Insurance policy for car rent?
I am going to rent a car through Hertz - LAX office. I am getting these two insurances included in price:
- Loss Damage Waiver
- Liability Insurance Supplement
Are these two insurances enough for most accidents?
This is not included in insurance:
- Personal Insurance - I have it.
- Premium Emergency Roadside Service - Well, I think I can change a flat tire.
- Fuel - It is supposed that I will buy that ;)
- Additional Driver Fee: I am travelling alone.
Hertz page about insurance policies: https://www.hertz.co.uk/rentacar/byr/index.jsp?targetPage=rentalQualificationsView.jsp#
car-rentals
edited Sep 25 '16 at 23:15
Relaxed
76.4k10153286
asked Sep 25 '16 at 17:31
user3450user3450
1444
add a comment |
I am going to rent a car through Hertz - LAX office. I am getting these two insurances included in price:
- Loss Damage Waiver
- Liability Insurance Supplement
Are these two insurances enough for most accidents?
This is not included in insurance:
- Personal Insurance - I have it.
- Premium Emergency Roadside Service - Well, I think I can change a flat tire.
- Fuel - It is supposed that I will buy that ;)
- Additional Driver Fee: I am travelling alone.
Hertz page about insurance policies: https://www.hertz.co.uk/rentacar/byr/index.jsp?targetPage=rentalQualificationsView.jsp#
car-rentals
edited Sep 25 '16 at 23:15
Relaxed
76.4k10153286
asked Sep 25 '16 at 17:31
user3450user3450
1444
1
Your credit card may offer loss damage waiver insurance when you pay for the rental car with it, check on that.
– andrewmh20
Sep 25 '16 at 21:54
6
Possible duplicate of What car rental insurance should I get if my credit card provides some coverage?
– alx9r
Sep 26 '16 at 4:00
This answer to a similar question might help you.
– alx9r
Sep 26 '16 at 4:02
This question doesn't say anything about having a credit card so I don't see how it's a duplicate of a question that's specifically about trade-offs between insurance from credit cards and other providers.
– David Richerby
Sep 26 '16 at 10:16
add a comment |
I am going to rent a car through Hertz - LAX office. I am getting these two insurances included in price:
- Loss Damage Waiver
- Liability Insurance Supplement
Are these two insurances enough for most accidents?
This is not included in insurance:
- Personal Insurance - I have it.
- Premium Emergency Roadside Service - Well, I think I can change a flat tire.
- Fuel - It is supposed that I will buy that ;)
- Additional Driver Fee: I am travelling alone.
Hertz page about insurance policies: https://www.hertz.co.uk/rentacar/byr/index.jsp?targetPage=rentalQualificationsView.jsp#
car-rentals
edited Sep 25 '16 at 23:15
Relaxed
76.4k10153286
asked Sep 25 '16 at 17:31
user3450user3450
1444
I am going to rent a car through Hertz - LAX office. I am getting these two insurances included in price:
- Loss Damage Waiver
- Liability Insurance Supplement
Are these two insurances enough for most accidents?
This is not included in insurance:
- Personal Insurance - I have it.
- Premium Emergency Roadside Service - Well, I think I can change a flat tire.
- Fuel - It is supposed that I will buy that ;)
- Additional Driver Fee: I am travelling alone.
Hertz page about insurance policies: https://www.hertz.co.uk/rentacar/byr/index.jsp?targetPage=rentalQualificationsView.jsp#
car-rentals
car-rentals
edited Sep 25 '16 at 23:15
Relaxed
76.4k10153286
asked Sep 25 '16 at 17:31
user3450user3450
1444
edited Sep 25 '16 at 23:15
Relaxed
76.4k10153286
asked Sep 25 '16 at 17:31
user3450user3450
1444
edited Sep 25 '16 at 23:15
Relaxed
76.4k10153286
edited Sep 25 '16 at 23:15
Relaxed
76.4k10153286
edited Sep 25 '16 at 23:15
Relaxed
76.4k10153286
76.4k10153286
asked Sep 25 '16 at 17:31
user3450user3450
1444
asked Sep 25 '16 at 17:31
user3450user3450
1444
asked Sep 25 '16 at 17:31
user3450user3450
1444
1444
1
Your credit card may offer loss damage waiver insurance when you pay for the rental car with it, check on that.
– andrewmh20
Sep 25 '16 at 21:54
6
Possible duplicate of What car rental insurance should I get if my credit card provides some coverage?
– alx9r
Sep 26 '16 at 4:00
This answer to a similar question might help you.
– alx9r
Sep 26 '16 at 4:02
This question doesn't say anything about having a credit card so I don't see how it's a duplicate of a question that's specifically about trade-offs between insurance from credit cards and other providers.
– David Richerby
Sep 26 '16 at 10:16
add a comment |
1
Your credit card may offer loss damage waiver insurance when you pay for the rental car with it, check on that.
