“Rental car – disclaimer for damages”;
The question always arises when you rent a vehicle is: You should buy the disclaimer for damages, which limits or eliminates your financial liability for damage to the vehicle you rent? This protection is not cheap, it can cost between $ 63 and $ 210 per week, depending on where you rent the vehicle of choice and how firm the contract company.
In the past we recommended not acquire this additional cost if your personal auto insurance coverage included shock and / or comprehensive coverage, or if your credit card you provided such credit. However, today's decision was "greatly complicated by the fact that many companies are charging their customers for the depreciated value and administrative charges when they hit the rental car," says Kip Diggs, spokesman for State Farm, the company largest auto insurer in the United States. In general, State Farm does not cover these charges. Here are the three steps to make this decision easier.
1. Check your auto policy
The insurance covers your car is the first line of protection to cover a rented vehicle. Which of course gives you a basic liability coverage for damages that could cause to others with the rental car and other vehicles and properties. If you do not have a vehicle and, therefore, you not have a vehicle insurance, and you can buy a "policy beneficiary non-owner auto insurance" annual temporary or an insurance company. A policy should thus be reasonably priced.
In order to protect a rental vehicle, your personal insurance must also have collision coverage (covering damages to your own vehicle due to an accident with another vehicle or object or rollover) and / or a comprehensive coverage (covering damage to your vehicle produced by different causes a collision, such as fire, theft, vandalism, flooding, fallen tree branches, etc.). If you have any of these coverages, revised text well in fine print to know exactly what encompasses coverage, or better yet, call one of the representatives of Customer Service of your insurance company and ask if your policy :
¿Expands coverage for hired vehicles? Usually, your coverage, deductibles and other terms are the same for a rented car to your own vehicle.
Does coverage for business travel? Here there may be a hidden trap. Perhaps your policy may not cover this. However, insurance cover if your employer can go on a business trip; therefore, you should find out if that is the case and if your employer wants you to accept or reject the disclaimer. Be sure to check the rules and coverage if you plan to use a few days of business travel and personal vacations.
Do you pay the cost of rental agency? Vehicular policies may or may not cover administrative fees, towing, loss of use of vehicle while under repair, and the depreciated value.
Do you pay the "full value" for the rental car? If not, ask if you can add a "complementary" insurance to your policy, replacing the total loss of the vehicle for a new one.
If you plan to reject the resignation and your personal vehicle insurance gives you a good basis for protection, you could still have deficiencies. To fill these gaps, uses your credit card.
2. Analyzes the benefits of your credit card
The benefits of the rental vehicle protection granted various credit cards instead of the bank issuing the card and may vary depending on the type of card. For example, American Express, MasterCard, Visa and assume charges for loss of use, provided that the rental company will back them up with proof of loss. The Discover card explicitly excludes loss of use.
Protection against loss of rental vehicles not provide any card, so before purchasing or rental car reservations, contact the Customer Service of your card to make sure the card you're using features such protection , and find out the specifics of coverage of all your cards. Then, make your reservation with the card that gives you the best coverage.
The coverage of a credit card, usually a secondary insurance; therefore your personal policy vehicular assume the payment of damages or theft (if you suffer a crash and have a full coverage) while the company credit card will collect all or most of the remainder, subject to their limits. Some losses are not covered by the card, as the depreciated value.
Some vehicles may not be covered, such as pickup trucks, some SUV, especially expensive or exotic cars; therefore plan well if you go for a ride in a vehicle rented Chevy Corvette, Dodge Viper, Cadillac Allante, BMW M3, Mercedes SLK, Porsche, Ferrari or Lamborghini.
This coverage applies only if you reject the exemption from liability for damages to the rental agency and reserves and pay for the car with a specific credit card. The cardholder must be the same person who rented the vehicle.
There are many details that must examine therefore requests the customer service representative credit card and confirm me explain by telephone and send you a printed copy of the terms of insurance that you have written. You can also find the terms on the website of the card, but it's better if you get directly in touch with a representative.
If your personal insurance and your credit card will provide a strong protection, then you will be fully prepared and ready to consider rejecting the LDW (exemption from liability for damages). But there is still one more step.
3. Read the car rental contract
Unfortunately, you probably can not do it until you get to the counter of the rental company where you can feel pressured to hurry by people behind you in line. (For example, we could not find rental agreements in line). But stay firm despite the stares and complaints, and read the fine print of your lease.
Search sections that express your responsibility under state law, if an accident occurs, and details on the waiver of the rental agency. If state law limits your exposure to liability and your vehicle insurance policy and credit card are sufficient to cover your liability, you can skip the LDW without increased risk, which is actually, in a strict sense, a waiver of your responsibility instead a real vehicle insurance.
For example, a lease of Hertz we saw in California limited the responsibility of the renter to the real market value of the vehicle, plus towing and storage charges, as well as administrative and impound fees. For loss or damage to the vehicle against vandalism unrelated to theft, liability limit was $ 500, and the tenants were not responsible for the loss or damage related to theft unless he had been as a result of carelessness out normal.
Instead, a budget deal rental in Texas, provided that the customer was responsible for "all" loss or damage, including loss of use, subject to all the limitations imposed by law.
You must pay for the disclaimer if you rent a car overseas or in Mexico (where you could call disclaimer for collision damage), because your personal vehicle insurance is generally valid only in the US, in its territories and Canada.
But you're still not completely out of danger, because even the disclaimer may not be valid in certain circumstances. These are listed on your rental agreement and include letting someone other than an authorized user drives the vehicle damage caused by driving on unpaved roads and, of course, drunk driving or drag racing.
Now, have fun on your vacation fully and with affordable prices, without worrying about car accidents!