USA Carhire Excess Insurance Query

TonyM19

Hi

I used to be au fait with the ins and outs of this as a regular traveller, but I am returning to California after 6 years away and I've lost track.  Can somebody help me with this query please? I have a quote for my car for 17 nights which I'm comfortable with, but the rental agency (Dollar) are offering:

For only £7 per day, get a full refund of the amount of the deductible included in your rental contract, in case of :

Accident and material damages

Damages to rocker panels

Theft of your vehicle

Damages to windshield

Damages to tyres

Damages to roof

Is this something that an excess insurance package bought over here would cover?  Another £119 seems steep, or is this something I need and then excess insurance on top of this.

Bonhomie

It likely isn't DOLLAR doing the offering. I expect it's a broker. Car hire companies offer a waiver, as opposed to excess insurance.

There is usually no excess when booking a car for the USA from a UK website. But tyres etc might not be included, so check the T&C.
If you decide to cover yourself; Usually cheapest to get an annual policy via the likes of Quidco/Topcashback

https://www.bettersafe.com/car-hire-excess-insurance
https://www.insurance4carhire.com
https://www.carhireexcess.co.uk

TonyM19

If I go with the £7 a day, do I need any other cover?

Looking to be about £50 difference.  I'm just a bit wary of paying a big deposit on my credit card

DullGreyGuy

TonyM19 said:

If I go with the £7 a day, do I need any other cover?

Looking to be about £50 difference.  I'm just a bit wary of paying a big deposit on my credit card

The main thing to check in the US is the limits of liability... in the UK all personal motor insurance must give unlimited personal injury cover and several million in property. In the US limits can be as low as $25,000 despite the fact that damages there tend to be much higher. 

The level of cover as standard tends not to be the legal minimum but can be relatively small... if you cause an accident that is more than the limit its on your to pay for anything above and you cannot go bankrupt to avoid the debt. 

If you buy UK Hire Car Excess cover for the US it often includes SLI to take that up to $500k or $1m. Still very small compared to what we are used to in the UK and a lot better than what some offer of the bat. 

TonyM19

So £135.83 from Bettersafe including CDW and SLI.  Is that all the cover I would need?

DullGreyGuy

TonyM19 said:

So £135.83 from Bettersafe including CDW and SLI.  Is that all the cover I would need?

What level of SLI? Are you comfortable with that level?

How much would others charge you? Have you looked at Annual policies? Sometimes cheaper than single trip as long as you remember not to allow it to auto renew in 12 months time. 

Bonhomie

TonyM19 said:

If I go with the £7 a day, do I need any other cover?

Looking to be about £50 difference.  I'm just a bit wary of paying a big deposit on my credit card

Again...the £7 per day has NOTHING to do with DOLLAR. You will have to cover the deposit as per usual if there is one.. The £7 per day is for exactly the same kind of excess refund policy to which I linked(without SLI).
Please post the exact website that you are using for the purpose of booking. Even better, the exact dates and type of vehicle. Then we can read the T&C.
The excess policy is simply a 'belt & braces' approach, to cover certain aspects of the vehicle that are excluded from the standard cover. There should be no excess amount.
When I rented with the likes of AVIS in the USA, they blocked US$1 on my card.

Bonhomie

TonyM19 said:

So £135.83 from Bettersafe including CDW and SLI.  Is that all the cover I would need?

You don't need that unless you are booking via a US based website that doesn't include CDW and LI.
Please post the full details of your booking(vehicle type, location, dates), including the total price offered.

Bonhomie

DullGreyGuy said:

TonyM19 said:

If I go with the £7 a day, do I need any other cover?

Looking to be about £50 difference.  I'm just a bit wary of paying a big deposit on my credit card

The main thing to check in the US is the limits of liability... in the UK all personal motor insurance must give unlimited personal injury cover and several million in property. In the US limits can be as low as $25,000 despite the fact that damages there tend to be much higher. 

The level of cover as standard tends not to be the legal minimum but can be relatively small... if you cause an accident that is more than the limit its on your to pay for anything above and you cannot go bankrupt to avoid the debt. 

If you buy UK Hire Car Excess cover for the US it often includes SLI to take that up to $500k or $1m. Still very small compared to what we are used to in the UK and a lot better than what some offer of the bat. 

Of course none of this has anything to do with 'personal motor insurance'.
The level of cover offered for LI when booking via a U.K. based website is in fact usually the legal minimum. You can choose to purchase Supplementary LI to take it up to US$1,000,000 if you so wish. Booking from a U.K. based website ensures that CDW is included. Usually with no excess, but perhaps excluding tyres, windscreen etc.

Rather than having to guess what is included and what is not, it would be best for the OP to post the details in so we can check the relevant T&C.

Bonhomie

TonyM19 said:

So £135.83 from Bettersafe including CDW and SLI.  Is that all the cover I would need?

Annual policy...remember? Via Quidco/TopCashBack...

https://www.bettersafe.com/faqs#car-hire-excess-insurance

Bonhomie

TonyM19 said:

Hi

I used to be au fait with the ins and outs of this as a regular traveller, but I am returning to California after 6 years away and I've lost track.  Can somebody help me with this query please? I have a quote for my car for 17 nights which I'm comfortable with, but the rental agency (Dollar) are offering:

For only £7 per day, get a full refund of the amount of the deductible included in your rental contract, in case of :

Accident and material damages

Damages to rocker panels

Theft of your vehicle

Damages to windshield

Damages to tyres

Damages to roof

Is this something that an excess insurance package bought over here would cover?  Another £119 seems steep, or is this something I need and then excess insurance on top of this.

Just in case you are still confused, the above is simply a standard excess policy without SLI and it isn't Dollar doing the offering. Much the same thing via Bettersafe will cost you £46.99..minus any cashback. Neither has any effect on the amount of any deposit.
Personally, I use https://www.insurance4carhire.com
A bit more expensive at £59.99, but I've been using them for a while.
If I'm travelling a lot in the Americas/Caribbean, I take the product with CDW/SLI in order to cover bookings not made via the U.K.