– andrewmh20
Sep 25 '16 at 21:54
6
Possible duplicate of What car rental insurance should I get if my credit card provides some coverage?
– alx9r
Sep 26 '16 at 4:00
This answer to a similar question might help you.
– alx9r
Sep 26 '16 at 4:02
This question doesn't say anything about having a credit card so I don't see how it's a duplicate of a question that's specifically about trade-offs between insurance from credit cards and other providers.
– David Richerby
Sep 26 '16 at 10:16
1
1
Your credit card may offer loss damage waiver insurance when you pay for the rental car with it, check on that.
– andrewmh20
Sep 25 '16 at 21:54
Your credit card may offer loss damage waiver insurance when you pay for the rental car with it, check on that.
– andrewmh20
Sep 25 '16 at 21:54
6
6
Possible duplicate of What car rental insurance should I get if my credit card provides some coverage?
– alx9r
Sep 26 '16 at 4:00
Possible duplicate of What car rental insurance should I get if my credit card provides some coverage?
– alx9r
Sep 26 '16 at 4:00
This answer to a similar question might help you.
– alx9r
Sep 26 '16 at 4:02
This answer to a similar question might help you.
– alx9r
Sep 26 '16 at 4:02
This question doesn't say anything about having a credit card so I don't see how it's a duplicate of a question that's specifically about trade-offs between insurance from credit cards and other providers.
– David Richerby
Sep 26 '16 at 10:16
This question doesn't say anything about having a credit card so I don't see how it's a duplicate of a question that's specifically about trade-offs between insurance from credit cards and other providers.
– David Richerby
Sep 26 '16 at 10:16
add a comment |
1 Answer
1
active
oldest
votes
Caveat Emptor - DO NOT get caught out.
You can only tell if vehicle hire insurance is adequate by reading all the fine print carefully, carefully checking re ANY point that is not 100% + clear and then asking a few careful questions about worst case claims that other people have encountered.
As regards international situations as opposed to purely US, it is common for hire vehicle insurance to be incomplete and to have exceptions which may result in major costs to the hirer in some circumstances. Worst case these may amount to the full value of the vehicle plus recovery and other charges.
While such draconian situations may be uncommon, few people would want to expose themselves to such risks. @Andrewmh20 noted that credit cards may include excess patment insurance if used to pay for vehicle hire BUT if relying on this it is also essential to check the relevant fine print. Such offers may have a limited upper amount and this may be far lower than the worst case costs.
_________________________________
Personal experience:
All the above is based on my own personal experience of vehicle hire. I have hired vehicles in NZ (home country), Australia, USA, UK and Europe. Of these the most astoundingly bad terms were for Australian vehicle hire insurance taken out in Australia with Australian companies. Insurance taken out with the SAME companies NZ branches before the visit was made excluded the very unfavourable terms. Insurance taken out with NZ companies for the Australian car hire never had the unfavourable terms. Examples of worst case terms included:
- Payment of all costs for single vehicle accidents if additional cover not mentioned in any documents was not taken out.
- Payment of all costs for immersion regardless of cause with NO opportunity for this to be covered by insurance at all.
- Payment of all costs for damage caused by driving under ledge, truck tailgate, parking barrier etc.
- Payment of all costs for underbody and rear end damage (some companies only).
In Australia in country areas collisions with kangaroos are common (usually at dawn & dusk but can be any time.) This is a single vehicle accident.
Australia has "common enough" flash floods, and fords suddenly deeper than expected. While unlikely, pulling over on an unstable narrow road to let others past COULD end up causing immersion damage if a road edge collapsed.
A major camper hire company told me, when I asked, that they had quite a few single vehicle camper accidents per month. (Possibly from wind effects on large side areas of campers). These people would in most cases be sadly surprised at their liability.
My credit card company offered excess cover but it came far short of worst case liabilities.
Taking out insurance with a NZ insurance company on an Australian hire BEFORE making the trip to Australia produced insurance with reasonable terms, limited maximum liabilities and LOWER all up cost.
YMMV. Don't let it.
__________________________________________
Variations in Australian & NZ car hire
It appears that the Ozzie insurance industry as a whole are a pack of Vicious gouging thugs when operating in Australia and offering insurance on cars used in Australia. ie For car use within Australia they offer everyone a shocking deal dispassionately whereas NZ companies offer a 'fair' deal. The same companies when dealt with from NZ offer better terms and lower rates for Australian car use to people booking from NZ. BUT ALL companies trading in NZ & offering insurance for car use IN NZ do not have the onerous terms offered for Australian use. I did not check combinations shown with ? below.
- A / N = Australia or New Zealand.
