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Location: The Northeast - hoping one day the Northwest!
1,107 posts, read 1,451,207 times
Reputation: 1012
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I am going to be using a rental car for 4 days next month. I found a great deal on hotwire for an economy car. (all I need anyway - my normal car is a Mazda 2) I can add insurance for $9 a day, for a total of $36. It's not much - but is it truly worth it? I've been trying to find a good deal for a few days, and this one popped up and it's the perfect price.
Just now debating if I should get the insurance or not. I did last time I rented a car and didn't even need it. A lot more traffic in the area where I rented it last time (I live in Tampa, and went down to the Ft Lauderdale area for a long weekend, this time the trip is to go to a wedding in W.Mass where the population is lot smaller)
Issues here: is insurance on a rental car covered by your present auto policy? How about credit card coverage? Are there any limitations (car value, deductible, no loss of use coverage?) Will you be in an area with particularly crazy drivers (NYC, Boston, etc.?)
If you have NO other insurance going bare is probably a bad idea. I have coverage through a credit card and I think skipping the insurance is a good bet (for me).
Location: The Northeast - hoping one day the Northwest!
1,107 posts, read 1,451,207 times
Reputation: 1012
Quote:
Originally Posted by rational1
Issues here: is insurance on a rental car covered by your present auto policy? How about credit card coverage? Are there any limitations (car value, deductible, no loss of use coverage?) Will you be in an area with particularly crazy drivers (NYC, Boston, etc.?)
If you have NO other insurance going bare is probably a bad idea. I have coverage through a credit card and I think skipping the insurance is a good bet (for me).
My insurance company (Geico) covers rental cars. I wouldn't be going out to the Boston area. The biggest "city" I would be going through would be Springfield, MA.
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
44,551 posts, read 81,085,957 times
Reputation: 57749
GET IT!
I spoke to my insurance agent about this, and he used to say "not worth it, we cover you in a rental car." Now, he says that they have started charging the renter for the lost time while the car could be rented but is in the shop. That is not covered by your insurer. If the rental agency's body shop has to wait for parts to come in, that can be 2 weeks at $50-100/day, so paying the $9/day is well worth it now.
I never get the insurance and don't have an insurance policy. Never had a problem. Been pulled over a few times in a rental car and when asked for registration and proof of insurqnce I just hand the officer the rental agreement. Not once have they asked again for insurqnce.
FYI, Your own car insurance insures you when you drive any insured vehicle under the policy AND any other vehicle which you temporarily drive as long as you do so with the consent of the owner. The legal term for this is being a "permissive user" of the car.
In my experience, rental car companies push insurance at unsuspecting consumers and make all sorts of dire threats--usually just by implication.
What you have to watch is what your own insurance coverage is and what it does. If you only have liability, your insurance isn't going to cover damage to the rental car if you are responsible for it. Most people have collision coverage and have about a $500 deductible. This is my own situation. When you rent a car with your VISA or Mastercard, many credit card companies agree to pay $500 deductible if you damage the car while you are renting it. You can check and see if this is the case. Personally, even if they weren't covering it, I'm willing to accept a $500 risk. So, I would never buy insurance from the rental car company under any circumstances.
>If the insurance the rental agency will charge will end up being less that the deductible on you own policy, it might be worth it.
That's not thinking like a betting man. What you want to do is multiply your deductible by the probability you will have an accident. And compare THAT with the rental agency insurance.
>I never get the insurance and don't have an insurance policy. Never had a problem.
Now that's a real bet because they could end up going after you for the price of the car. I would only make that bet if I didn't have any assets (and didn't expect to have any).
In my experience, rental car companies push insurance at unsuspecting consumers and make all sorts of dire threats--usually just by implication.
One of the GREAT advantages to premium status at the car rental agencies (i.e., Hertz Gold, Alamo Insiders, etc.) is that you do NOT deal with the counter agents who try to peddle you the additional insurance coverage. That USED to add five to ten minutes to the rental process.
Our insurance policy, like most others, covers rental vehicles. You just need to make sure you check for dings on the vehicle before you or you're insurance company gets dinged for something you didn't do. Walk around the vehicle, make notes and/or take photos and indicate any problems or concerns on your rental agreement before you sign it. Keep a signed copy by the rental agency.
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