Tips for hire car insurance for USA?

arealhighlander

Am heading for California mid May for 17 days and will be renting a hire car for 10 days. At the moment Hertz are giving the best deal for a Compact (about £135).

The usual confusion over insurances (why do hire cars have so many!). The Hertz hire includes LDW which covers damage to the car (but not tyres, windscreen nor the first £500 of damage).

Any suggestions for companies who provide insurance for Third party (SLI as Hertz call it), as I wouldnt fancy hitting someone and being sued for $$$millions. Also anyone who will cover the first £500 of LDW.

I have seen companies such as WorldWideInsurance.com but they want £105 for an annual policy or £119 for a 10 day one

mountainchrisriver

Try:
http://www.questor-insurance.co.uk
http://www.insurance4carhire.com/
http://www.carhireexcess.com/

... just a few to go at... alternatively try ebookers as they often include full car insurance as part of the deal, as do holiday autos I believe (I think the latter also have a price match deal)... HTH

dzug

The simplest and often the cheapest is not to hire directly with the US rental company but through a broker here - eg Holiday Autos. They normally include all the insurances you need in one rate.

The confusion comes about because most Americans (who are the most frequent hirers of cars in the US) have all these insurances through their own car policy which (unlike here) are transferable temporarily to hire cars.

polarbearit

You are almost certainly better off dealing with a car hire company that provides full insurance - National & Alamo both offer all insurances to UK customers in the US. Or Carhire 3000/Airline Network will sell you a car with all cover... Annual policies rarely work out much cheaper...

franklally

I use carhire3000 and have never been disappointed - they include all the insurance for the USA - so when you go to pick up the car (usually from Alamo) you can confidently decline the 'extra' insurances they try to sell on to you.

photome

Another vote for carhire3000

I have also used yescarhire

I always pay for the premium package which then includes additional drivers and full tank of fuel which means you can return it empty.

arealhighlander

Thanks all for the suggestions. I read elsewhere about booking through the Uk brances (hertz.co.uk rather than .com) and you are right - if you go through the UK one it includes teh insurances etc.

I have still found Hertz to be the cheapest quote, the Uk site has offered me an Economy for £128 for 10 days and the rentals include LDW, SLI and uninsured driver.

Interestingly, Californian law does not allow car hirers to charge for an additional driver So thats more money saved. I'm trying to clear up the difference between CDW and LDW because as far as I can read anywhere on the Hertz website, LDW does NOT have an excess (e.g. first $500 of damage is not covered nor is tyres or windscreen). I know these things are applicable to CDW, but LDW doesnt say this. Ive emailed them to ask to clarify.

Been checking on the difference between CDW and LDW - CDW usually only covers the customer in the event of an accident, while the LDW usually covers any loss to the rental company. This includes glass and tyre damage, vandalism, theft, and "loss of use". "Loss of use" is when the car is being repaired for any damage related to the customer, the rental company will continue to charge the customer.

Looked at carhire3000, they were £25 more than Hertz.

Also, under Californian law, any damage under $500 which is caused by vandalism, the renter is not liable (whether you take out LDW or not).

vivatifosi

Can I please suggest that you take copies of all your paperwork with you regarding the insurances, not just the voucher/cover note or whatever. We've twice had a situation where hiring a car in America (both times through Alamo) the code in the USA was different to the UK and we've had to use the supplementary paperwork to prove that we didn't have to pay several hundred dollars extra as we already had cover.

trets77

can i also say that i think your crazy to go with a compact for 10 days , it will a Yaris sized car , which will mean your luggage on show on the back seat and feeling like the smallest car on the road. i,m hiring for 14 days in California and Las Vegas in April and a 4x4 is the only thing i will have .

We hired with Airline network via Travelsupermarket last trip . The Travelsupermarket quotes are good as they show what is and isn't included . make sure you get zero excess and and full cover in your quote and then make sure you have proof of this to take along with your Voucher ect.

vivatifosi

trets77 wrote: »

can i also say that i think your crazy to go with a compact for 10 days , it will a Yaris sized car , which will mean your luggage on show on the back seat and feeling like the smallest car on the road.

Yaris is a sub-compact not a compact. A compact would be a Honda Civic, Toyota Corolla, Ford Focus or similar. A bit bigger, but boot size can be an issue for sure if you've got a lot of luggage or a big party. We find compact cars are fine for two of us.

stan747

book the compact and upgrade when you get there, much cheaper than doing it here. we got an upgrade from a compact to an suv for £8 a day.