Country of Car use
|. Insurance company home base
|. |. Country of operation
|. |. |
A. A. A Vicious gouging thugs
A. A. N Acceptable terms
A. N. A ?
A. N. N Acceptable terms
N. A. A ?
N. A. N Acceptable terms
N. N. A ?
N. N. N Acceptable terms
answered Sep 25 '16 at 22:50
Russell McMahonRussell McMahon
8,6942544
It's a good point that for (whatever reason) you often get a much better deal on the insurance aspect "as a foreigner". I mean, if you book a rental car while in country X (France, Germany) for use in country Y (USA, UK), you often (as a customer from / paying from country X) get a much better deal than those native customers (from country Y) in country Y. I have never know if this is just for basic competition reasons, or, perhaps some legal aspect.
– Fattie
Sep 26 '16 at 14:08
People who have a collection of passports, world addresses, often use this to get a slightly or much better deal on rental car, especially regards insurance. It's a tough business. Basically *drive incredibly carefully in a rental car, to avoid hassles.
– Fattie
Sep 26 '16 at 14:09
@JoeBlow I understand your points, but in this case it appears that the Ozzie insurance industry as a whole are just a pack of scumbags. For car use within Australia they offer everyone a shocking deal dispassionately. The same companies when dealt with from NZ offer better terms and lower rates to people booking from NZ. BUT ALL companies trading in NZ & offering insurance for car use IN NZ do not have the onerous terms offered for Australian use.
– Russell McMahon
Sep 26 '16 at 18:37
"the Ozzie insurance industry as a whole are just a pack of scumbags" you could leave out the word "Ozzie" and the sentence is still true! :)
– Fattie
Sep 27 '16 at 3:17
@JoeBlow I have no torch to carry for others BUT eg NZ terms I can live with worst case and I know they have to make $. The Ozzie terms are not only immoral but they hide them and the hirers often lie when asked without enough prompting - based on multiple hire personal experience. I always pore over fine print of such things. | One Asian airline offered 1 flight travel insurance that gave no cover for 90% of the flight and gave them ALL my medical record in perpertuity and after death with NO redress ever.
– Russell McMahon
Sep 27 '16 at 3:21
add a comment |
Your Answer
StackExchange.ready(function()
var channelOptions =
tags: "".split(" "),
id: "273"
;
initTagRenderer("".split(" "), "".split(" "), channelOptions);
StackExchange.using("externalEditor", function()
// Have to fire editor after snippets, if snippets enabled
if (StackExchange.settings.snippets.snippetsEnabled)
StackExchange.using("snippets", function()
createEditor();
);
else
createEditor();
);
function createEditor()
StackExchange.prepareEditor(
heartbeatType: 'answer',
autoActivateHeartbeat: false,
convertImagesToLinks: false,
noModals: true,
showLowRepImageUploadWarning: true,
reputationToPostImages: null,
bindNavPrevention: true,
postfix: "",
imageUploader:
brandingHtml: "Powered by u003ca class="icon-imgur-white" href="https://imgur.com/"u003eu003c/au003e",
contentPolicyHtml: "User contributions licensed under u003ca href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/"u003ecc by-sa 3.0 with attribution requiredu003c/au003e u003ca href="https://stackoverflow.com/legal/content-policy"u003e(content policy)u003c/au003e",
allowUrls: true
,
noCode: true, onDemand: true,
discardSelector: ".discard-answer"
,immediatelyShowMarkdownHelp:true
);
);
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function ()
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
);
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
StackExchange.ready(
function ()
StackExchange.openid.initPostLogin('.new-post-login', 'https%3a%2f%2ftravel.stackexchange.com%2fquestions%2f79507%2finsurance-policy-for-car-rent%23new-answer', 'question_page');
);
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
1 Answer
1
active
oldest
votes
1 Answer
1
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
Caveat Emptor - DO NOT get caught out.
You can only tell if vehicle hire insurance is adequate by reading all the fine print carefully, carefully checking re ANY point that is not 100% + clear and then asking a few careful questions about worst case claims that other people have encountered.
As regards international situations as opposed to purely US, it is common for hire vehicle insurance to be incomplete and to have exceptions which may result in major costs to the hirer in some circumstances. Worst case these may amount to the full value of the vehicle plus recovery and other charges.
While such draconian situations may be uncommon, few people would want to expose themselves to such risks. @Andrewmh20 noted that credit cards may include excess patment insurance if used to pay for vehicle hire BUT if relying on this it is also essential to check the relevant fine print. Such offers may have a limited upper amount and this may be far lower than the worst case costs.
_________________________________
Personal experience:
All the above is based on my own personal experience of vehicle hire. I have hired vehicles in NZ (home country), Australia, USA, UK and Europe. Of these the most astoundingly bad terms were for Australian vehicle hire insurance taken out in Australia with Australian companies. Insurance taken out with the SAME companies NZ branches before the visit was made excluded the very unfavourable terms. Insurance taken out with NZ companies for the Australian car hire never had the unfavourable terms. Examples of worst case terms included:
- Payment of all costs for single vehicle accidents if additional cover not mentioned in any documents was not taken out.
