yes buy the coverage if it is a few days. they will collect your deductible and they will file a claim on your insurance. even if you are not at fault. the contract is between the renter and the rental car agency. that car returns to the rental agency in any different condition you are up the creek bud.
June 9th, 2010 at 12:58 pm
Lastly, if the …
Lastly, if the rental car agency resorts to scare-tactics, put your foot down firmly. If the ask for your insurance company’s name or the amount of your deductible before you rent the car, simply tell them that the law does not specify that you need to provide that information because the law does not require you to have insurance to rent a car. Don’t let them try and fast-talk you into spending more money than you need to. You will be just fine without it. Trust me.
June 9th, 2010 at 12:58 pm
Lets be honest here …
Lets be honest here. Rental car agencies are a business above all else. They are not offering to pay your $500 deductible for a mere $17 a day. They are selling something to you that they hope you don’t need or use. And, statistically, you WON’T need or use it. If it wasn’t a profit maker, they wouldn’t sell it. If you have your own insurance, just ignore the sales pitch and decline the coverage.