- Payment of all costs for immersion regardless of cause with NO opportunity for this to be covered by insurance at all.
- Payment of all costs for damage caused by driving under ledge, truck tailgate, parking barrier etc.
- Payment of all costs for underbody and rear end damage (some companies only).
In Australia in country areas collisions with kangaroos are common (usually at dawn & dusk but can be any time.) This is a single vehicle accident.
Australia has "common enough" flash floods, and fords suddenly deeper than expected. While unlikely, pulling over on an unstable narrow road to let others past COULD end up causing immersion damage if a road edge collapsed.
A major camper hire company told me, when I asked, that they had quite a few single vehicle camper accidents per month. (Possibly from wind effects on large side areas of campers). These people would in most cases be sadly surprised at their liability.
My credit card company offered excess cover but it came far short of worst case liabilities.
Taking out insurance with a NZ insurance company on an Australian hire BEFORE making the trip to Australia produced insurance with reasonable terms, limited maximum liabilities and LOWER all up cost.
YMMV. Don't let it.
__________________________________________
Variations in Australian & NZ car hire
It appears that the Ozzie insurance industry as a whole are a pack of Vicious gouging thugs when operating in Australia and offering insurance on cars used in Australia. ie For car use within Australia they offer everyone a shocking deal dispassionately whereas NZ companies offer a 'fair' deal. The same companies when dealt with from NZ offer better terms and lower rates for Australian car use to people booking from NZ. BUT ALL companies trading in NZ & offering insurance for car use IN NZ do not have the onerous terms offered for Australian use. I did not check combinations shown with ? below.
- A / N = Australia or New Zealand.
Country of Car use
|. Insurance company home base
|. |. Country of operation
|. |. |
A. A. A Vicious gouging thugs
A. A. N Acceptable terms
A. N. A ?
A. N. N Acceptable terms
N. A. A ?
N. A. N Acceptable terms
N. N. A ?
N. N. N Acceptable terms
answered Sep 25 '16 at 22:50
Russell McMahonRussell McMahon
8,6942544
It's a good point that for (whatever reason) you often get a much better deal on the insurance aspect "as a foreigner". I mean, if you book a rental car while in country X (France, Germany) for use in country Y (USA, UK), you often (as a customer from / paying from country X) get a much better deal than those native customers (from country Y) in country Y. I have never know if this is just for basic competition reasons, or, perhaps some legal aspect.
– Fattie
Sep 26 '16 at 14:08
People who have a collection of passports, world addresses, often use this to get a slightly or much better deal on rental car, especially regards insurance. It's a tough business. Basically *drive incredibly carefully in a rental car, to avoid hassles.
– Fattie
Sep 26 '16 at 14:09
@JoeBlow I understand your points, but in this case it appears that the Ozzie insurance industry as a whole are just a pack of scumbags. For car use within Australia they offer everyone a shocking deal dispassionately. The same companies when dealt with from NZ offer better terms and lower rates to people booking from NZ. BUT ALL companies trading in NZ & offering insurance for car use IN NZ do not have the onerous terms offered for Australian use.
– Russell McMahon
Sep 26 '16 at 18:37
"the Ozzie insurance industry as a whole are just a pack of scumbags" you could leave out the word "Ozzie" and the sentence is still true! :)
– Fattie
Sep 27 '16 at 3:17
@JoeBlow I have no torch to carry for others BUT eg NZ terms I can live with worst case and I know they have to make $. The Ozzie terms are not only immoral but they hide them and the hirers often lie when asked without enough prompting - based on multiple hire personal experience. I always pore over fine print of such things. | One Asian airline offered 1 flight travel insurance that gave no cover for 90% of the flight and gave them ALL my medical record in perpertuity and after death with NO redress ever.
– Russell McMahon
Sep 27 '16 at 3:21
add a comment |
Caveat Emptor - DO NOT get caught out.
You can only tell if vehicle hire insurance is adequate by reading all the fine print carefully, carefully checking re ANY point that is not 100% + clear and then asking a few careful questions about worst case claims that other people have encountered.
As regards international situations as opposed to purely US, it is common for hire vehicle insurance to be incomplete and to have exceptions which may result in major costs to the hirer in some circumstances. Worst case these may amount to the full value of the vehicle plus recovery and other charges.
While such draconian situations may be uncommon, few people would want to expose themselves to such risks. @Andrewmh20 noted that credit cards may include excess patment insurance if used to pay for vehicle hire BUT if relying on this it is also essential to check the relevant fine print. Such offers may have a limited upper amount and this may be far lower than the worst case costs.
_________________________________
Personal experience:
All the above is based on my own personal experience of vehicle hire. I have hired vehicles in NZ (home country), Australia, USA, UK and Europe. Of these the most astoundingly bad terms were for Australian vehicle hire insurance taken out in Australia with Australian companies. Insurance taken out with the SAME companies NZ branches before the visit was made excluded the very unfavourable terms. Insurance taken out with NZ companies for the Australian car hire never had the unfavourable terms. Examples of worst case terms included:
- Payment of all costs for single vehicle accidents if additional cover not mentioned in any documents was not taken out.
- Payment of all costs for immersion regardless of cause with NO opportunity for this to be covered by insurance at all.
- Payment of all costs for damage caused by driving under ledge, truck tailgate, parking barrier etc.
- Payment of all costs for underbody and rear end damage (some companies only).
In Australia in country areas collisions with kangaroos are common (usually at dawn & dusk but can be any time.) This is a single vehicle accident.
Australia has "common enough" flash floods, and fords suddenly deeper than expected. While unlikely, pulling over on an unstable narrow road to let others past COULD end up causing immersion damage if a road edge collapsed.
A major camper hire company told me, when I asked, that they had quite a few single vehicle camper accidents per month. (Possibly from wind effects on large side areas of campers). These people would in most cases be sadly surprised at their liability.
My credit card company offered excess cover but it came far short of worst case liabilities.
Taking out insurance with a NZ insurance company on an Australian hire BEFORE making the trip to Australia produced insurance with reasonable terms, limited maximum liabilities and LOWER all up cost.
YMMV. Don't let it.
__________________________________________
Variations in Australian & NZ car hire
It appears that the Ozzie insurance industry as a whole are a pack of Vicious gouging thugs when operating in Australia and offering insurance on cars used in Australia. ie For car use within Australia they offer everyone a shocking deal dispassionately whereas NZ companies offer a 'fair' deal. The same companies when dealt with from NZ offer better terms and lower rates for Australian car use to people booking from NZ. BUT ALL companies trading in NZ & offering insurance for car use IN NZ do not have the onerous terms offered for Australian use. I did not check combinations shown with ? below.
- A / N = Australia or New Zealand.
Country of Car use
|. Insurance company home base
|. |. Country of operation
|. |. |
A. A. A Vicious gouging thugs
A. A. N Acceptable terms
A. N. A ?
A. N. N Acceptable terms
N. A. A ?
N. A. N Acceptable terms
N. N. A ?
N. N. N Acceptable terms
answered Sep 25 '16 at 22:50
Russell McMahonRussell McMahon
8,6942544
It's a good point that for (whatever reason) you often get a much better deal on the insurance aspect "as a foreigner". I mean, if you book a rental car while in country X (France, Germany) for use in country Y (USA, UK), you often (as a customer from / paying from country X) get a much better deal than those native customers (from country Y) in country Y. I have never know if this is just for basic competition reasons, or, perhaps some legal aspect.
– Fattie
Sep 26 '16 at 14:08
People who have a collection of passports, world addresses, often use this to get a slightly or much better deal on rental car, especially regards insurance. It's a tough business. Basically *drive incredibly carefully in a rental car, to avoid hassles.
– Fattie
Sep 26 '16 at 14:09
@JoeBlow I understand your points, but in this case it appears that the Ozzie insurance industry as a whole are just a pack of scumbags. For car use within Australia they offer everyone a shocking deal dispassionately. The same companies when dealt with from NZ offer better terms and lower rates to people booking from NZ. BUT ALL companies trading in NZ & offering insurance for car use IN NZ do not have the onerous terms offered for Australian use.
– Russell McMahon
Sep 26 '16 at 18:37
"the Ozzie insurance industry as a whole are just a pack of scumbags" you could leave out the word "Ozzie" and the sentence is still true! :)
– Fattie
Sep 27 '16 at 3:17
@JoeBlow I have no torch to carry for others BUT eg NZ terms I can live with worst case and I know they have to make $. The Ozzie terms are not only immoral but they hide them and the hirers often lie when asked without enough prompting - based on multiple hire personal experience. I always pore over fine print of such things. | One Asian airline offered 1 flight travel insurance that gave no cover for 90% of the flight and gave them ALL my medical record in perpertuity and after death with NO redress ever.
– Russell McMahon
Sep 27 '16 at 3:21
add a comment |
Caveat Emptor - DO NOT get caught out.
You can only tell if vehicle hire insurance is adequate by reading all the fine print carefully, carefully checking re ANY point that is not 100% + clear and then asking a few careful questions about worst case claims that other people have encountered.
As regards international situations as opposed to purely US, it is common for hire vehicle insurance to be incomplete and to have exceptions which may result in major costs to the hirer in some circumstances. Worst case these may amount to the full value of the vehicle plus recovery and other charges.
While such draconian situations may be uncommon, few people would want to expose themselves to such risks. @Andrewmh20 noted that credit cards may include excess patment insurance if used to pay for vehicle hire BUT if relying on this it is also essential to check the relevant fine print. Such offers may have a limited upper amount and this may be far lower than the worst case costs.
_________________________________
Personal experience:
All the above is based on my own personal experience of vehicle hire. I have hired vehicles in NZ (home country), Australia, USA, UK and Europe. Of these the most astoundingly bad terms were for Australian vehicle hire insurance taken out in Australia with Australian companies. Insurance taken out with the SAME companies NZ branches before the visit was made excluded the very unfavourable terms. Insurance taken out with NZ companies for the Australian car hire never had the unfavourable terms. Examples of worst case terms included:
- Payment of all costs for single vehicle accidents if additional cover not mentioned in any documents was not taken out.
- Payment of all costs for immersion regardless of cause with NO opportunity for this to be covered by insurance at all.
- Payment of all costs for damage caused by driving under ledge, truck tailgate, parking barrier etc.
- Payment of all costs for underbody and rear end damage (some companies only).
In Australia in country areas collisions with kangaroos are common (usually at dawn & dusk but can be any time.) This is a single vehicle accident.
Australia has "common enough" flash floods, and fords suddenly deeper than expected. While unlikely, pulling over on an unstable narrow road to let others past COULD end up causing immersion damage if a road edge collapsed.
A major camper hire company told me, when I asked, that they had quite a few single vehicle camper accidents per month. (Possibly from wind effects on large side areas of campers). These people would in most cases be sadly surprised at their liability.
My credit card company offered excess cover but it came far short of worst case liabilities.
Taking out insurance with a NZ insurance company on an Australian hire BEFORE making the trip to Australia produced insurance with reasonable terms, limited maximum liabilities and LOWER all up cost.
YMMV. Don't let it.
__________________________________________
Variations in Australian & NZ car hire
It appears that the Ozzie insurance industry as a whole are a pack of Vicious gouging thugs when operating in Australia and offering insurance on cars used in Australia. ie For car use within Australia they offer everyone a shocking deal dispassionately whereas NZ companies offer a 'fair' deal. The same companies when dealt with from NZ offer better terms and lower rates for Australian car use to people booking from NZ. BUT ALL companies trading in NZ & offering insurance for car use IN NZ do not have the onerous terms offered for Australian use. I did not check combinations shown with ? below.
- A / N = Australia or New Zealand.
Country of Car use
|. Insurance company home base
|. |. Country of operation
|. |. |
A. A. A Vicious gouging thugs
A. A. N Acceptable terms
A. N. A ?
A. N. N Acceptable terms
N. A. A ?
N. A. N Acceptable terms
N. N. A ?
N. N. N Acceptable terms
answered Sep 25 '16 at 22:50
Russell McMahonRussell McMahon
8,6942544
Caveat Emptor - DO NOT get caught out.
You can only tell if vehicle hire insurance is adequate by reading all the fine print carefully, carefully checking re ANY point that is not 100% + clear and then asking a few careful questions about worst case claims that other people have encountered.
As regards international situations as opposed to purely US, it is common for hire vehicle insurance to be incomplete and to have exceptions which may result in major costs to the hirer in some circumstances. Worst case these may amount to the full value of the vehicle plus recovery and other charges.
While such draconian situations may be uncommon, few people would want to expose themselves to such risks. @Andrewmh20 noted that credit cards may include excess patment insurance if used to pay for vehicle hire BUT if relying on this it is also essential to check the relevant fine print. Such offers may have a limited upper amount and this may be far lower than the worst case costs.
_________________________________
Personal experience:
All the above is based on my own personal experience of vehicle hire. I have hired vehicles in NZ (home country), Australia, USA, UK and Europe. Of these the most astoundingly bad terms were for Australian vehicle hire insurance taken out in Australia with Australian companies. Insurance taken out with the SAME companies NZ branches before the visit was made excluded the very unfavourable terms. Insurance taken out with NZ companies for the Australian car hire never had the unfavourable terms. Examples of worst case terms included:
- Payment of all costs for single vehicle accidents if additional cover not mentioned in any documents was not taken out.
- Payment of all costs for immersion regardless of cause with NO opportunity for this to be covered by insurance at all.
- Payment of all costs for damage caused by driving under ledge, truck tailgate, parking barrier etc.
- Payment of all costs for underbody and rear end damage (some companies only).
In Australia in country areas collisions with kangaroos are common (usually at dawn & dusk but can be any time.) This is a single vehicle accident.
Australia has "common enough" flash floods, and fords suddenly deeper than expected. While unlikely, pulling over on an unstable narrow road to let others past COULD end up causing immersion damage if a road edge collapsed.
A major camper hire company told me, when I asked, that they had quite a few single vehicle camper accidents per month. (Possibly from wind effects on large side areas of campers). These people would in most cases be sadly surprised at their liability.
My credit card company offered excess cover but it came far short of worst case liabilities.
Taking out insurance with a NZ insurance company on an Australian hire BEFORE making the trip to Australia produced insurance with reasonable terms, limited maximum liabilities and LOWER all up cost.
YMMV. Don't let it.
__________________________________________
Variations in Australian & NZ car hire
It appears that the Ozzie insurance industry as a whole are a pack of Vicious gouging thugs when operating in Australia and offering insurance on cars used in Australia. ie For car use within Australia they offer everyone a shocking deal dispassionately whereas NZ companies offer a 'fair' deal. The same companies when dealt with from NZ offer better terms and lower rates for Australian car use to people booking from NZ. BUT ALL companies trading in NZ & offering insurance for car use IN NZ do not have the onerous terms offered for Australian use. I did not check combinations shown with ? below.
- A / N = Australia or New Zealand.
Country of Car use
|. Insurance company home base
|. |. Country of operation
|. |. |
A. A. A Vicious gouging thugs
A. A. N Acceptable terms
A. N. A ?
A. N. N Acceptable terms
N. A. A ?
N. A. N Acceptable terms
N. N. A ?
N. N. N Acceptable terms
answered Sep 25 '16 at 22:50
Russell McMahonRussell McMahon
8,6942544
edited Sep 26 '16 at 18:57
answered Sep 25 '16 at 22:50
Russell McMahonRussell McMahon
8,6942544
answered Sep 25 '16 at 22:50
Russell McMahonRussell McMahon
8,6942544
answered Sep 25 '16 at 22:50
Russell McMahonRussell McMahon
8,6942544
8,6942544
It's a good point that for (whatever reason) you often get a much better deal on the insurance aspect "as a foreigner". I mean, if you book a rental car while in country X (France, Germany) for use in country Y (USA, UK), you often (as a customer from / paying from country X) get a much better deal than those native customers (from country Y) in country Y. I have never know if this is just for basic competition reasons, or, perhaps some legal aspect.
– Fattie
Sep 26 '16 at 14:08
People who have a collection of passports, world addresses, often use this to get a slightly or much better deal on rental car, especially regards insurance. It's a tough business. Basically *drive incredibly carefully in a rental car, to avoid hassles.
– Fattie
Sep 26 '16 at 14:09
@JoeBlow I understand your points, but in this case it appears that the Ozzie insurance industry as a whole are just a pack of scumbags. For car use within Australia they offer everyone a shocking deal dispassionately. The same companies when dealt with from NZ offer better terms and lower rates to people booking from NZ. BUT ALL companies trading in NZ & offering insurance for car use IN NZ do not have the onerous terms offered for Australian use.
– Russell McMahon
Sep 26 '16 at 18:37
"the Ozzie insurance industry as a whole are just a pack of scumbags" you could leave out the word "Ozzie" and the sentence is still true! :)
– Fattie
Sep 27 '16 at 3:17
@JoeBlow I have no torch to carry for others BUT eg NZ terms I can live with worst case and I know they have to make $. The Ozzie terms are not only immoral but they hide them and the hirers often lie when asked without enough prompting - based on multiple hire personal experience. I always pore over fine print of such things. | One Asian airline offered 1 flight travel insurance that gave no cover for 90% of the flight and gave them ALL my medical record in perpertuity and after death with NO redress ever.
– Russell McMahon
Sep 27 '16 at 3:21
add a comment |
It's a good point that for (whatever reason) you often get a much better deal on the insurance aspect "as a foreigner". I mean, if you book a rental car while in country X (France, Germany) for use in country Y (USA, UK), you often (as a customer from / paying from country X) get a much better deal than those native customers (from country Y) in country Y. I have never know if this is just for basic competition reasons, or, perhaps some legal aspect.
– Fattie
Sep 26 '16 at 14:08
People who have a collection of passports, world addresses, often use this to get a slightly or much better deal on rental car, especially regards insurance. It's a tough business. Basically *drive incredibly carefully in a rental car, to avoid hassles.
– Fattie
Sep 26 '16 at 14:09
@JoeBlow I understand your points, but in this case it appears that the Ozzie insurance industry as a whole are just a pack of scumbags. For car use within Australia they offer everyone a shocking deal dispassionately. The same companies when dealt with from NZ offer better terms and lower rates to people booking from NZ. BUT ALL companies trading in NZ & offering insurance for car use IN NZ do not have the onerous terms offered for Australian use.
– Russell McMahon
Sep 26 '16 at 18:37
"the Ozzie insurance industry as a whole are just a pack of scumbags" you could leave out the word "Ozzie" and the sentence is still true! :)
– Fattie
Sep 27 '16 at 3:17
@JoeBlow I have no torch to carry for others BUT eg NZ terms I can live with worst case and I know they have to make $. The Ozzie terms are not only immoral but they hide them and the hirers often lie when asked without enough prompting - based on multiple hire personal experience. I always pore over fine print of such things. | One Asian airline offered 1 flight travel insurance that gave no cover for 90% of the flight and gave them ALL my medical record in perpertuity and after death with NO redress ever.
– Russell McMahon
Sep 27 '16 at 3:21
It's a good point that for (whatever reason) you often get a much better deal on the insurance aspect "as a foreigner". I mean, if you book a rental car while in country X (France, Germany) for use in country Y (USA, UK), you often (as a customer from / paying from country X) get a much better deal than those native customers (from country Y) in country Y. I have never know if this is just for basic competition reasons, or, perhaps some legal aspect.
– Fattie
Sep 26 '16 at 14:08
It's a good point that for (whatever reason) you often get a much better deal on the insurance aspect "as a foreigner". I mean, if you book a rental car while in country X (France, Germany) for use in country Y (USA, UK), you often (as a customer from / paying from country X) get a much better deal than those native customers (from country Y) in country Y. I have never know if this is just for basic competition reasons, or, perhaps some legal aspect.
– Fattie
Sep 26 '16 at 14:08
People who have a collection of passports, world addresses, often use this to get a slightly or much better deal on rental car, especially regards insurance. It's a tough business. Basically *drive incredibly carefully in a rental car, to avoid hassles.
– Fattie
Sep 26 '16 at 14:09
People who have a collection of passports, world addresses, often use this to get a slightly or much better deal on rental car, especially regards insurance. It's a tough business. Basically *drive incredibly carefully in a rental car, to avoid hassles.
– Fattie
Sep 26 '16 at 14:09
@JoeBlow I understand your points, but in this case it appears that the Ozzie insurance industry as a whole are just a pack of scumbags. For car use within Australia they offer everyone a shocking deal dispassionately. The same companies when dealt with from NZ offer better terms and lower rates to people booking from NZ. BUT ALL companies trading in NZ & offering insurance for car use IN NZ do not have the onerous terms offered for Australian use.
– Russell McMahon
Sep 26 '16 at 18:37
@JoeBlow I understand your points, but in this case it appears that the Ozzie insurance industry as a whole are just a pack of scumbags. For car use within Australia they offer everyone a shocking deal dispassionately. The same companies when dealt with from NZ offer better terms and lower rates to people booking from NZ. BUT ALL companies trading in NZ & offering insurance for car use IN NZ do not have the onerous terms offered for Australian use.
– Russell McMahon
Sep 26 '16 at 18:37
"the Ozzie insurance industry as a whole are just a pack of scumbags" you could leave out the word "Ozzie" and the sentence is still true! :)
– Fattie
Sep 27 '16 at 3:17
"the Ozzie insurance industry as a whole are just a pack of scumbags" you could leave out the word "Ozzie" and the sentence is still true! :)
– Fattie
Sep 27 '16 at 3:17
@JoeBlow I have no torch to carry for others BUT eg NZ terms I can live with worst case and I know they have to make $. The Ozzie terms are not only immoral but they hide them and the hirers often lie when asked without enough prompting - based on multiple hire personal experience. I always pore over fine print of such things. | One Asian airline offered 1 flight travel insurance that gave no cover for 90% of the flight and gave them ALL my medical record in perpertuity and after death with NO redress ever.
– Russell McMahon
Sep 27 '16 at 3:21
@JoeBlow I have no torch to carry for others BUT eg NZ terms I can live with worst case and I know they have to make $. The Ozzie terms are not only immoral but they hide them and the hirers often lie when asked without enough prompting - based on multiple hire personal experience. I always pore over fine print of such things. | One Asian airline offered 1 flight travel insurance that gave no cover for 90% of the flight and gave them ALL my medical record in perpertuity and after death with NO redress ever.
– Russell McMahon
Sep 27 '16 at 3:21
add a comment |
Thanks for contributing an answer to Travel Stack Exchange!
- Please be sure to answer the question. Provide details and share your research!
But avoid …
- Asking for help, clarification, or responding to other answers.
- Making statements based on opinion; back them up with references or personal experience.
To learn more, see our tips on writing great answers.
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function ()
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
);
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
StackExchange.ready(
function ()
StackExchange.openid.initPostLogin('.new-post-login', 'https%3a%2f%2ftravel.stackexchange.com%2fquestions%2f79507%2finsurance-policy-for-car-rent%23new-answer', 'question_page');
);
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function ()
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
);
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function ()
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
);
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function ()
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
);
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
1
Your credit card may offer loss damage waiver insurance when you pay for the rental car with it, check on that.
– andrewmh20
Sep 25 '16 at 21:54
6
Possible duplicate of What car rental insurance should I get if my credit card provides some coverage?
– alx9r
Sep 26 '16 at 4:00
This answer to a similar question might help you.
– alx9r
Sep 26 '16 at 4:02
This question doesn't say anything about having a credit card so I don't see how it's a duplicate of a question that's specifically about trade-offs between insurance from credit cards and other providers.
– David Richerby
Sep 26 '16 at 10:16